Canadians Moe Chaudhry and Maggie Cogger-Orr are among 23 match officials selected to work the rugby sevens competition at this summer's Paris Olympics.
Chaudhry, a native of Mississauga, Ont., has worked as both referee and assistant referee on the international front as well as the HSBC SVNS, formerly known as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. He also officiates Major League Rugby games.
When not officiating, he is a Chick-fil-A franchisee. A former Tim Hortons franchisee, he also spent time as athletic director at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham, Ont.
A transplanted Canadian, Cogger-Orr grew up in Markham, Ont., before moving to Ottawa where she attended Ashbury College. She did her undergraduate degree in commerce at McMaster, playing rugby with the Marauders for four years.
A year later, in 2014, she moved to New Zealand for school and rugby. Now a teacher, she has made Auckland home.
Cogger-Orr refereed the opening game of the 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand between South Africa and France.
The two Canadians have been chosen to officiate Olympic women's play.
The Olympic match officials come from 16 countries.
Japan's Ano Kuwai will make history as the first person to both play and referee at the games, having represented Japan in Rio in 2016 when rugby sevens made its Olympic debut. Kuwai scored Japan’s first-ever Olympic try in a 26-10 loss to host Brazil.
The men’s rugby sevens competition runs July 24-28, joining soccer in kicking off Olympic competitions two days before the opening ceremony, with women’s play scheduled for July 28-30 July. All the games will take place at Stade de France, the venue for the men’s Rugby World Cup final last October.
The Canadian women, who won bronze in Rio, have already qualified for Paris. The Canadian men will try to join them at a last-ditch qualifying event next month in Monaco.
Paris Olympics Rugby Match Officials
Men’s Tournament
Ben Breakspear (Wales), Paulo Duarte (Portugal), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Francisco Gonzalez (Uruguay), Nick Hogan (New Zealand), A.J. Jacobs (South Africa), Reuben Keane (Australia), Adam Leal (England), Tevita Rokovereni (Fiji), Jeremy Rozier (France), Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Jordan Way (Australia).
Women’s Tournament:
Finlay Brown (Scotland), Craig Chan (Hong Kong), Moe Chaudhry (Canada), Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Ano Kuwai (Japan), Maria Latos (Germany), Cisco Lopez (U.S.), Tyler Miller (Australia), Lavenia Rawaca (Fiji), Kat Roche (U.S.); George Selwood (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
