The Niagara Lightning (formerly Niagara Thunder) are Canadian rugby union team based in southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The team played in the

Rugby Canada National Junior Championship The Rugby Canada National Junior Championship was an amateur rugby union competition in Canada. It only lasted two seasons, 2009 and 2010. The 2009 champion was the Vancouver Wave, and the 2010 championship went to the Newfoundland Rock. The leag ...

and draws most of its players from the

Niagara Rugby Union Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River * Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border * Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ...

. The Lightning play their "home" games in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

(

Mohawk Sports Park Mohawk Sports Park, is a large park on the east mountain of Hamilton, Ontario, 1100 Mohawk Road East, also known as Commonwealth Park and Upper King's Forest Park. Facilities A number of sporting venues including: * an 8 lane dedicated competitio ...

) and nearby

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Oakville (

Crusader Park Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

), and

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

History

In 1998,

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...

and the provincial unions agreed to form the

Rugby Canada Super League The Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL or Super League) was a national, semi-professional rugby union competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada ...

. Fourteen unions and sub-unions were invited to compete in the new semi-professional league. However, the Niagara Rugby Union (along with the Toronto Rugby Union and the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union) decided not to participate. Both Toronto and Eastern Ontario joined the league the following year, leaving Niagara as the only invited union not to join. The Niagara Rugby Union finally decided to field a team in time for the 2004 RCSL season. The new club was named the Niagara Thunder. In 2012 the Niagara Rugby Union put together two Under 17, 7 aside teams in both the boys and girls divisions of the Ontario Summer Games held at York University. All 7 aside U-17 squads have since 2012 have played under the name Niagara Thunder, including the 2014 Ontario Summer Games held in Windsor.

External links

Hockey Database
Sports clubs and teams in Hamilton, Ontario Rugby union teams in Ontario Rugby clubs established in 2004 2004 establishments in Ontario {{Ontario-stub