She’s on the long-list for Canada’s upcoming women’s international test season.
She’s also booked for a Las Vegas Invitational tournament for B.C.’s Sevens rugby team, which will hit the city of casinos March 3 to 5.
Burnaby’s Demi Stamatakis won’t have to bet against the house. She has built a thick resume of rugby accomplishments in 10 years of playing. And at just 23, she is enjoying every new chance to test her skills and support her teammates.
“I want my team, my friends, right there with me playing the best that we can all play, supporting each other no matter what. That’s what rugby is, and that is what rugby teaches you,” said Stamatakis.
Primarily a prop for the Simon Fraser University Club premier side, Stamatakis embraces each international experience like the ones before them – at full speed.
Her passion for the sport evolved quickly, she notes, as a teenager growing up in East Van eager to play any game available.
“I joined in high school in Grade 8 because I was a bigger girl and was told it might be the sport for me,” Stamatakis recalled.
She quickly found a home in the game, and filed it ahead of her other athletic endeavors – basketball, volleyball, soccer, field hockey and snowboarding, among others. After just a year playing it, Stamatakis joined the SFU Rugby Club and found a home away from home.
“(The SFU) community and support network has by far been the biggest influence on my rugby career. I started playing with them when I was 14 (and) D’Arcy McKay and Zuri Scrivens will always be the coaches that really got me into the game.”
That entrance was also fuelled by the coaching and encouragement of Dave Brown and player Christina Burnham, who set a path that Stamatakis followed.
“I credit my perseverance to the sport and my desire to pursue a higher level of playing to (Burnham),” she noted of the former SFU leader who played on numerous Team B.C. rosters.
“Just as I followed in her footsteps playing for SFU, it was because of her I went to my first B.C. rugby tryout. I got cut, but needless to say I went back the next year determined to make the (under-17) team, and I did.”
That try-and-try again attitude is a link to this year’s busy schedule.
Last December as part of Canada’s senior women’s Maple Leafs, she tasted a higher level of international competition as the squad took on England’s A team in Britain.
“A highlight for me from the trip was simply the atmosphere there and the feeling before games. The pre-game meetings, boarding the bus to get to the field, walking into the change rooms, being with all the awesome girls I’d gotten to know ... The Canada jerseys all hung up on the wall, thinking about the players in the past that have worn your number, feeling the nerves, all the hard work we put into smashing each other before hand about to be put to the test. (It was) just such a thrill, all 24 of us all on the same page, feeling the same way,” she said.
“Playing with other girls with a high skill level allows the team to focus on the more technical aspects of the game, tweaking and practicing small things that really make a difference.”
Earlier, she made her first journey to Vegas for a 7s tournament, and returned with a souvenir.
“I was only able to play in two games in Vegas last year, I cut my knee open on some glass in the second game,” Stamatakis said. “The trainer wrapped it in tape, and I continued playing till the final whistle blew. Then to the hospital and 11 stitches later...”
Versatility is something that has given her an advantage rising through the ranks.
“I’ve been known to play anything from flank, to scrum half, to inside centre. I’d say one of my strengths as a player is my versatility on field as well as my knowledge of the game, big hits, and ball carrying skills.”
Being able to tackle nearly any role and rise to the occasion is one reason Stamatakis is so in demand. As stated on the BC Rugby website, “Demi Stamatakis will be one of the on-field leaders, drawing on her recent experience with Rugby Canada’s 15s development team…”
A recent photo of her, shared on twitter, displayed a huge welt the size of a bird’s egg over one eyebrow, was accompanied by a grin from someone who can take it and dish it out. In the eye of the storm, or centre of the scrum as she prefers, everything is all right for Stamatakis.
“Rugby is, has always been, and always will be a massive part of my life,” she said. “I am constantly itching to play and I strive to play as much as I can. Rugby is available to me whenever I need it and serves as a good outlet, it’s an aggressive game after all.”
