StFX Athletics to honour Birks

Sep 6, 2007 - StFX Director of Athletics and Recreational Services Leo MacPherson is pleased to announce that the 2007-08 StFX varsity season will be dedicated to the memory of Michelle Birks. Michelle was a member of the 2006 CIS champion X-Women rugby team who passed away suddenly last February due to a heart arrhythmia. "Michelle was a wonderful person, outstanding student-athlete, and an integral part of our national championship team," comments MacPherson. "We wanted to take steps this season to make sure that her contribution to StFX varsity athletics will never be forgotten."\r\n\r\nIn addition to the 2007-08 varsity season being dedicated in her honor, Michelle�۪s picture appears on the varsity pocket schedule and there is a link on www.goxgo.ca, the official website of StFX Athletics, dedicated to Michelle. All StFX varsity teams will wear a black MB patch or sticker for the duration of the season. The X-Men football and X-Men and X-Women hockey teams will wear a black MB sticker on their helmets, while the X-Women rugby, X-Women volleyball, X-Men and X-Women soccer, cross country and basketball teams will wear a black MB patch on their home uniforms. The X-Women rugby team will keep their patches as a permanent fixture on their uniforms for years to come. There is a memorial banner displaying Michelle�۪s name, number and the varsity X now hanging in the Oland Centre main gymnasium, and a scholarship fund has already been started in conjunction with the Birks family and friends. A $1000 bursary will be awarded annually to a female rugby player enrolled in the StFX Human Kinetics program.\r\n\r\nMichelle was enrolled in her fourth year in the Human Kinetics program and was a member of the X-Women rugby team who won the 2006 CIS rugby championship. She scored 20 points last season from the wing position and over three seasons of AUS competition, Michelle tallied 126 points, earning her the distinction of StFX and AUS all-time leading scorer. She also holds the AUS record for career conversions with 26 and the record for most conversions in a game with six. She was named an AUS all-star in 2004 and 2005 for her athletic talents and was an academic all-Canadian.