KINGSTON, Ont. (June 12, 2023) – Queen's Women's Rugby announced two-time Olympian Britt Benn has joined the program as assistant coach.

Benn competed with Team Canada in the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of their Rugby Sevens squad, earning a bronze medal in 2016 and finishing ninth in 2020.

"I couldn't be more excited for Britt to join our program," said Queen's Women's Rugby Head Coach Dan Valley. "She'll be able to help our players reach another level of detail and she'll have an immediate positive impact on our squad from the moment she starts. She's excelled at the highest levels of competition in the world for the past 15 years – Olympics, World Cup, HSBC 7s Series, Pan-American Games. It's really cool to think that our players – many of whom have grown up watching and admiring Britt Benn as she competed on the world stage – will now have the chance to work with her and learn from her every single day. It's just awesome.

"Throughout the interview process I was super impressed with Britt's attention to detail and her approach to the game, but what sealed it for me was her excitement for the role, and her commitment to supporting the women of our program. She's got such a cool combination of playing experience and lived experience within high-performance rugby to support our squad and to help us achieve success the right way."

Along with her Olympic experience, Benn has also competed with Canada in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, finishing fourth, 2018 World Rugby World Cup Sevens, finishing seventh, 2015 Pan American Games, earning gold, and World Rugby World Cup Union, earning a silver.

A fixture on the HSBC Rugby 7s World Series, in 2020 Benn was named to the HSBC 7s Dream Team as one of the top 7s players in the world.

Prior to her time on the international stage, Benn spent five years with the Guelph Gryphons, where she was a four-time All-Canadian and OUA and CIS (now U SPORTS) Player of the Year in 2012.

With the Gryphons, Benn won five OUA gold medals, three CIS bronze medals, one CIS silver medal, and one CIS National Championship.

Queen's Women's Rugby won the OUA Championship and earned the U SPORTS silver medal last season.