Per www.USARUGBY.org
NEW YORK – For the first time, New York City will play host to the best sevens rugby players in the U.S. as the 2009 USA Rugby Men’s and Women’s All-Star Sevens Tournament gets underway on Randall’s Island , this weekend.
Featuring eight men and women’s teams, this year will see an All-Star side from most of the seven USA territorial unions. With the South unable to attend, the men’s tournament will feature one Collegiate All-Star Sevens Team and one Combined (College and Club) All-Star Sevens side in order to fill the tournament brackets. The women’s tournament will see the USA Under-23s filling in as its eighth team and battling it out for pride and National Sevens Team recognition.
Hosted by the Metropolitan New York Rugby Football Union, fans can see 40 matches played over the course of two days on the municipally-owned rugby fields 73 and 74 on the park’s Ward’s Meadow section. Pool Play matches for this USA Rugby Sevens All-Star Championships start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 29 and the tournament’s final rounds will kick off at 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 30.
On an adjacent field, the All-Star Sevens event will also feature the Liberty Cup 2009, which will includes Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg (WOOT WOOT!!!), NYPD and FDNY rugby teams competing for this year’s honor.
Seven-per-side rugby is the faster version of the game, which normally features 15 players per team. Known as “sevens,” this version is also reduced to seven minute halves instead of the normal 40, and is played on the same size pitch as a 15s match. Rugby sevens offers a spectacle of non-stop action where speed, skills, and athleticism are paramount.
The sevens game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Notable international competitions include the IRB Sevens World Series and the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Rugby sevens is also played at some multi-sport events such as the Commonwealth Games, the World Games, was recently adopted into the Pan American Games and was one of two sports recommended by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games.
At this weekend’s event, both the Women’s National Sevens coach Sue Parker and Men’s National Sevens coach Al Caravelli will be on hand scouting America’s best talent for their National sides, known as the Eagles; and if all goes well, on October 9, when the IOC votes on inclusion, several of these athletes could also be one day representing the U.S. at the Olympic Games.
Admission and parking on Randall’s Island is free and the Island is accessible via public transportation: the 4-5-6 train to 125th Street , and the M35 bus from there. Fields 73 and 74 are located at the southeastern tip of the island, and are easily accessed on foot via the 103rd St. footbridge. USA Rugby is also planning to stream this event live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/usa-rugby.
In the 2008 All-Star Sevens Tournament, Southern California took the men’s honor with a thrilling 31-17 final win over the West, while the Midwest won the women’s championship with a 19-17 nail-biter over the West. The Northeast grabbed the women’s consolation Plate championship last year and this year’s event will no doubt feature several local rugby players from both the men’s and women’s teams in the Metropolitan New York area.
For more information, and to get directions to the fields go to www.newyorkallstarsevens.org, or follow the tournament on twitter and facebook at http://twitter.com/NASC7 or http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=114750347901&ref=ts.
For additional information or questions, please contact local organizers Toby Butterfield at 917-848-4155 or Bret Costain at 917-273-3171; or for more information on USA Rugby contact its Communication Director at sjohn@usarugby.org.
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