The sport of rugby is aiming to get bigger by getting smaller, and Capilano Rugby Club is following this little trend with their first ever North Shore Sevens youth tournament scheduled for Sept. 13-14 at Klahanie Park.
Rugby sevens is a scaled down version of the sport that features, naturally, seven players on the field rather than the 15 needed for a full rugby game. With more scoring, shorter halves and a fastpaced tournament style, sevens has quickly gained popularity to the point where it will be included as a full sport in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
With sevens on the rise it's important for clubs to get into the sport and develop the players who will eventually feed into the national teams, said Capilano youth rugby chairman Barry Allen.
"Now is a good time," he said of catching the sevens wave. "Players who are 16 now will be in their prime in 2020 when (the Olympics) go the next round."
The club is not just focused on developing players at the tournament but also creating the infrastructure around the sport that will allow it to grow.
"We're exposing more kids to sevens rugby - which is a new sport - (and) we're exposing new coaches to teach the sport, we're training referees to do sevens," said Allen.
This year's North Shore Sevens - the first of what the club is hoping will become an annual festival - will feature U14, U16 and U18 boys divisions, which will include up to eight teams each, with several British Columbia clubs already signed up along with Capilano teams and the Barbarians, a select provincial squad from Alberta.
The tournament is nearly sold out, said Allen, a testament to the growing popularity of sevens.
"It is a fun sport," he said. "It's an alternative to traditional rugby that is getting more appeal."
Sevens is now a big part of the youth program at Capilano. Last year for the first time the club sent teams to the massive USA Sevens tournament played every year in Las Vegas. The club's team won the U16 open division.
The North Shore Sevens tournament will also feature U16 and U18 divisions for teams playing tight fives, an even smaller version of full-field rugby that features, you guessed it, five players on a small field. Tight fives is aimed at the bigger players who aren't as comfortable chasing the little speedsters in sevens.
"Traditionally rugby was made up of big guys and little guys, and the sevens game became a lot more running to lean towards the smaller guys," said Allen. "Tight fives is a fun, similar game for the bigger guys in the front.. .. The tight fives tend to be the larger guys and they typically don't play sevens. Our goal with the tournament was to get more kids playing. Sevens by definition can be somewhat exclusive, and so having the tight fives allows us to have all the kids playing. It's a very fun format. Sevens is a lot of work."
Several of Capilano's elite senior players will be on hand to help out and participate in clinics during the tournament. North Shore players such as Harry Jones, Andrea Burk and Mandy Marchak have already made big contributions on the Canadian national rugby sevens teams.
"Those guys are so supportive of what we do," said Allen. "They love to give back and it's a great way for them to give back. They are the goal - guys who grew up on the North Shore, played ball with the club and graduated to playing at a national and international level. That's exactly what we hope for."
Capilano is hoping to expand the tournament next year, including divisions for girls. Beyond that, they're thinking even bigger.
"Our objective is to have it be the biggest youth sevens tournament in Canada, and we think we can do that," said Allen. "We think we've got the weather and the climate and the players to do that and we think this will evolve into an international tournament."
One of the biggest selling points for sevens is that it packs a lot of fun and rugby into a small area and time frame. Teams play several times a day, and the North Shore Sevens tournament will feature a barbecue party on the Saturday night. Allen said he is excited about what the tournament will become.
"It's a great way to kick off the season," he said. "It's exciting, tournaments are fun. It's got a festival feel."
For more information on the tournament visit northshore7s.com.
