USA Sevens

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The USA Sevens is an annual rugby union sevens tournament held in the United States. It is part of the IRB Sevens World Series. While the Sevens World Series has been held since 1999-2000, the USA Sevens was only introduced in 2004, as part of the 2003-04 series.

The tournament originally was held in the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Beginning in 2007, it will be moved to the PETCO Park in San Diego. The current competition is to be held February 10-11, 2007 starting at 10:00 AM local time. The preliminary schedule can be viewed here.

1 Teams
2 The format
3 Festival
4 Tickets
5 Future status of the event
6 History of the event
- 6.1 Past results
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Teams

The teams scheduled to appear this year are:

Argentina
Australia
Canada
Chile
England
Fiji
France
Kenya
New Zealand
Portugal
Samoa
Scotland
South Africa
Tonga
Uruguay
United States

[edit] The format

The format is currently four pools of four. The group winners and second-placed teams will progress to the Cup (places 1-4) and Plate (places 5-8) competition. The third and fourth-placed teams will progress to the Bowl (places 9-12) and Shield (places 13-16) competitions. Seeding is determined by finishes in the last six competitions in the Sevens World Series. Wins are three points, draws two, loses one, with no points being awarded for a no show.

[edit] Festival

The event is also noted for the large festival that takes place alongside the event. Which this year will include a waterside, a beer garden, food courts, skills area, face painting, cigar tents, concerts and a world class coaches’ symposium. Prizes, big and small, will be added attractions. This is not only a rugby event but a big, fun party. The festival will also feature a jumbotron screen showing all the action from inside PETCO Park so fans can go to and from the stadium without missing any of the action. The festival is free.

[edit] Tickets

All tickets are on sale for the 2007 USA Sevens event in San Diego. Entrance to the fan festival is free. 2 day and 1 day passes to the tournament can be purchased here.

To raise the fun factor even more, PETCO Park will host the "Fun Zone" in the right field bleachers; this concept is similar to one found in the south stands of Hong Kong Stadium during the Hong Kong Sevens. There is no seating plan for ticket holders but access to this area will be granted on the basis of best costumes, country displays of team support, "hot looks", and dancing ability. It will be a magnet for the young and the young-at-heart.

[edit] Future status of the event

As of 10 August 2006 the contract between USA Rugby and the International Rugby Board was renewed for the USA Sevens to remain in the IRB Sevens World Series. USA Sevens LLC, the operator of the event, has also signed a "long term" partnership agreement with the City of San Diego and the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball to host the USA Sevens Tournament, February 9-11, 2007 out to 2011 at PETCO Park, the Padres' home field. It was important for the event to be held there because the average high temperature in San Diego in February is 72 °F (22 °C), considerably warmer than most of the United States at that time of year. Also San Diego has experience with this and other rugby events; if the event was to move outside of areas in the United States where rugby has some degree of popularity, mainly California and the Northeast, it is doubtful that the event could attract a decent crowd.

[edit] History of the event

The USA Sevens debuted at The Home Depot Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California in February 2004. This competition marked the first time the United States ever hosted an official IRB event of international importance. The USA Sevens is also one of the largest rugby competitions in the United States, with sixteen countries participating in 44 matches over two days.

[edit] Past results

Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Winner	Score	Runner-up
Year	Host	Cup Final			Plate Final
2004^[1] Details	Los Angeles, California	Argentina	21 - 12	New Zealand	England	55 - 0	Canada
2005^[2] Details	Los Angeles, California	New Zealand	34 - 5	Argentina	Fiji	24 - 21	Samoa
2006^[3] Details	Los Angeles, California	England	38 - 5	Fiji	Argentina	21 - 5	France