Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s), the newly announced league that will feature North America’s top male and female players, announce it has partnered with The American Rugby Pro Training Center (ARPTC) to develop the talent pool for female professional prospects.

As the only center in the US that offers full-time training for women’s rugby, the ARPTC serves as a direct training center and combine location for female athletes and is based in Little Rock, Ark.

“ARPTC is highly motivated to help Premier Rugby Sevens succeed by identifying and developing players for the new league,” said Dr. Julia McCoy, ARPTC Founder and Head Coach. “At ARPTC, we have a professional training environment that is ideal for new and prospective female professionals.  We’re thrilled about PR7s as an exciting new path to the professional ranks for female athletes here in the US.”

“We look forward to working with the ARPTC team as we continue identifying talented North American athletes to join PR7s starting this fall,” said Mike Tolkin, PR7s General Manager.  “ARPTC will play a role in our goal to grow the sport of rugby sevens in the U.S. and offer a path to the professional level for both women and men.”

Scheduled to debut in the fall of 2021, Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) will showcase North America’s top male and female players, including world-class Olympic athletes. The league will provide equal pay, regardless of gender, and high-performance access under one league umbrella, adopting a touring format in cities across the United States and Canada.

Starting with a pilot season in the fall of 2021, PR7s will feature many U.S. players who played in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and are expected to play in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.  The league will feature six men’s teams and four women’s teams that play multiple games in one location.  The league’s first player signings feature several stars from both the U.S. Men’s and U.S. Women’s National Sevens Teams, including Perry Baker, Danny Barrett, Abby Gustaitis, Carlin Isles, Ilona Maher, Folau Niua, Naya Tapper, and Stephen Tomasin.

Meanwhile, ARPTC is running the Falcon 7s June 26-27 in Little Rock. That tournament is for Women's and Girls teams only, and has some unique features, including the fact that while select sides and clubs are invited to attend, individual players can attend as well and will be funneled to a team.

ARPTC, Northeast, Celtic Barbarians, Panther 7s, Rhino, Iowa Selects, Summit, Fallbrook, and Woodlands are among the teams expected to compete.

For more on the Premier 7s go to PRSevens.com. 

For more on the Falcon 7s go here>>

For more on ARPTC go to americanrugbypro.com