A new national youth 7-a-side rugby tournament is being launched and is slated to be held in Cleveland, Ohio in June.

The National Sevens Youth Rugby Championships is expecting to bring in 24 teams, eight U15 Boys Tier 1 teams, eight U15 Boys Tier 2 teams, and eight U15 Girls teams. The even will run from June 12 to 13, with teams playing three pool matches on the Saturday, and two matches (semifinal and placement finals) on Sunday.

Tournament Director Pat Rahill told Goff Rugby Report that the event is kicking off because there is a demand for it.

“We believe that there’s a demand, absolutely, especially in the American rugby scene,” Rahill said. “Why are Americans great at baseball or great at football? it’s because they’re playing it at a young age. In order to become a great rugby nation, we have to start with the youth.”

For more information go to: nationalyouth7s.com

Ideal Venue And Host City

The tournament will be held on three turf fields at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, located in Cleveland’s revitalized Ohio City neighborhood which features everything from the birthplace of John W. Heisman (as in the Heisman Trophy) to new restaurants and a huge covered market.

St. Ignatius is committed to hosting the event, while the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, are also partners.

“We’re located in the Ohio City District which … kind of started the Cleveland Renaissance,” said Rahill. “Cleveland has such a strong rugby community behind it. They have a very strong youth program already in place. And then they have two of the best high schools in the nation in St. Ignatius and St. Edward, so it’s a no-brainer for us in that regard.” 

Upping The Ante 

The entry fee for the tournament is $300, but the bracket winners will all receive prize money. The Girls winning team and the Tier 1 Boys winning team will each receive $1,000, while the team winning the Boys Tier 2 will receive $500.

There is already interest from teams around the country.

“We want the best teams from throughout the country to come to this event and really showcase what they have,” said Rahill.  “To compete with a chance to win money, it’s just a very exciting thing.”

So the National Sevens Youth Rugby Championships adds a high-level competition aspect to the idea that young players should get competitive opportunities in rugby. 

“Our goal is to provide an opportunity for a national-level competition and drive what’s really necessary and get those kids in at the youth stage to develop lifelong rugby fans, players, and so on,” said Rahill. “We want to give that opportunity to our athletes [in Ohio] and hopefully to other athletes around the country.”

Enter Your Team Now

Registration for the National Sevens Youth Rugby Championships is open now. You can register your team here: https://www.nationalyouth7s.com/register

The tournament will be held June 12-13 at St. Ignatius HS in Cleveland, Ohio. Each bracket will have eight teams, playing in two pools of four teams. The teams will play three pool games on June 12, and then the top two from each pool will play in the Cup Semifinals and the Final or 3rd/4th game on June 13. The teams that finish 3rd and 4th in their pool will play the 5th-place semifinal and then the final games to determine 5th through 8th.

Every team will get five games over the two days.

For more information go to: nationalyouth7s.com