Tropical 7s Adds Wrinkle with Chance for Players Who Don't Have Teams
Tropical 7s Adds Wrinkle with Chance for Players Who Don't Have Teams
Tropical 7s is set for April 18-19 and once again 15 brackets, over 200 teams, on 15 fields in Tampa, Fla., but there's also a new wrinkle.
Often there are players who want to participate, but, for various reasons, they haven't hooked on with a team. The solution, says tournament director John Siner, is for the tournament to provide a team.
This isn't a new concept—think on how tournaments often have to fill in a missing spot with a tournament motley team. Those teams are ad hoc and last-minute and don't do very well.
In this case, this will be the Tropical Rugby Academy.
Learn more about the Tropical 7s here>>
"The Tropical 7s is a play to be seen," said Siner. "Because it's a quality event it is a place to be. We get a lot of individual players who say 'I want to play but I don't have a team.' And what we want to do is provide a team for them."
The tournament had tried to match players through Facebook, but that didn't really work as well as they wanted.
So the tournament is running its own team. The Tropical Rugby Academy will operate a Boys U18 Open team and a Girls U18 Open team, as well.
The Academy is a six-day program. Players arrive in Tampe on April 15. On that day they get to know the other players and the coaches and then attend a NHL hockey game. They go through three training sessions and a combine over the next two days before competing in the tournament.
Siner said one of the biggest markets for this program will be players from overseas, but domestic players are expected, too.
What's supremely important, Siner told GRR, is that this is not a plan to take players from other teams.
"We are offering opportunities for players to engage if they don’t have a team," said Siner. "We do not want to undercut other academies. If you played with a team that plays in the Tropical 7s, we want you to play with them. This is meant for players whose team isn't coming to Tropical 7s."
The teams will play in the Open Division, not the Elite, because it's not meant to compete with the top teams. It is meant to provide a playing opportunity for someone who needs it.
