BOULDER, Colo., -- As planning for the third annual World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series continues to build momentum, USA Rugby and Serevi announced today a partnership which will add a High School Rugby Sevens Festival and coaching clinic to the schedule of Atlanta 7s events.

The high school tournament, featuring both boys and girls brackets, will allow players to sign up as teams or as individuals with the games culminating in finals to be played in between international matches inside Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

"We at Serevi are extremely excited about supporting the addition of a High School festival to the Atlanta 7s event,” said USA Rugby Academy Director Emilie Bydwell. “High School rugby, especially with the recent addition of a Girls High School All-American program, is growing exponentially. It is crucial that we continue to provide competitive and development opportunities in the game, and being able to do so while also giving young athletes exposure to a World Series tournament is incredible. We hope that this event will develop into a fixture alongside Atlanta 7s.”

Tournament entrants will also have the opportunity to attend the skills development clinic, hosted by Life University, Sunday, March 15. Both events will serve to prepare high school athletes for the season ahead and will be an important recruitment opportunity for the newly-formed USA Rugby Girls High School All-Americans powered by Serevi.

"The tournament and clinic offer an incredible opportunity for developing players to compete,” GHSAA Head Coach Mollie McCarthy said. “It is an important chance for us to promote the women’s game and provides the Girls High School All American staff a valuable tool to coach and recruit up-and-coming talent. We are excited that there will be another venue for us to discover new athletes as we look to build and expand our newly-formed program.”

Seizing on the opportunity to witness and learn from the top talent in the women’s international game, the World Series 7s Coaching Workshop will run alongside Atlanta 7s March 12-14 and will be led by Serevi Rugby's Ben Gollings, Emilie Bydwell and USA Rugby's Ric Suggitt and Richie Walker. The workshop’s focus will be practical implementation and live game analysis. The attending coaches will learn sevens-specific principles of attack, defense strategies, game management, and practice planning. The last session of this workshop will be a hands-on session allowing coaches to practice new techniques and coach each other through modified games.

“I'm excited to lead the Serevi Rugby coaching workshops,” said Gollings. “We want to give coaches at all levels an opportunity to absorb knowledge and try out coaching tools they can use for the rest of their career. What these workshops provide is timeless and it’s an experience we want to spread nationwide. While companies like Serevi Rugby strive to enhance and grow the game in America, we can't neglect the coaches leading the packs we are building.”

Registration details for both the high school tournament and coaching workshop can be found on the Atlanta 7s event page.

Tickets for Atlanta 7s can be purchased online or over the phone with a major credit card. Call 470-KSU-4TIX (470-578-4849) for individual tickets and 470-578-7990 for group sales.