USA Rugby’s Club 7s Championships will be held in Tukwila, Wash., just south of Seattle, or so we found out official today, so maybe it’s time to look at who will play there.

Sad to say, there is little expectation of change between this year and last, or the year before. The best teams remain the best teams - that’s a good reflection on those programs, but also a reflection on how hard it is for the other clubs to compete.

Here’s a rundown of where everyone is in the men’s qualification process, and who looks set to book a flight to Seattle:

Northeast
Old Blue leads the Northeast series by a considerable margin, and should have little trouble securing the #1 seed, even though two tournaments (Blazing 7s in Morristown, NJ, and New Jersey 7s in South Brunswick, NJ) remain in the New York area, and Springfield, Mass. will host the Eric White 7s also.

Boston has a shot at the 2nd seed, but so do the Bulldogs, who are 2nd right now, and NYAC, who are 3rd. Old Blue and Boston have been the regular Northeast teams of late.

In the Mid-Atlantic, Maryland leads after one tournament, with Schuylkill River, Norfolk, and NOVA following. That’s after one tournament. There’s one more to go, and then the championships, so really that doesn’t mean anything other than to establish what players are eligible. Schuylkill River has been the best team in recent years, but the other three could challenge, also.

Certainly Maryland’s victory at the Blue Balls 7s indicates they might be strong this year.

In the South, various sub-unions are playing toward qualifying for the South Championship, which will be held in New Orleans, and where New Orleans is favored. Atlanta Old White or Daytona continue to be tong 7s teams.

The Midwest series remains one of the more robust, although the winning teams seems to be the same one every year. Once again, the Chicago Lions are strong, leading the series with 46 points over 1823, who are second with 42. Those two look to be the two seeds to nationals, although the Chicago Griffins and Milwaukee are within shouting distance with two tournaments (Cin City in Cincinnati, and Rock Hard in Grand Rapids) left.

In Texas, one seed is up for grabs in the Red River series, with the Austin Blacks leading Oklahoma City with one tournament down. Tulsa (July 12) and Houston (July 26) remain on the schedule.

It’s one down and two to go also in the West, where Denver crushed Glendale in the final of the Denver 7s. Kansas City and Aspen follow in the standings. All are in with a shot for one of two seeds to nationals, with Denver, as usual, in the driver’s seat.

In Southern California, there’s only one qualifier left, with Santa Monica leading the series and Belmont Shore in 2nd place. The big surprise is OMBAC who are way down the list because they didn’t play in one of the qualifiers. Pasadena and Los Angeles are 3rd and 4th, respectively, with Old Aztecs and Tempe after them. Santa Monica are a relatively new face at the 7s nationals. They have often been the bridesmaids, but have an excellent shot at taking one of the two seeds this year.

Hawaii has already played its qualifier, and the Titans have won. Word is that in future years, Hawaii will be given the seed of the region that finishes last from the year before.

In Northern California, there’s a three-tournament series, with one tournament done. The East Palo Alto Razorbacks were somewhat of a surprise champion this past weekend, with the San Jose Seahawks just a point behind. SFGG, which has been the top 7s team in the region for some time, is 3rd, and Olympic Club 4th. That’s weird because SFGG hosted the first tournament. They have two more chances to overhaul EPA, July 12 in Sacramento, and July 26 at Stanford.

Only one team goes to nationals from here.

And only one team from the Pacific Northwest goes to nationals, as well. The Seattle Saracens won the Roy Lucas 7s, and the Can-Am 7s and Tacoma Aroma 7s remain on the docket. The PNW uses a different points system than anyone else, having the top three get 3, 2 and 1 points, respectively. Does it matter? No. Seattle are prohibitive favorites.

So that’s the story so far:
Northeast 1: Probably Old Blue
Northeast 2: Up for grabs
MAC 1: Probably Schuylkill River
MAC 2: Probably Maryland, but maybe someone else
South 1: Probably New Orleans
South 2: Up for grabs
Midwest 1: Probably Chicago Lions
Midwest 2: Probably 1823
Texas 1: Austin Blacks at the moment but there’s still time
West 1: Denver leads, but there’s still time
West 2: Glendale or Kansas City
Hawaii 1: Titans confirmed
SoCal 1: Probably Santa Monica
SoCal 2: Probably Belmont Shore
Northern California: Who knows?
PNW: Almost certainly Seattle