Princeton University will be hosting the first ever Emperor Tournament, honoring rugby legend Emil Signes on March 31.

The women’s 7s tournament will be held at Princeton’s Rickerson Fields and honors the godfather of American 7s and women's 7s' greatest champion, Emil Signes.

Signes was the Head Coach of Princeton Women’s rugby for over nine years and now serves as a coaching consultant to Chris Ryan. He led Princeton to Ivy League titles in 2005 and 2013, and the national semis in 2004. He started the Princeton 7s team in 2011, and that program won the Ivy League in 2012 and 2013, and made the top three in the nation in 2011 and 2012.

The impact of Emil Signes on the sport of rugby, and 7s in particular, can hardly overstated. He helped spearhead the development of the Hong Kong 7s women's competition, pushed for a 7s World Cup women's bracket, and through that effort helped make Rugby 7s an Olympic sport. By starting and running the Atlantis program, he exposed hundreds of men and women, boys and girls, to their first taste of international rugby.

For more information on the Emperor Tournament please send an email to: mmcvey@princeton.edu