The 2018 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club 7s National Championship kicks off this weekend at 10am on August 11 at the Baker Athletic Complex, in New York City. For those who can't make it out to the games, coverage will be provided by Flo Rugby. 

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Pool A:
Denver Barbarians:
The Denver Barbarians have been one of the most threatening teams throughout the history of sevens in America. The Barbarians have finished fourth twice, third 5 times and have come second on 8 separate occasions, however, first place has always eluded them.  They'll like their chances to get the monkey off their shoulder this year, as they've already broken a championship drought early this year when they won the Division II National Championship in fifteens. Their hot form this year and reputation would be enough to make them favorites any year, but when looking at their roster which includes a host of collegiate sevens national champions. They have the talent and they have the championship pedigree, only thing left to see is if they can put it together for a full tournament.

Mystic River Rugby:
Two Division I Fifteens National Championships in the last three years have found their way into the hands of Mystic River, and they'll be hoping to add more silverware to the cabinet this weekend. The men from Massachusetts, finished second in the Northeast, qualifying behind the formidable Old Blue, but if history is on their side they could be in for a big weekend. The Last time that Mystic won the fifteens championship they recorded their most successful 7s tournament to date, finishing third overall. With a roster filled from top to bottom with talent and still on a championship high, they could wrangle their way into another podium finish.

​The 2018 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club 7s National Championship kicks off this weekend at 10am on August 11 at the Baker Athletic Complex, in New York City. For those who can't make it out to the games, coverage will be provided by Flo Rugby. 

Get tickets to the Championship
  
Pool A:
Life West Gladiatrix:
While still a relatively new program, Life West Gladiatrix have proven to be one of the most dominant teams in the country. They have been undefeated in fifteens since 2016, and signs are pointing toward them being just as impressive in sevens. This year in qualifications, they were able to finish atop of the Pacific North seeing off Washington Athletic in the Pacific North Championship, 24-12. They finished third last year, and undoubtedly will be motivated to go out and take more than the bronze this weekend. By securing the sevens Championship, they will become the first women's team to win both the Division I title in fifteens and the sevens national championship in the same year. While history may not be on their side talent certainly is, with four capped Eagles and three collegiate All-Americans rostered, they'll be an imposing team to whoever they face.
 
D.C. Furies:
As the adage goes, good things come to those who wait. For the D.C Furies, that has certainly been the case this season. After falling just short of winning their opening two qualifiers, in the Mid-Atlantic region, they were able to right the ship, and put it all together in their final tournament. Although the damage had been done, in terms of seeding implications, the Furies are confident coming into the weekend on the back of such an impressive display their last outing. What makes the Furies even more threatening this weekend is not only has their team been causing a furor, but individual athletes have also been in fine form; notably Lauran Glover who tallied a trio of tries in the WPL All-Star Game. The Furies could be one of the big surprises in 2018.

New York, the city that doesn't sleep, is currently preparing to host the fastest most electrifying competition on the USA Rugby domestic calendar, The 2018 USA Rugby Emirate Airlines Men's & Women's Club 7s National Championship.

​It's no coincidence that sevens, the quickest form of the game, has found its way to the city known for its bustling speed. New York has had a long and storied tradition with rugby in both the full length and condensed form of the game. The greater New York City area is home to over 100 clubs across all levels of competition including club national champions, premier college programs and storied high school programs. However, the success and size of the rugby scene in New York isn't by accident according to Ken Pape, the Empire Geographic Union's president.

"The Empire GU is constantly evolving its competition mechanisms and this year is no different. We are constantly growing our 7's competition and take the things that work best from one year and try to make it better the next year...The competition is constantly evolving, in the last 5 years we have seen more parity in our leagues. This helps develop the less skilled teams and eventually they begin to push the higher skilled teams. The growth of the competition has been marvelous to watch."

Empire's commitment to producing outstanding competition and players is hard to deny. There have been over twenty-five Eagles, both men and women, that have been a direct product of New York rugby clubs. The quality doesn't end with players. New York native Mike Tolkin, former USA Men's Fifteens coach, was at the helm of New York Athletic (NYAC) for over a decade.

While there has been plenty of success from an individual perspective, there has been even more from teams. Clubs from New York have won a combined thirteen national championships in both men's and women's competitions across sevens and fifteens. Winning has been a constant throughout the history of New York rugby and it has been amplified more in recent times. New York Rugby Club (NYRC) are reigning WPL champions; while, NYAC tasted success in the top flight of men's rugby back in 2015. New York's trophy cabinet almost increased further this year when Long Island made it to the final of the Men's Division III national championship. With three teams from New York competing in the 7s National Championship there is every chance that there will be more silverware in their cupboards in a week's time.

Hosting an event of this is magnitude isn't anything new to the greater New York Community, in the past, just over the Hudson River, the Red Bull Arena in Harrison New Jersey has played host to international rugby events. Last year fans were treated to a fantastic display of rugby, when the USA Eagles came up against the formidable Irish national team. New York's affinity for rugby continues to be put on display.   

However, it's not just those within the rugby community that have been sitting up and taking note of rugby's popularity. Other major sports within the local community have seen what rugby can do in New York and have attempted to hitch their wagon to it.

"We have been approached throughout the year to host various events in nontraditional rugby venues ...we have had the Staten Island Yankees approach us about hosting a rugby event," Pape noted. Now that they are hosting the nationals, rugby's presence is only set to increase over the New York City sports-scene. "Having us host a USAR event will help us prove our concept for us to shop our product and sport and grow the game through non-conventional vehicles."  
Part of the reason for prolific growth in New York has been the ability of teams to connect with their local communities and make an impact. Their success off the field has been as influential as their work off it. Pape revealed that, "We (Empire GU) have been blessed with several clubs with a growth mindset. Off the top of my head with Old Blue and NYRC both of those clubs help lead the way for both the men's and women's game. Old Blue has really moved the needle on the men's side and NYRC has done equally impressive work on the women's side. Those two clubs are models of how you should run your club and grow the game." Old Blue of New York, a two time 7s national champion and prominent figure in fifteens, in particular has played a significant role in bringing Club 7s to New York.

Old Blue's home ground also happens to be the location for the National Championship, Baker Athletic Complex. Visiting teams will be sure to expect a genuine New York welcome when they come up against any of the local sides, as home town fans will undoubtedly turn out in force. Pape, excitedly believes that the New York teams, helped by local support will be formidable opponents throughout the weekend.

"The local teams are excited to have Nationals in their back yard on such a grand stage, I think we are going to pack the house and put on a really good show! I am predicting on the Men's side an all New York final with NYAC and Old Blue and on the women's side I look for NYRC to have a clean slate and win the championship!"

​Results updated as they come in. The Eastern competitive regions are towards the bottom (NCR1-NCR4); the Western competitive regions are towards the top (ACR1-ACR4). Due to time zones (obviously), the Eastern competitive region results will come in first.

​Pacific North Championship:
One of the most impactful tournaments of the season will be played out in Tacoma Washington, as the Pacific North hosts its championships. The Pacific North's regular season has been split in half, with Northern California playing its own slate of tournaments, while the Pacific Northwest has been enjoying its own fixtures. This weekend the two divisions will meet to settle who will be advancing through to nationals.

There will be a total of nine teams competing this weekend, with four teams in the women's bracket competing for three spots at nationals and five men's teams competing for the sole spot available to them at nationals. The stakes on both ends could not be higher, as one poor match from a women's team could dash their hopes at a national championship run; while for the men, if they are not at the top of their game throughout the tournament, they will almost certainly be facing exclusion from the national championships.

SARATOGA, NY- The final Northeast 7s qualifier was played over the weekend in Saratoga Springs, and for both the men and women sides things went according to scrips, as Old Blue and New York Rugby Club won their fourth and third tournaments of the year, respectively and advanced through to Nationals. 

​For the men, it had been a three horse race all year. Old Blue, Mystic River and New York Athletic Club (NYAC) had been the cream of the crop and it was never a question of will they or won't they qualify for nationals, but more so, in what order. It became clear the Old Blue would be qualifying first, after they won the first three tournaments, which meant would it be NYAC or Mystic grabbing the silver and bronze. It had looked as if it would be Mystic, but after NYAC was able to beat Mystic last weekend, it set the stage for an all-important pool clash in Saratoga. It was a close match with each team scoring three tries, but, ultimately, it was Mystic who prevailed; conversions the difference, 21-15. The semifinals went as they had all summer, Old Blue went through both sets of opponents, beating NYAC, 31-5, in the semifinal and Mystic, 26-17, in the championship round Old Blue, Mystic and NYAC now all have four weeks to prepare for their run at a national title.

On the women's side, there was more drama on hand. While the men had three qualifying spots available, the women had two. Heading into the weekend New York Rugby Club had all but wrapped up their spot in nationals as they had finished first in each of the prior tournaments. The fight for second place, however, was well and truly alive. In a cross-town rivalry Boston and Beantown would be duking it out for the final Northeast spot in nationals. The game was an intense affair, Beantown was suffocated Boston's stingy defense, and were then spread thin on defense from Boston's relentless attempts to take the ball from sideline to sideline. Ultimately, Boston was just too strong for their neighbors and were able pull off the win and book their spot in nationals.

This past Saturday, Rockford hosted the third and final Midwest Qualifier before the Midwest Championships, set to begin July 28th in Cincinnati. Though not as large as the previous two qualifier tournaments, Firehouse 7s and Legacy 7s, the competition proved just as fierce.
In the men's bracket, both the Lions and Metropolis fielded two sides with the Chicago Blaze, Milwaukee, Cleveland Academy, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland rounding out the ten team competition. Metropolis' A side dominated Pool A with an unsurprising four wins and 132 points versus their opponents. Milwaukee then barely edged out the Chicago Blaze for the second playoff spot with two just two wins. Over in Pool B, the Lions A dominated the large Ohio based teams with over 150 cumulative points and Metropolis B coming in a close second.

​The championship game ended in a strong Metropolis A side defeating the Lions A side 24-10 to take first while Milwaukee beat out Metropolis B for solid 19-10 third place finish.

Over on the women's side, the day's games resulted in quite the interesting result.  Six teams enter the qualifier with the Chicago Lions fielding two sides against Chicago North Shore, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Metropolis. The Lions B Side as well as Grand Rapids and Metropolis fell to the bottom of the pool. The Lions A side, Chicago North Shore, and Cincinnati all one four games putting them into a three way tie for first. Rather than continue into a playoff round, as each team had already played five games, officials were forced to determine standing based on number of tries scored. Not surprisingly, the Chicago Lions A side came out ahead with 27 tries and a first place finish. Following them, North Shore narrowly beat out Cincinnati with a total of 19 versus 18 tries.

All qualifier teams now have a bye week to recover before heading into the Midwest Championships (Cin City 7's) on the 28th where the top two men and women's teams (and National Qualifiers) will be decided.

The Red River Rugby Conference 7's Qualifier Series continued with the Tornado Alley Rugby Sevens Tournament Saturday hosted by the Oklahoma University Rugby Club at the University of Oklahoma Recreational Fields in Norman, Oklahoma.

​In Pool A play the Reds from Dallas started their campaign with two shutouts. First a 22-0 win over the Mavericks and then a 43-0 win over the Austin Blacks.  NOLA Rugby also started their day with two victories, first a 26-5 win over Huns 'B' and then a 36-0 victory over the Mavericks. The third match in pool play saw the Reds defeat Huns 'B' 28-17 and NOLA defeated the Austin Blacks 52-0, setting up a match for first place in the pool. The match between the two undefeated sides went the Reds way as they defeated NOLA 31-10 to claim the top spot in the pool heading to the semi-finals.

In Pool B play the Austin Huns started their day with a pair of victories. They defeated HARC 22-7 and then got a decisive victory over The Woodlands 33-5. The Reds 'B' squad started their day with a dominating 46-0 win over The Woodlands and then pulled off a win over Dallas city-rival Harlequins 24-12. The third match in pool play saw the Austin Huns defeat the Harlequins 26-12 and the Reds 'B' team squeaked out a narrow 17-15 victory over HARC, to set up a pool determining clash between the two sides. The Austin Huns took a 24-10 victory over the Reds 'B' side to claim first place in Pool B.

In the semi-finals the Reds 'A' squad defeated the 'B' squad to clinch a spot in the final. NOLA rugby upset undefeated Austin Huns 26-5 to set-up a rematch versus the Reds.

NOLA avenged their only defeat in pool play over the Reds with a 12-7 victory.

In the women's qualifier ARPTC (American Rugby Pro Training Center) sent two teams a Blue side and a White side. They were placed in separate pools and dominated their competition. In Pool A the 'Blue' side defeated the Lady Quins 44-0 and then also shutout HARC 52-0. In Pool B the 'White' squad defeated the Hawks 36-7 and then took down the Valkyries 29-5.
The two sides elected to not play each other in the final, with the 'Blue' sides victory in a qualifier earlier this season the 'White' squad now earns a spot in the Club 7's Nationals.

The next Red River Rugby Conference Qualifier will be July 28th at the Hell or High Water 7's in Spring, TX hosted by the Houston Athletic Rugby Club.