By Chad Wise | Originally published at usarugby.org
UPDATE: Titans Rugby has been replaced by Omaha Goats in Pool D of the men's competition.
BOULDER, Colo. - The pools for the 2015 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Men's and Women's Club 7s National Championships, set for James W. Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 8-9, have been announced. All matches throughout the championship weekend will be streamed live on USA Rugby TV.
Two-time defending champions Seattle Saracens will head Pool A in the men's bracket with 2014 Bowl-winner 1823 Rugby, while San Diego Surfers take the top seed in Pool A of the women's bracket having won the 2014 tournament at Starfire Sports Complex.
Runner-up in 2014, Old Blue of New York will match up with USA Rugby Emirates Airline Men's Senior Club Division II National Champion Life West in Pool B, as well as DI runners-up Austin Blacks and the Chicago Lions.
BOULDER, Colo. - The pools for the 2015 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Men's and Women's Club 7s National Championships, set for James W. Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 8-9, have been announced. All matches throughout the championship weekend will be streamed live on USA Rugby TV.
Two-time defending champions Seattle Saracens will head Pool A in the men's bracket with 2014 Bowl-winner 1823 Rugby, while San Diego Surfers take the top seed in Pool A of the women's bracket having won the 2014 tournament at Starfire Sports Complex.
Runner-up in 2014, Old Blue of New York will match up with USA Rugby Emirates Airline Men's Senior Club Division II National Champion Life West in Pool B, as well as DI runners-up Austin Blacks and the Chicago Lions.
Young ICEF Rugby will compete at Club 7s for the second consecutive year, paired with 2014's third-place team, Berkeley All Blues, in Pool B of the women's bracket.
Chicago, Life West, and Seattle will each have a men's and women's representative at Club 7s. The Saracens' women's team sits in Pool D with American Rugby Pro Training Center, a USA Rugby Olympic Development Academy.
Denver Barbarians - in Pool D with Belmont Shore, U.S. Army Selects, and Titans Rugby of Hawaii - are making their 22nd appearance at the National Championship, the most of any men's team, though the club has yet to win a Club 7s title.
For athletes looking to reach the international sevens stage with the Men's and Women's Eagles Sevens national teams, Club 7s has provided a platform for outstanding rugby players, such as Emily Azevedo and Nate Augspurger, to step into the national team pathways, and serves as the highest-level domestic sevens competition in North America.
The United States Olympic Committee declared Saturday, Aug. 8, Olympic Day in Des Moines, a fitting tribute to one of the newest events of the Olympic Summer Games. Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro next year, with both the U.S. men's and women's teams qualified. Several Olympic hopefuls will take the pitch at Club 7s, as Men's Eagles Sevens Assistant Coach Chris Brown and additional scouts will be in attendance throughout the weekend.
The two-day event in Des Moines is supported by Des Moines Area Sports Commission and the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the Des Moines Rugby Foundation. Former Eagles Paul Emerick and Dallen Stanford will call the action from James W. Cownie Soccer Complex on the high-definition USA Rugby TV broadcast, available at no charge.
Tickets may be purchased via the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau website or at the venue on event days. The tournament fixture list can be found on the Club 7s website.
Chicago, Life West, and Seattle will each have a men's and women's representative at Club 7s. The Saracens' women's team sits in Pool D with American Rugby Pro Training Center, a USA Rugby Olympic Development Academy.
Denver Barbarians - in Pool D with Belmont Shore, U.S. Army Selects, and Titans Rugby of Hawaii - are making their 22nd appearance at the National Championship, the most of any men's team, though the club has yet to win a Club 7s title.
For athletes looking to reach the international sevens stage with the Men's and Women's Eagles Sevens national teams, Club 7s has provided a platform for outstanding rugby players, such as Emily Azevedo and Nate Augspurger, to step into the national team pathways, and serves as the highest-level domestic sevens competition in North America.
The United States Olympic Committee declared Saturday, Aug. 8, Olympic Day in Des Moines, a fitting tribute to one of the newest events of the Olympic Summer Games. Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro next year, with both the U.S. men's and women's teams qualified. Several Olympic hopefuls will take the pitch at Club 7s, as Men's Eagles Sevens Assistant Coach Chris Brown and additional scouts will be in attendance throughout the weekend.
The two-day event in Des Moines is supported by Des Moines Area Sports Commission and the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the Des Moines Rugby Foundation. Former Eagles Paul Emerick and Dallen Stanford will call the action from James W. Cownie Soccer Complex on the high-definition USA Rugby TV broadcast, available at no charge.
Tickets may be purchased via the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau website or at the venue on event days. The tournament fixture list can be found on the Club 7s website.
MEN'S POOLS
POOL A Seattle Saracens 1823 Rugby Charlotte Rugby Dallas Rugby | POOL B Old Blue of New York Life West Gladiators Chicago Lions Austin Blacks | POOL C Kansas City Blues Mystic River Rugby Santa Monica Dolphins Schuylkill River Exiles | POOL D Belmont Shore Rugby Denver Barbarians U.S. Army Selects Omaha Goats |
WOMEN'S POOLS
POOL A San Diego Surfers Orlando Rugby Northern Virginia Rugby Hawaii Harlequins | POOL B New York Rugby ICEF Rugby Youngbloodz Rugby Berkeley All Blues | POOL C Life West Gladiatrix Chicago Lions Rocky Mountain Squids Philadelphia Rugby | POOL D Scion Sirens Seattle Saracens Boston Rugby American Rugby Pro |