What is the 2016 Denver Invitational Tournament? The 2016 Denver Invitational Tournament is a proposed invitational tournament for adult club teams to participate in around the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships. It is not a part of the tournament itself. The tournament exists for multiple reasons: 1.) To celebrate Club Rugby in America by bringing together more Club players, coaches, scouts, and fans, 2.) To provide cost-certainty to teams hoping to participate in the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships, and 3.) To enhance the value of sponsorship to the tournament weekend by exposing sponsors to more clubs
The Denver Invitational will be a one-day event on Saturday, August 13, and teams/players participating will be credentialed to watch the 2016 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club 7s National Championships for both Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14.
Is the tournament open to both men's teams and women's teams? Yes, but there has to be enough interest to do so. In order for Denver Invitational brackets to work, there must be at least 4 teams of each biological sex in addition to the 16 teams set to qualify for Nationals. One way to concrete entry early is to find additional teams beyond the number allotted to each competitive region. In the men's bracket for Club 7s, for example, each CR receives 2 seeds. If two different CRs have 4 teams put down a deposit, that guarantees that at least 4 teams would be available for the Denver Invitational, and its existence would be confirmed.
How does the 2016 Denver Invitational provide cost-certainty to teams hoping to participate in the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships? By the existence of an outside tournament (the Denver Invitational), teams hoping to participate at Club 7s can book their flights and hotels to Colorado on the date they are accepted to the Denver Invitational, which will be well ahead of the date teams might qualify for Club 7s. If a team then later qualifies for Club 7s, they will be able to participate in that tournament instead of the Denver Invitational while still receiving the cost-certainty benefit of arranging its travel earlier in the year. All teams who qualify for the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships will have their Denver Invitational entry fee refunded.
Is there a fee to enter the 2016 Denver Invitational? Yes. The fee is $500.00. If a team qualifies for the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships, they will have that fee refunded to them. The fee for the Denver Invitational exists to cover the additional cost of fields, match officials, tents, tickets to the stadium, and webstreaming for participants. All matches will be streamed live online, and match officials will be flown in nationally to officiate the outside tournament. There is no entry fee to participate in the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships. The Denver Invitational is separate from the Club 7s event itself; it merely runs alongside it.
How are teams selected for the 2016 Denver Invitational? A group has been put together by the Host Committee to determine the likelihood of teams qualifying for the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships. Since one of the strongest goals of the event is to provide cost-certainty to teams participating at Club 7s, teams more likely to qualify for Club 7s will be given the highest consideration.
Once enough teams have applied to ensure that the event can be held, applicants will begin receiving invitations if they are accepted to the event.
Will the 2016 Denver Invitational be streamed? Yes. The plan is to have all matches in the 2016 Denver Invitational streamed live on USA Rugby TV and/or The Rugby Channel.
Club 7s has a lot of matches in the stadium. Will any Denver Invitational matches be held in the stadium? Yes. At a minimum, the Final of the Denver Invitational (for each sex) will be held in the stadium on Saturday evening, alongside the Club 7s Quarter-Finals.
What could the Denver Invitational field look like competitively? Teams that didn't qualify for the men's bracket of the 2015 event include: Olympic Club, OMBAC, Glendale, NYAC, NOVA, Milwaukee Barbarians, Cincinnati Wolfhounds, EPA Razorbacks, Bulldog Rugby, Baltimore-Chesapeake, Little Rock, Atlanta Old White, and Florida International. With more teams competing than ever before, the potential for this year's field could be even stronger. For the women's event, teams such as the Atlanta Harlequins, NOVA II, Raleigh, Old Blue, Austin, Beantown, and ORSU also didn't qualify in 2015.
So, in the simplest terms possible, how does this work? 1.) Fill out the Denver Invitational Interest & Application Form 2.) When enough teams have applied to guarantee entry, your application will be reviewed 3.) If/when you are accepted by theDenver Invitational competitions committee, you give a $500.00 deposit towards your entry fee into the Denver Invitational 4.) Your team begins booking flights and hotels at its earliest convenience 5.) If you make the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships, your $500.00 will be returned to you, and you will participate in the Club 7s event. You'll also have had the opportunity to save money by booking your flights and hotels early 6.) If you do not make the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships, your $500.00 will serve as your entry fee to the 2016 Denver Invitational, and you will still be able to use your booked flights and hotels to participate in a high-level club tournament in front of other teams, scouts, and fans
Scenario 1: -Book a spot in the invitational -Qualify for Nationals (regionally) -Play in Nationals instead of the invitational -Have invitational money refunded
Scenario 2: -Book a spot in the invitational -Fail to qualify for Nationals (regionally) -Play in the invitational
In either scenario, you could book your flights and hotel well in advance of your local qualifiers concluding.
