LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Four teams from the Atlantic North can begin to make travel plans for Denver after qualifying for the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships at Dick's Sporting Good Park. Outside of the Atlantic North, teams like the Oklahoma Elite, Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and Schuylkill River did their part to improve their chances at a berth to Nationals.

Atlantic North
Saratoga 7s - Saratoga, NY

It was New York Athletic Club's day in the sun in Saratoga over the weekend, but it has been the summer of Old Blue in the Atlantic North. The men of Old Blue fell to NYAC in the Final of Saratoga 7s, but their body of work over the past month was good enough to earn the club the No. 1 seed to Club 7s Nationals. Mystic River, the team Old Blue narrowly defeated in the Semifinals of Saratoga 7s, hold onto the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic North by defeating the Village Lions in the Plate.

The women of Old Blue also punched their ticket to Colorado to play in Nationals after missing out on last year's Championship event. Old Blue's top side went undefeated throughout the summer, and regularly submitted two teams to Nationals, while three Old Blue squads competed in Saratoga. The club's first unit continued its impressive winning streak at the Atlantic North's final qualifying tournament. 

After accumulating a plus-119 scoring margin during three pool play wins, Old Blue eliminated New York Rugby Club in the Semifinals. The other Semifinal saw New England rivals Boston Rugby and Beantown butt heads, but it was Boston prevailing towards the Final. In that final game, Boston threw everything it had at Old Blue, but the 2014 Club 7s Cup Finalists posted one more try than Boston and took the title, 10-5.

Boston will join Old Blue at Nationals, and will be anxious to touch down in Denver to improve on last year's results. 2015 was Boston's first appearance at a Club 7s Championship, and the team was not able to post a victory. Its five-point loss to an impressive Old Blue side should give the women of Boston some added confidence going into the club's final stretch of preparation for Nationals.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Five qualifying events filled a club sevens calendar June 18, as a handful of teams made positive strides on their way to qualifying for the USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships.

FIJI 7S - MIAMI
Miami Rugby's cohort of three teams in the Men's Qualifying field at Fiji sevens did not water down the club's ability to take first place in its hometown event. Two Miami squads advanced from four pools, along with Orlando Rugby and the Naples Hammerheads. Victories by Miami 1 over Orlando and Naples against Miami 2 pitted the two Florida sides against one another in the Cup Final. Having much more in the tank after a long day of sevens, Miami trounced Naples, 57-5, to take first place.

After squaring off twice this year in 15s, Orlando Rugby Women outclassed Fort Miami in the Cup Final of the Women's Qualifying tournament. Like Naples on the men's side of the bracket, Fort Miami appeared to run out of gas in its Final, getting blanked by an impressive Orlando unit, 46-0.

MADTOWN RUGBY 7S - MADISON, WI
The Chicago Lions placed two teams in the top three of the Men's Qualifying bracket at Madtown 7s, including its top side taking first overall. The Lions fended off a field that included the Chicago Griffins, Milwaukee Barbarians, and host Wisconsin Rugby, and eventually downed the Chicago Blaze in the Final.

The Women of 1823 have made it two-for-two at sevens events after taking home the crown in the Women's Madtown qualifier. The Chicago Lions showed well on the women's side, too, but were forced to watch a Final between 1823 and the YoungBloodz, which went the way of the Columbus-based sevens program.

MONMOUTH 7S - LINCROFT, NJ
As predicted, Mystic River and Old Blue of New York squared off in the Cup Final of the Atlantic North's first of four qualifying events. The Final, however, was less predictable as Old Blue was able to put 15 points between itself and the 2016 Men's DI National Champions in 15s. Included in the top half of the eight-team tournament were the Connecticut Bulldogs and New York Athletic Club.

In the Women's Empire tournament, which was a qualifier for the Atlantic North Championship, Old Blue continued it success at Monmouth 7s by placing both its teams in the Women's Final. New York Rugby Club was forced to settle for the Plate, while the Village Lions took home the Bowl.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Five qualifying events are set for June 18 as teams make their initial push towards a place in the 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships, to be held August 13-14.

In the Midwest, the western half of the division gets its first crack in sevens at the Madtown 7s in Madison, Wisc. In the Southern Competitive Region, both the Florida and True South Division get underway at Fiji 7s and NOLA 7s, respectively.

Some of the very best teams on the east coast, and in the country, fill out a must-see men's field at Atlantic North's first qualifier Monmouth 7s. At OMBAC 7s in San Diego the field is equally strong, boasting three Pacific Rugby Premiership teams - including the reigning two-time champion Glendale Raptors.

FIJI 7S - MIAMI, FL
The Florida region of the Southern sevens competition begins its first of three qualifiers for the July 23 South 7s Championship at Saturday's Fiji 7s. The home team, Miami Rugby, will be flexing its numbers with three teams entered into the men's 14-team field.

Naples Hammerheads and Central Florida University could make a run at the Final. The Hammerheads finished second in the Florida DII conference, while the Knights of Central Florida bullied their way to D1AA National Championships in 15s in both 2013 and 2014.

​In the women's qualifying tournament, Fort Miami and Orlando Rugby lead a four-team race for first place at Fiji 7s. In 15s, the two squads tied for top of the points standings during the 2015 Florida DII season, with each team winning on home soil over the other.