NSW Rugby Union today announced the dates and venues for the 2016 NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championships, to be held later this year. Three locations have been nominated to host the Championships, with the Under 15s and Under 17s tournaments scheduled to kick off in Coffs Harbour in October and Under 19s tournament to commence in November.
Both the NSW Waratahs State Under 15s and Under 17s Sevens Championships will kick off proceedings at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour from Saturday 29th October, with finals scheduled for Sunday 30th October.
Newcastle Hunter Rugby Union will join the Hawthorne Club to host the mens and women’s NSW Waratahs Under 19s State Sevens Championships on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November at Newcastle No.2 Sportsground, Newcastle.
The NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championships is a cornerstone of NSWRU’s Rugby Sevens Program. With Rugby Sevens taking off globally and the success of both the Australian Women’s and Men’s teams on the world stage ahead of the Rio Olympics, the NSW Rugby Sevens program has been developed to provide a clear participation pathway into the sport for every man, woman and child across the state.
The aim of the program is to partner and support existing Rugby Sevens tournaments throughout NSW and to identify and nurture current as well as emerging talent who may then be channelled into the NSW representative programs and potentially beyond, into the elite national academies.
“The 2016 NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championships will see girls and boys teams from all over NSW converge on Coffs Harbour and Newcastle to compete in this incredibly fast growing and exciting game of Sevens Rugby," said NSW Rugby’s Manager of Pathways and Education, Michael Doyle
“The tournaments will be a showpiece of the Sevens pathway which will enable NSW to continue to unearth the next Ed Jenkins or Emma Tonegato and continue the flow of NSW based players into National teams.”
“The NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championships will be fast and highly competitive but will also have the fun and excitement of Sevens tournaments from around the World in our own backyard,” said Doyle.
Head Coaching Director of the NSW Waratahs Sevens program, Francis Cullimore said the experience of playing in the NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championships can only benefit young players looking to advance in the sport.
“The Under 15, Under 17 and Under 19 State Championships gives NSW an excellent launching pad for it’s young 7s players to perform at a higher level than ever before, which in turn will improve the quality of the athlete, as well as Rugby Sevens across the State,” he said.
In the Under 17s and Under 19s age groups, the NSW Waratahs State Sevens Championship will be one of the last opportunities for NSW elite pathway coaching staff to finalise the NSW state representative team selections ahead of the 2016 National Sevens Championships, to be held later this year.
NSW currently hold both the Senior Mens and Womens Nationals Sevens Championship titles as well as both the Boys and Girls National Youth (under 17s) Sevens Championship titles.
The
National Youth (Under 17s) Sevens Championship will be hosted at McGillvray Oval, University of Western Australia from the
10th-11th December, 2016.
Rugby Sevens is set to debut at the Olympics in Rio in August 2016 and at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, QLD in 2018.
NSW Waratahs Under 15 State Sevens Championships
Dates: Saturday 29th to Sunday 30th October 2016
Host: NSW Waratahs and NSW Rugby Union
Venue: Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour.
NSW Waratahs Under 17 State Sevens Championships
Dates: Saturday 29th to Sunday 30th October 2016
Host: NSW Waratahs and NSW Rugby Union
Venue: Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour.
Issued by NSW Rugby Union
For general enquiries about NSW Rugby Sevens please contact Michael Doyle, Manager Education and Pathways, NSWRU at
mdoyle@nswrugby.com.au
For general media enquiries please contact Karen Watson at
media@nswrugby.com.au
