The Canada Sevens is still alive.
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Vancouver’s popular international rugby festival was confirmed on Tuesday as one of eight stops in a revamped Rugby Sevens World Series. It wasn’t always clear that Vancouver would get a makeover, but it’s been a well-regarded stop since its first edition in 2016 and fits very well with the supposed ‘grow the game’ ethos of World Rugby’s rugby sevens efforts.
The new series also features a bit of a twist: men’s and women’s divisions at each stop, with 12 teams in each division, all spread over three days. Prior to this year, most tournaments had been either men’s or women’s, with a few cases where the men’s and women’s competitions were held at the same time.
Now all events will be three-day affairs with men’s and women’s sections.
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For Canada, this is a change from previous tournaments: Canada’s Women’s Sevens had been a very successful Langford-based event until last year, separate from the men’s event held at BC Place.
In a preview of where the series is headed, World Rugby merged Canada’s two tournaments into one for the most recent event. The result was a very long three days, with the men’s tournament still involving 16 teams, and the women’s event essentially veering around the men’s schedule.
But 12 teams is the number of teams that are in an Olympic tournament and World Rugby, looking for a way to tie its series to the big stage that is the Olympics, has opted to go with a dozen teams of both genders at each one of them. your events
The series itself is also being rebranded as HSBC SVNS. Each weekend is now called a festival, rather than a tournament, with the clear goal of creating distinctive fan experiences both inside and outside the stadium, as well as opportunities for sponsors.
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World Rugby seeks to appeal to “a younger, entertainment-hungry audience”, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said in a press release.
“We will bring together a truly immersive festival of rugby, music, food and experience to create the best youth gathering weekend, the most attractive ticket and usher in a new era for the sport.”
World Rugby says each weekend will be all about “summer vibes”, with events highlighting local food and culture, along with “competitive and social sports for everyone… from non-contact rugby to functional fitness”.
The move to eight tournaments sees some drastic changes to the makeup of the now 24-year-old series.
New Zealand, the biggest nation in the sport, will not host a tournament as part of the series in 2023-24.
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Almost as big a change is the long-running event in London, which was traditionally the culmination of the season, is gone.
Also out is any tournament in France, which has too often been held with lackluster success in a number of different venues, from Paris to Toulouse to Bordeaux.
But there are a number of rules. Since the series’ debut in 1999, almost every season started in Dubai in early December. That will continue.
And the second event of the season will once again be in South Africa, a week after Dubai. That has been the case almost every year, too, since the series debuted in 1999.
However, once the new year begins, that’s when the changes begin.
The series’ January Australian stop is moving west, from Sydney to Perth, on the west coast of the island nation. With New Zealand not renewed, the Australian Sevens is now an independent tournament.
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The fourth round will be in Vancouver at the end of February, followed a week later by the fifth stop in Los Angeles. That has been the couple for several years.
Hong Kong, the world’s highest profile sevens tournament, returns to its regular April spot.
And the seventh event remains in Singapore, albeit now in early May, despite the fact that it has been poorly attended during its eight years of existence, in many ways the complete opposite of the success seen in Vancouver. Neither are big rugby markets, but in Vancouver the fans have long been the story, creating an endlessly raucous atmosphere compared to what has always been a very small and quiet crowd in Singapore.
Where the Vancouver stop has proven popular with fans, players and teams alike, the decision to remain in Singapore, one suspects, is a pure case of money talk.
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The final event of the series will be a “Grand Final” tournament in Madrid, from May 31 to June 2, a completely new tournament. Spain hosted two stops in the 2021-22 series, but none in the capital.
This Madrid grand final will feature the top eight teams from the standings after the first seven tournaments in a new playoff format, with the weekend winner crowned season champion.
Teams placing ninth through 12th will be joined by the top four teams from the second-tier Challenger Series, who will play for the last four spots in the series for the 2024-25 season.
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