Langford, B.C., to host North American Olympic rugby sevens qualifier
Canada will have home-field advantage for this summer's Rugby Americas North Sevens, which serves as the regional qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The tournament is scheduled for Aug. 19-20 in Langford, B.C., at Starlight Stadium, which hosted HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series stops for six years (2015 to 2019 and 2022) before the women's event was wrapped into the Canada Sevens in Vancouver this year.
Rugby Americas North (RAN) is the governing body for rugby union in the North American continental region and serves as one of World Rugby's six regional unions.
Teams finishing in the top four of the overall standings World Rugby Sevens Series this season automatically qualify for Paris 2024. The rest will have to qualify via regional competitions like the one in Langford.
The winner of the RAN men's qualifier will book their ticket to the Olympics while the second- and third-place teams advance to a final qualification tournament.
The top women's team will also qualify for Paris, unless in the unlikely event that both Canada and the U.S. pre-qualify, in which case the top team from the regional qualifier goes through to a final qualification tournament.
New Zealand currently leads the men's World Series standings, ahead of Argentina, France, Fiji and Australia. The Canadian men stand 14th -- in the relegation zone given the men's core field is being trimmed to 12 teams from 16 next season to align with both the women's structure and the Olympic field.
The 15th-ranked core team following the penultimate round May 12-14 in Toulouse, France, will be relegated. The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th after Toulouse will enter a four-team relegation playoff together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the 11th and final round of the World Series on May 20-21 in London.
Both men and women are competing in Hong Kong this weekend. There are three men's and one women's event left after Hong Kong.
New Zealand also tops the women's overall standings, followed by Australia, the U.S. and France. The Canadian women are eighth.
“RAN is excited to be staging the 2023 senior men's and women's sevens event at Starlight Stadium in Langford," RAN president George Nicholson said in a statement. “Not only is it a fitting venue for the most prestigious event in our region this year, but it will also provide our unions who do not compete on the HSBC Sevens circuit with a glimpse of what it is like at the next level."
Both the Canadian men and women made it to the Tokyo Olympics by way of the RAN qualifier. The Canadian men went on to finish eighth in Japan while the women, bronze medallists at the 2016 Rio Olympics, placed ninth.
The U.S. men and women both finished sixth in Tokyo.
Mexico and Jamaica sent their men’s and women’s sides to the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco, but failed to make the Tokyo field.
RAN's membership currently consists of Canada, the U.S., Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Five areas Canada's foreign interference commissioner says needs more investigation
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Why your airfare may be getting more expensive
Skyrocketing airfare prices are linked to heightened competition and rising food and fuel, according to the CAA.
New weight-loss drug Wegovy not a 'magic bullet,' doctor warns
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
2 charged after police find 'concerning and diverse' explosives at Manitoba home
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.