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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.