Canada Sevens in Vancouver Resurrected on Easter Weekend – LA Sevens Moves to August
The Canada Sevens in Vancouver have changed their dates, gone is the February 26-27 date, due to COVID concerns. The tournament has been moved to April 16-17, the Easter long weekend.
The change works well with the BC Rugby club schedule as that weekend was a bye/make up weekend anyway, a rest week for most clubs between the end of the regular season on April 9th and the beginning of the playoffs on April 23rd.
Now the World Rugby 7s calendar has a big gap after this month’s Spain tournaments, with no tournaments in February and March. April resumes action with Singapore, Vancouver, and Langford for the Women. There’s another long gap after the May tournaments (Toulouse, London) with LA in August wrapping up the season.
The Commonwealth Games takes place in July and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in September.
As with all scheduled events during COVID times, there could be changes based on new pandemic alerts.
from World Rugby
World Rugby has today announced new dates for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 events in Vancouver and Los Angeles.
The HSBC Canada Sevens, which was originally scheduled for 26-27 February, will now take place on 16-17 April, 2022. Meanwhile the HSBC LA Sevens moves from 5-6 March to 27-28 August, 2022 and will stage the grand finale of the mens Series.
The events have been rescheduled due to the continuing and dynamic effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic and associated logistical challenges, and to maximise the impact and enjoyment of the events for players, fans, staff and wider society.
South Africa and Australia currently lead the mens and womens Series standings respectively after two rounds, with both teams securing top honours in rounds one and two in Dubai late in 2021.
The World Series action continues in Spain this weekend as Malaga and Seville host rounds three and four on 21-23 and 28-30 January.
World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said: Together with the tournament hosts we believe rescheduling the dates of the Vancouver and Los Angeles rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is a sensible and pragmatic decision.
The global nature of the Series and the logistical restrictions associated with the ongoing and dynamic nature of the pandemic continue to present a challenge to all stakeholders. Our collective focus is on ensuring the events are as safe, impactful and enjoyable as possible for all involved and therefore rescheduling is the best course of action.
We thank HSBC, the host organisations, unions, commercial and broadcast partners for their unwavering support and teamwork as we continue to navigate the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic together and we look forward to seeing the incredible skill, speed and drama of the Series back in action in Spain over the next two weekends to kick off a very exciting year for the sport.
Rugby sevens players and fans can look forward to a very busy and thrilling year in 2022 with the Series accompanied by the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on 29-31 July and concluding with Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, South Africa, on 9-11 September.
The 2022 Series follows the sports highly successful second Olympic appearance in Tokyo where Fijis men and New Zealands women topped the podium in front of a huge global audience.
Many new fans are expected to follow sevens after World Rugbys Olympics-related social media content achieved huge impact with more than 100 million impressions and 3.4 million public engagements across five World Rugby platforms.
A record-breaking 13.6 million video views were recorded during the first two rounds of the 2022 Series in Dubai, representing a 55 per cent uplift on the previous Series event in Dubai and demonstrating the sports ability to engage new audiences.
Ticket holders for the events in Vancouver and Los Angeles should contact the relevant host organisation for further details.
from Canada Sevens
Due to the current COVID-19 conditions in British Columbia, Rugby Canada, in conjunction with World Rugby, has confirmed that the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament scheduled for February 26-27 will now be held April 16-17, 2022 to provide the best opportunity to ensure the safety of fans, athletes, officials and staff.
The annual HSBC Canada Sevens tournament is rated as one of the best rugby events in the world and is strongly supported by rugby fans, sports enthusiasts, and the community at large, said Jamie Levchuk, Managing Director of Business Operations. We are fully committed to doing everything we can to deliver this signature event in April of 2022.
Levchuk added, The decision to reschedule is based on the unfolding COVID-19 conditions in B.C., and has been made with consideration for the health and welfare of players, fans, staff and wider society. Should the COVID-19 pandemic continue as a safety concern for longer than anticipated, we will work with World Rugby and stakeholders to hold the 2022 HSBC Canada Sevens at a time when the conditions are right. We want to thank the tournaments fans and valued partners for their continued support and understanding as we adjust to ensure the safety and well-being of all.
Tournament passes that have already been purchased remain valid and will automatically transfer to the new April dates. Passes for the new tournament dates are now available for purchase through CanadaSevens.com.
Together with the tournament hosts we are disappointed not to be able to deliver these events on the originally planned dates, stated World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin. However, the global nature of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and logistical restrictions associated with the ongoing and dynamic nature of the pandemic continue to present a challenge to all stakeholders. Our collective focus is on ensuring the events are as safe, impactful and enjoyable as possible for all involved and therefore postponing is the best course of action.
For more information, please visit canadasevens.com.