Women's sevens rugby is coming to BC this spring. The city of Langford is hosting the event, with help from the Province.
The event is expected to bring more than 130 athletes and about 6,000 spectators to the city.
The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour has invested $130,000 to bring rugby back to Langford.
The 2017 HSBC Canada Women's Sevens rugby tournament takes off at Westhills Stadium in Langford and runs from May 27th to 28th.
"The City of Langford is grateful for the Province of British Columbia committing $130,000 to continue supporting women's rugby in Langford. This funding will support the women's national team and build on their success at the Rio Olympics," said Stewart Young, mayor of Langford.
Young also hopes the tournament will inspire youth in sport.
The event hosts 12 of the world's best national teams, including the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic podium winners, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
This is the third time Langford has hosted the women's rugby sevens tournament. If you're a fan and you can't make the trip, the tournament will be broadcast on TSN.
Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour provided $100,000, while the other $30,000 came from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development's Major Events Program.
"Rugby sevens continues to gain popularity and support in Canada and worldwide thanks in part to our national women's team that won bronze in 2016 in the rugby sevens Olympic debut in Rio. Investing in events like the Canada Sevens Series in Langford helps us draw visitors to British Columbia and promote our reputation as a premier tourism and event-hosting destination," said Minister Bond.
Gareth Rees is the director of Commercial and Program Relations for Rugby Canada. He's also excited to shed a spotlight on Canadian athletes in the sport of rugby.
"We'd like to thank the Province of British Columbia for their continued support to the Canada Women's Sevens in Langford, as it not only inspires our athletes to perform at their best in front of a home town crowd, but plays a critical role in the development of the sport here in Canada."
Rugby Women's Sevens rules state that teams play where they are given a point total which tells them how well they did. The series combines points from six tournaments in order to crown the champion.
There are 11 teams participating: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Russia, England, Spain, USA, Fiji, France, Japan and Ireland. Langford, the host team, gets to select the 12th and final team. Langford has chosen the Netherlands.
