The Elite Insurance Sevens Series will be breaking new ground in 2016 with the introduction of a brand new tournament for girls teams.
Aimed at the Under-15 age group, the Elite Insurance Girls Sevens will give school teams from the East Midlands and Eastern Counties the chance to compete against others from across their region in one of the Olympic Games’ newest sports.
For this first year there will be four regional tournaments, one for each of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, with the winners and runners-up then heading to Franklin’s Gardens for Finals Day. Both the regional tournaments and Finals Day will take place next spring, with dates to be announced.
The introduction of girls rugby into the Elite Insurance Sevens Series builds on the work being done by Northampton Saints in schools across Northamptonshire, according to community officer Will Parkin.
“Charlotte Eggleton, one of our coaches, has been doing brilliant work in taking rugby into new schools and introducing the sport to girls who haven’t played it before,” he said. “Last season we had a great 15-a-side tournament, and the Elite Insurance Sevens Series gives us the framework to establish a competition in the shortened version of the game, too.
“We’re confident that the Elite Insurance Girls Sevens will be well received and popular within schools, and are looking forward to next year’s inaugural tournament in this rapidly expanding area of the sport.”
Barbara Bock, Elite Insurance group executive officer, is excited by the addition of a girls tournament into the Sevens Series.
“Girls and women’s rugby is growing quickly, reflecting both on England being the 15-a-side Rugby World Cup champions and women playing in both the World Rugby Sevens Series and next year’s Olympic Games,” she said. “We’ve also been very impressed by the work that the Saints have done in taking rugby into new schools specifically to coach girls, which is why we’ve had no hesitation in agreeing to expand the Sevens Series into this area.
“Hopefully girls across the East Midlands and Eastern Counties are going to be inspired by their achievements and will want to take part in this new competition next spring.”
Schools that are interested in taking part in the Elite Insurance Sevens Series can take advantage of special coaching days in the build-up to each tournament.
To register your interest, and to book places at one of the coaching days, email Saints community coach Charlotte Eggleton - [email protected].
And check out our new website, www.elite-rugby.co.uk!
