2011 Demolition Derby Wheelchair Rugby

This past weekend WorldRugbyShop attended the 2011 Demolition Derby Wheelchair Rugby Invitational. The event was held at the Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood, Alabama. In an extremely close championship game, the Canadians pulled ahead of Lakeshore Demolition in the last 10 seconds of the game to finish, 50-49. Thanks to everyone at the Lakeshore Foundation for inviting us out to this event.

The 2011 Demolition Derby Champions:

Videos of the event:

About Quad Rugby:

Quad Rugby, also known as Wheelchair Rugby, is a sport with roots going back to wheelchair basketball and ice hockey as a quadriplegic equivalent to wheelchair basketball. In 1988, the United States Quad Rugby (USQRA) was formed to help regulate and promote the sport on both a national and international level. Players must have a combination of upper and lower extremity impairment to be considered as eligible to participate. Most players have sustained cervical level spinal injuries and have some type of quadriplegia as a result.

Four players from each team are allowed on the court at a time. Classifications of the four players on the court must add up to no more than 8.0 points at a time. The action occurs on a regulation-sized basketball court with some adjustments. During the games, team players pass a volleyball back and forth while advancing into the opponent's half court and then crossing over the goal line with the ball in one player's possession. For official rules, visit the USQRA website at www.quadrugby.com.

All you need to know: the 2011 Las Vegas 7s

The city of Las Vegas is set for another exciting edition of top class rugby featuring international teams from all over the globe. This HSBC World Series event – which we covered last week – will have plenty to offer everyone else in Vegas.

“The Las Vegas Invitational Tournament (LVI) is the official tournament for all ages and skill levels and gives the rugby enthusiast the chance to participate and play over the days preceding the International Rugby Sevens, in addition to spectating at the USA Sevens Tournament. The LVI features club teams from across the USA and Canada, as well as select sides from around the world. More than 100 teams competed in 2010, and around 175 teams have entered this year in multiple divisions of competition for men, women and youth. The tournament will be on the same grounds as last year, right next to the USA Sevens. Played on at least 14 regulation fields at the Sam Boyd Stadium Complex. Competition will run from Thursday through Saturday morning.” – USA Sevens LLC Competitions Manager Jon Hinkin told World Rugby Shop.

These sections include: Women’s Open 7’s, Men’s Open 7’s, CRC 7’s and Men’s Elite 7’s will be played on Thursday and Friday, February 10th and 11th. Men’s CCS 7’s, Women’s International 7’s, Age Grade Elite 7’s and High School/U-19 7’s will be played Friday and Saturday, February 11th and 12th. All 15’s Challenge Matches can be played Thursday, Friday or Saturday depending on field availability.

Hinkin continued: “Then for the spectators the USA Sevens Fan Festival will provide additional fun and entertainment off of the pitch, with an international theme. The Festival will be family-friendly, with several activities for children of all ages to enjoy, including games, music and sport activities.

The older, but young at heart crowd can visit the beer garden, which provides an outdoor oasis to meet new friends, host business clients, network with global visitors and simply enjoy the experience of the international event. An array of booths will offer sponsor services and products, the sale of retail goods, official event merchandise and a diverse selection of intercontinental cuisine.”

There is therefore a bit of everything for the passionate rugby person, plus new comers are welcomed with open arms! Dressing up in costumes is highly recommended with a carnival atmosphere present at most IRB 7s events.

Other exciting news is that the Television schedule in the USA has been released with the following being shown on NBC and Universal Sports. This renown broadcaster will ensure that millions of viewers that have not previously watched sevens rugby will be exposed to the fast-paced exciting game of rugby.

SATURDAY TV SCHEDULE – WORLD SEVENS SERIES DAY 1

UNIVERSAL SPORTS

11:14am Australia vs. Scotland

11:36am Samoa vs. Japan

11:58am South Africa vs. United States

NBC

12:40pm England vs. France

1:05pm Argentina vs. Guyana

1:30pm New Zealand vs. Kenya

1:55pm Wales vs. Uruguay

2:20pm Samoa vs. USA

2:45pm South Africa vs. Japan

SUNDAY TV SCHEDULE – WORLD SEVENS SERIES DAY 2

UNIVERSAL SPORTS

11:13am Cup Semi Finals

11:35am Cup Semi Finals

11:57am Shield Semi Finals

12:19pm Shield Semi Finals

12:41pm Bowl Semi Finals

1:03pm Bowl Semi Finals

NBC

1:31pm Plate Semi Finals

1:53pm Plate Semi Finals

2:15pm Cup Final

Those attending the event will be pleased to hear that shuttles will be provided by the tournament to and from Sam Boyd stadium. They will be cost $10 per person for one day or $15 per person for the weekend, and will stop at the official USA Sevens hotels: The Cosmopolitan, Tropicana, Palms, Hard Rock and the California (Boyd).

The full schedule for the HSBC World Sevens Series:

Las Vegas: Saturday February 12th

1	09:24	ENGLAND	0 - 0	GUYANA	Pool A
2	09:46	ARGENTINA	0 - 0	FRANCE	Pool A
3	10:08	NEW ZEALAND	0 - 0	URUGUAY	Pool B
4	10:30	WALES	0 - 0	KENYA	Pool B
5	10:52	FIJI	0 - 0	CANADA	Pool C
6	11:14	AUSTRALIA	0 - 0	SCOTLAND	Pool C
7	11:36	SAMOA	0 - 0	JAPAN	Pool D
8	11:58	SOUTH AFRICA	0 - 0	UNITED STATES	Pool D
9	12:40	ENGLAND	0 - 0	FRANCE	Pool A
10	13:05	ARGENTINA	0 - 0	GUYANA	Pool A
11	13:30	NEW ZEALAND	0 - 0	KENYA	Pool B
12	13:55	WALES	0 - 0	URUGUAY	Pool B
13	14:20	SAMOA	0 - 0	UNITED STATES	Pool D
14	14:45	SOUTH AFRICA	0 - 0	JAPAN	Pool D
15	15:07	FIJI	0 - 0	SCOTLAND	Pool C
16	15:29	AUSTRALIA	0 - 0	CANADA	Pool C
17	15:51	ENGLAND	0 - 0	ARGENTINA	Pool A
18	16:13	NEW ZEALAND	0 - 0	WALES	Pool B
19	16:35	KENYA	0 - 0	URUGUAY	Pool B
20	16:57	SAMOA	0 - 0	SOUTH AFRICA	Pool D
21	17:19	FRANCE	0 - 0	GUYANA	Pool A
22	17:41	FIJI	0 - 0	AUSTRALIA	Pool C
23	18:03	SCOTLAND	0 - 0	CANADA	Pool C
24	18:25	UNITED STATES	0 - 0	JAPAN	Pool D
25	20:00	1st Pool A	0 - 0	2nd Pool B	1/4 final Cup
26	20:22	1st Pool B	0 - 0	2nd Pool A	1/4 final Cup
27	20:44	1st Pool C	0 - 0	2nd Pool D	1/4 final Cup
28	21:06	1st Pool D	0 - 0	2nd Pool C	1/4 final Cup

Las Vegas: Sunday February 13th

29	09:16	3rd Pool A	0 - 0	4th Pool B	1/4 final Bowl
30	09:38	3rd Pool D	0 - 0	4th Pool C	1/4 final Bowl
31	10:00	3rd Pool C	0 - 0	4th Pool D	1/4 final Bowl
32	10:22	3rd Pool B	0 - 0	4th Pool A	1/4 final Bowl
33	11:13	Winner Game 25	0 - 0	Winner Game 28	SF Cup
34	11:35	Winner Game 26	0 - 0	Winner Game 27	SF Cup
35	11:57	Loser Game 29	0 - 0	Loser Game 30	SF Shield
36	12:19	Loser Game 31	0 - 0	Loser Game 32	SF Shield
37	12:41	Winner Game 29	0 - 0	Winner Game 30	SF Bowl
38	13:03	Winner Game 31	0 - 0	Winner Game 32	SF Bowl
39	13:31	Loser Game 25	0 - 0	Loser Game 28	SF Plate
40	13:53	Loser Game 26	0 - 0	Loser Game 27	SF Plate
41	14:15	Winner Game 33	0 - 0	Winner Game 34	Final Cup
42	14:55	Winner Game 35	0 - 0	Winner Game 36	Final Shield
43	15:20	Winner Game 37	0 - 0	Winner Game 38	Final Bowl
44	15:45	Winner Game 39	0 - 0	Winner Game 40	Final Plate

 
For more information about the Vegas event – please visit the USA Sevens website – with a link to purchase tickets here.

Photo Credits: Getty Images and Pakis Corner

A guide to the HSBC World Sevens Series

The largest rugby event in North America is set to take place at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas from February 11th to February 13th. The tournament will feature hundreds of rugby players – including an international section called the World Sevens Series as well as social divisions in the Las Vegas Invitational (LVI).

The HSBC Sevens World Series is a grand prix style event that hosts the top 12 rugby sevens teams during eight fiercely contested tournaments. The 2010/2011 schedule includes:

Dubai (UAE): 3-4 December 2010

George (South Africa): 10-11 December 2010

Wellington (New Zealand): 4-5 February 2011

Las Vegas (USA): 12-13 February 2011

Hong Kong: 25-27 March 2011

Adelaide (Australia): 2-3 April 2011

London (England): 21-22 May 2011

Edinburgh (Scotland): 28-29 May 2011

Each tournament field’s 16 teams – of which 12 are called the core sides that play in all eight – with 4 teams receiving special invitations. The 12 core teams are: England, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, USA, Wales, Scotland, France, Argentina and Kenya. The teams will contest each event over a two-day period, in which they play 5 to 6 matches each. Hong Kong – the most famous 7s venue – sees 24 sides taking part over a three-day period.

The Sevens World Cup is the exact same format as Hong Kong, but takes place every four years. The 2009 Sevens World Cup was surprisingly won by Wales in Dubai (UAE) – with Russia hosting the 2013 edition. That will officially be the final Sevens World Cup event, with rugby sevens being featured for the first time in the Olympics in Brazil in 2016.

The Sevens World Series has already kicked off with England taking the Dubai title by defeating Samoa 29-21. A week later New Zealand – recently crowned Commonwealth Games champions – bounced back in George (South Africa) to win a thrilling 22-19 final.

Teams receive points on their tournament standings, which is how the eventually winner is decided. To keep the competition exciting, Day 1 of an event sees all 16 team play three pool matches. This then places the top 8 sides in the Cup competition, and the bottom 8 sides in the Bowl competition. Should you lose your first match on Day 2 you enter the Plate and Shield divisions.

Series Ranking Points System:

Cup Winner: 24 points

Cup Runner Up: 20 points

Cup Semi Final: 16 points

Cup Quarter Final: 6 points

Plate Winner: 12 points

Plate Runner Up: 8 points

Plate Semi Final: 6 points

Bowl Winner: 4 points

Most teams on the Sevens World Series are full time contracted sevens players, while teams like the USA gather two weeks before the tournaments to prepare. After the 2012 Olympics the USA will hope to contract full time players, with funding being made available.

The USA 7s team pictured in George, South Africa

With that in mind the USA is currently ranked 9th in the world, and performed extremely well in Dubai reaching the Cup quarterfinals. Next up the sides will travel to Wellington (New Zealand), before touching down on American soil for the Las Vegas tournament.

HSBC Sevens World Series Standings

	Team		DUB	RSA	NZL	USA	HKG	AUS	ENG	SCO	Pts
1		ENGLAND	24	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	44
2		NEW ZEALAND	16	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	40
3		SAMOA	20	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	36
4		FIJI	16	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	32
5		SOUTH AFRICA	12	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	24
6		AUSTRALIA	8	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	14
7		ARGENTINA	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	12
		WALES	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	12
9		UNITED STATES	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
10		SCOTLAND	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	4

Spectators looking for more information about the Vegas event – please visit the USA Sevens website - plus we will be featuring further articles leading up to the exciting tournament.

Photo Credits: www.PakisCorner.com

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