Bridgetown – Rugby Barbados World 7s (RBW7s) will this weekend welcome some of the best men’s and women’s club teams from across the globe for the highly anticipated 2017 Rugby Barbados World 7s Tournament. Set to take place from 9th to 10th December at Frederick Smith Secondary School, Trents, St James, the Tournament is the longest running Club Rugby 7s Tournament in the Caribbean and a testament to Barbados as a premier sports tourism destination.
Teams from Scotland, USA, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, St Lucia and Barbados are all expected to fiercely compete over the two action-packed days for the US $3000 prize money in both divisions. Barbados Jet Blues Team Captain, Sean Ward, says that the team is determined to win, especially after the national team won the Plate trophy at the recently concluded Rugby Americas North (RAN) Regional 7s Championships in Mexico City. “Although the team will be slightly different to what we had in Mexico, the boys are looking forward to stepping up and showing the overseas teams how island rugby is done! These kinds of tournaments are great opportunities for us to fine-tune our skills against international opponents, as well as have fun and make some new friends along the way,” he said.
Among the main Tournament sponsors are the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Ozone Wireless, Power Broadcasting, Tudor, and JetBlue Vacations, amongst many others in varying capacities. Ward thanked all of the Tournament Partners for their continued support. “We have the utmost gratitude for their support – without our Partners, this Tournament could not go ahead and be the success that it is today,” he explained.
The NCF have also teamed up with Rugby Barbados to facilitate an Art and Craft Market during the two-day event. However the Tournament itself is just part of a suite of activities aimed at bringing awareness to rugby on the island.
RBW7s have additionally been undertaking a radio campaign in collaboration with JetBlue Vacations and the stations of Power Broadcasting (Y103.3FM and Slam 101.1FM), in which they are giving away two flight vouchers from Barbados to any destination that JetBlue travels to, in order to promote the Tournament. Rugby Barbados are also hosting a Charity Dinner at the Radisson Aquatica Resort Barbados on Thursday 7th December, with special guest speaker and world-renowned rugby player Shane Williams MBE, to raise funds for the Barbados chapter of the global Get Into Rugby Programme, Try Rugby Barbados, and support our nation’s youth through sport. Donations to Try Rugby Barbados can be made through the Barbados Rugby Football Union (BRFU) or through George Nicholson at gdougnich@gmail.com. Donors contributing US$ 100 or more will be invited to the Charity Dinner as guests of the Tournament.
This year’s RBW7s will be streamed live courtesy of Ozone Wireless, in conjunction with Sports.bb, on Facebook and YouTube from 12.30pm GMT to 8.30pm GMT on both days of competition. RBW7s are also currently in discussions with The Rugby Channel in relation to a live broadcast across the USA on their subscription TV network.
For more information, visit www.rugbybarbadosworld7s.com or connect on Facebook www.facebook.com/BarbadosSevens.
Caption: Barbados’ national rugby team at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Regional 7s Championships in Mexico City last month.
###
