41st Annual Cape Fear Rugby Sevens Tournament starts Saturday in Ogden

WILMINGTON, NC (CAPE FEAR RUGBY RELEASE) — The 41st Annual Cape Fear Rugby Sevens Tournament will kickoff Saturday Morning at nine at Ogden Park. Saturday from nine to three-thirty will see forty teams in five divisions playing over 75 matches on four fields. This year the field includes teams from Georgia to Ohio in Men’s Premier, Club, and Social divisions and women’s Premier and Social. Saturday round-robin matches will seed teams for the knock-out matches Sunday. Semifinals and Championship matches will begin at noon on Sunday. Admission is free.

This year marks forty years of the tournament, thought by some to be the longest running athletic event in New Hanover county. The initial tournament was played on the Wrightsville Beach Saline Plant fields-now the Wrightsville Beach Park. The tournament has showcased teams from England, Argentina, the Pacific Islands, Kenya, and Trinidad. This year the 1823 team out of Ohio, an all star College team, returns to defend it’s premier title. They will see serious competition from Life University out of Atlanta.

This year’s Sunday Afternoon matches will be webcast and replays will be available at the Cape Fear Website and The Cape Fear Rugby 7’s Tournament facebook page. Updates and information is currently posted on the facebook page. Tournament Tee shirts, food, Drink, and rugby supplies will be on sale at the venue.

Rugby Sevens will be a Medal event in the 2016 Olympics. The North America and Caribbean Olympic Qualifying tournament was held in Cary on June 13 and 14. Both the women’s and men’s US National teams qualified for the 24 team event in Rio.

• Click the video icon above to see our preview of this year’s event.