Stars Rugby 7s Is Headed To Tobago! Player Nominations Open!

Stars Rugby 7s will take two men's and two women's sides to Tobago for the Tobago 7s tournament this December. In years past the competition has featured several NACRA national teams including Mexico, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, and the 2013 champions the Canadian Maple Leafs, as well as touring sides like the Dog River Howlers, Beavers, and Atlantis 7s. The 2014 edition of tournament will field brackets of 12 men's teams and 12-16 women's teams.

Our tour is currently slated for December 10th-15th as it involves long travel days to get through a few airports to Tobago. Initial plans include a group flight from Miami to Port of Spain, Trinidad and either another flight or a ferry to Tobago.

Tour fee is estimated at $1500 to include the flight, hotel, buses, tournament entry fees, food, playing & training kit, trainer & coaches fees and more. Please note this tour fee is an estimate and is subject to change, most likely to decrease. Stars Rugby 7s offers many fundraising and sponsorship opportunities to offset both the team and individual tour costs.

** NOTE - ALL PLAYERS NEED A VALID PASSPORT FOR THIS TOUR**

The trip will include team training sessions with coaches from notable 7s programs across North America. The tournament itself guarantees 5 games with as many as 7 for making the championships. There is significant prize money involved as all 4 teams that make the semifinals of each bracket win a share of a prize pool of $15,000.

Interested players must fill out the survey below by August 10th. Selections will be made by August 15th with a $200 deposit due no later than August 20th in order to meet tournament deadlines. A schedule of tour payments will be included with the official invites; any deposits made are non-refundable until a replacement player is found.

SURVEY: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1e_tuppjEPOrKwSZUuw4v7otmWqjbqwhOp4H-ZUmxlXo/viewform?usp=send_form

Responsibility, communication and dedication to the team all play a factor in selections and continued touring opportunities with the Stars Rugby 7s program. Rugby skills, fitness, and 7s experience are the other determining factors. You can never be too fit for this game, especially going to play in an island nation near the Equator.

Beyond this tour Stars Rugby 7s will take multiple sides to Las Vegas for USA 7s in 2015, an elite men's and women's team each to the Samoa Independence International 7s in May 2015, and multiple sides to return to Stampede 7s in Calgary in July 2015.

For further information please contact via email here.

Stars Rugby 7s Seeks Australia Central Coast 7s Sponsors

 

Stars Rugby 7s Seeking Australia Central Coast 7s Sponsors

The Stars Rugby 7s program is seeking sponsors for our trip to Australia’s Central Coast 7s. We are taking one Men's and Women’s elite team to Sydney and Wyong October 17th-27th to compete against a level of competition second only in skill to an actual iRB 7s tournament. 16 men’s and women’s teams were selected for CC7s out of over 100 applicants from around the world.

Our women’s side will face off against the Fiji, Brazil, Australia and Canada’s national teams amongst several other national championship clubs and representative teams from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Then men also have Brazil’s national team in their bracket with notable teams like Yamacia from Fiji, the Borneo Eagles, Tribe 7s and Sunnybank from Australia, Four Nations from New Zealand, and Tiger Rugby from the USA in the pool. This is a valuable touring experience for the growth of our teams and development of our players, many of whom harbor Olympic dreams for Rio 2016. Several of those on our roster are already living in San Diego and Chula Vista to prepare at the Olympic Training Center.

The Stars Rugby 7s Australia invitees include players from the following programs: Atlanta Harlequins, Berkeley All Blues, Charlotte Rugby Club, 1823, Georgia Tech, Hartford Wanderers, Bulldog Rugby, Old Blue, NYAC, Milwaukee Barbarians, Sacramento Amazons, San Diego Surfers, Twin Cities Amazons, Washington Rugby Football Club (DC), Florida Atlantic University, Florida Burn, Belmont Shore and Youngbloodz as well as some Canadian players from Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia that impressed on our Calgary Stampede 7s tour.

We are seeking 10 t-shirt sponsors for $200 each. In exchange for a donation sponsors will receive the following:

* your logo on tour t-shirts worn by all players on flights/at trainings/between tournament games
* 2 mentions on the Stars Rugby 7s Facebook page per month leading up to the tournament
* a team photo dedicated to/tagging your business/club on the Facebook page
* a weekly mention on #starsrugby7s twitter
* a feature on the Stars Rugby 7s blog
* logos on the Stars Rugby website (coming this summer)

Stars Rugby 7s is also seeking larger sponsorships to include logos on team kit and enhanced social media/marketing promotion. Packages run as follows:

* $1500 for a shorts logo

* $2000 for jersey sleeves

* $3000 for the back of the jersey above/below the numbers (as fits best)

* $5000 for the front of jersey chest space

* $10,000 for one year of naming rights (October 1st 2014-September 30th 2015)

The team is further open to other sponsor relationships including kit and equipment donations, the sharing of airline miles or hotel points for lodging, referral and incentive programs businesses, utilizing our players to run rugby camps/clinics, and more. We want to ensure that all our sponsors benefit from their relationship with Stars Rugby 7s and further know that our athletes are working their hardest to attain their goals.

Additional questions and inquiries can be sent to Liz Entwhistle at liz.entwhistle@gmail.com or via a conversation at  414 377 1756.

About Stars Rugby 7s

Stars Rugby 7s was founded in 2013 by Liz Entwhistle and Eyal Hakim. Stars Rugby 7s is player funded touring side comprised of players from all regions of the United States; Stars Rugby 7s has also featured internationals from Canada, Australia and England on rosters to date. The mission is to develop elite Rugby 7s through competition in elite level tournaments, allowing players exposure to the highest levels of Rugby 7s possible. Rosters are balanced with experienced club/international players to help mentor younger, developing athletes - many from regions under served by rugby through geographic, financial, or the lack of experienced coaching.

Stars Rugby 7s inaugural tour to the Las Vegas invitational in January 2014 entered 2 women's teams in the Open and Elite divisions competing against several National Teams. Calgary's Stampede 7s tour debuted our men's program with one Premier team as well as 2 women's Premier teams which all advanced to the Cup Round and the tournament semifinals; the men and women’s first side reached the finals. Our next trip is to Australia’s Central Coast 7s in Wyong with additional plans for Tobago 7s in December 2014, the Las Vegas Invitational in February 2015 and Samoa in May 2015.

Stars Rugby 7s is developing high performance camps in our efforts to expand our player database and continuing to grow the sport of Rugby 7s. These players will continue to be invited to developmental North American based tournaments throughout the year with our elite team traveling abroad to develop and progress in their rugby education. Stars Rugby 7s also seeks to continue the coaching development of those dedicated individuals interested in high performance Rugby 7s.

Canada Player Profiles: Mikey Reinhard

As touched on in previous posts, the formation of our first men's side did not lack for challenges. Even one week before the tournament we had not finalized a full roster of 12 men and were lacking the positional depth we had hoped to travel with. Fortunately my Gypsies coach Liam Hutchinson is Calgary based, so not only did he step into a Stars Rugby 7s coaching role for this tour he also provided us some of the representative women's players he had coached for Rugby Alberta. Then those women's players further got some of their friends from university in British Columbia to join us too and we were able to field a more complete squad for Stampede 7s.



Mikey Reinhard came to our men's program through the friends-of-friends-of-friends network and he and Reid Gordon filled the much needed scrumhalf/flyhalf specialist roles on our team full of props and centers. Mikey is still fairly new to the game of 7s, but quickly fell into our playing patterns and showed some great closing speed on defense, chasing down some breakaways and proving an effective sweeper. Plus he was one of the most American players on the squad - all of our Canadians eagerly adapted out American cowboy theme and nearly converted to the "dark side".

His raw talent earned him an invite as an alternate for our Australia tour which he sadly had to decline due to school work. Should we manage another trip North for Victoria 7s he'd be a top pick back on the pitch and he definitely has a space on our rosters for Tobago, Las Vegas, and many Stampede 7s to come.

Here's his background:

I am currently attending Kwantlen University in Surrey BC, working toward a Criminology Degree for a future career in policing.  My rugby history all started in high school in grade 8 through grade 12. I played in Cloverdale BC for The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in many positions, mostly in the back line & sometimes as a flanker. I mainly played as a scrum half. 

My 7s experience was in local high school tournaments with the LTS Panthers where I played mostly scrum half once again. With that team we won a lot of local championships and in 2013 went on an incredible tour to Australia and New Zealand getting to see and play some awesome rugby 15s. After high school I played my first year of club rugby with the Surrey Beavers U-19 squad where they moved me into the centres more often than not. This was a big change from only playing 9 for my first five years of rugby. 



Only a year out of high school and now getting to join the Stars 7s squad for the Calgary Stampede 7s was a great experience. I really enjoyed playing that high level of 7s rugby. The experience definitely improved my game. I loved traveling with such a large group of good people and good rugby players. It was great meeting and making friends with people from all over the USA. I'd love to keep playing with the Stars in upcoming tourneys. They taught me a lot about their 7s style and kept me playing a high pace game the whole time. I believe that's why we did so well in the tourney, because of our great talent on the team and the high pace we were pushed to play at. I plan to keep on training and practicing and playing my other full time sport, ice hockey, to keep me in shape and improve my 7s game for upcoming Stars tournaments.  

Canada Player Profiles: Elvy Asonye

Elvy wins Most Valuable Back

Elvy came to the Stars as one of the first players to respond when we put out the player nomination call back in February. She comes hails originally from Chicago and shares a Midwest rugby background at University of Illinois so we quickly started playing the "who do we both know" game as several of my club teammates played at U of I and I had coached against their men on several occasions. It's a small rugby world after all!

Elvy is an accomplished and disciplined player that made an impact on our Stars tour. Her performances at training on Thursday and Friday earned her a spot on the women's first side and she showed strong finishing speed on the pitch. Her tenacity even earned her a special jersey at our Kangaroo Court!

Even more impressive is that Elvy is currently serving in the US Navy, earning her Master's degree, and is giving back to the game of rugby as a referee. She's a student in life and still a student of the game.

On the Pitch for Norfolk

Here's her story:

I started playing rugby my freshman year of college back in 2005 at the University of Illinois, after I realized that our Division 1 and club soccer teams would be a little too time demanding while I was enrolled in the NROTC program. It was probably a better decision because I would commission as a Naval Officer and still got to enjoy playing a sport in college that was just as social as it was competitive.  

While at the University of Illinois I won Rookie of the Year in Spring 2006 and Most Valuable Back in 2009. Before making the big move out to the west coast, I was first stationed in Norfolk, VA where I played with the Norfolk Storm for four years as a wing, fullback, and center. I think I’ve made a home as a center playing with the Seahawks, but anywhere I’m allowed to run to my heart’s content I will gladly play!

 

VA 7s against Stars teammate Josie's NOVA team.

Being in the military has made it difficult to have complete consistency in my life, but the one constant has always been rugby and the team I played for. My coach was a retired Naval Officer so she served to be mentor in both arenas of my work- and athletic-life. My last year playing in Norfolk in 2013, I was voted MVP and held the leading scorer title. 

Our team was still developing a 7s side the last few summers I was there, but I only managed to play one summer and practice during a second summer before my move to California.

I’m currently stationed at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, CA studying to get a Master’s of Science in Management and have been commuting up to San Jose for the last year to play with the San Jose Seahawks. I moved last June just in time for the start of last year’s 7s season, and had a successful first year of a developed 15s side. While our team is still very new, a lot of the girls have played with other women’s teams in the past so it is just a matter of honing our talents and continue to gel well together – which I am sure will come quickly in time. I was just named Most Valuable Back now that we’ve recently wrapped up our 15s season before we get into the full swing of 7s Qualifiers season.

Palo Alto 7s with San Jose Seahawks

While playing is still my #1 passion, I became a certified referee in November 2013 and have Nor Cal Youth Rugby tournaments and some collegiate women's games as well. It has definitely helped me to see the game in a different way, and notice all the intricacies that typically a backline player does not know (or sadly, care) about during the game.  I know most referees usually do so because they are too injured, but I do plan on refereeing a lot more during the 7s season to fine tune my skills for the 15s season as a referee and player. 

I’m greatly looking forward to playing with the Stars Rugby 7s team! Getting to play at a higher level, and meet more people with a similar passion to play is one of the best things I can as for in a summer 7s season.