Rugby Republic – Write up on Ethos 7’s

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Updated: June 12, 2016

The Rugby Republic looks at the first 7’s Tourney of the Summer…

The first official 7s Tournament of the summer in NorCal is this coming weekend.  The 2016 Rugby Ethos 7s will be kicking off this Saturday in Marin. This tournament will be divided into two parts. The first this weekend which is a men’s and women’s tournament and what many consider a warm-up for the NorCal 7s Qualifiers which kick off the following week, and the second part will be a high school and youth tournament slated for June 19th.

The tournament is being organized by Rugby Ethos, as well as the Marin REDS RFCand Marin Highlanders RFC (youth) clubs and Rugby NorCal (for the high school/youth portion).

These tournaments will be held at Corte Madera Town Park in Marin County. For many these pitches are a dream as they are lush green grass, vs the turf or beat up pitches around the state right now. Additionally this pitch at the park ensures very laid back atmosphere. The park offers shade, picnic benches, and for this weekend’s tournament the organizers have arranged for the post tourney party to be held right there at the park. It will include free beers and tacos for all the ruggers.

Today is the last day to register, so if you are still interested you need to register ASAP. The registration must be done on-line and the payment must be received in advance (with the on-line registration). This has been something the organizers have required in order to know for sure how many teams and to be able to coordinate the schedule.

This weekends’ tournament can accommodate up to 20 sides. At this time they have 12 men’s sides and four women’s club registered. They have room for four more if your club wants to register, but there will be no “day of” registration (as that becomes to chaotic for the event organizers and staff).

Last year Life West won the tournament, and the year before it was the EPA Razorbacks. So the level of 7s is high. So far this year Olympic Club has two sides registered, Life West has registered, as have several other NorCal 1 sides. However there are several great  D2 and D3 sides also registered so this will ensure there is quality, competitive rugby but there is also balance.  Teams like Aptos, BA Baracaus, San Jose Seahawks, Marin and others are confirmed to play.

With weather in most of the Golden State being in the triple digits, this tournament in Marin may be the best place to be this weekend with cooler temperatures, grass, nice park and downtown Marin just down the road.

We asked Rugby Ethos’s Tournament Director Whitney Blake about the pricing for the tournament, and he explained that the only ones really making profits off the tournament is the Marin Parks and Recs department, as they charge $100 per hour per field and that is what had impacted the costs. However the venue is in Marin County, and also the pitches are well maintained and full of grass, so ruggers will definitely get what they are paying for. This tournament is going to be helping both Marin REDS RFC and Marin Highlanders RFC as well.

The full tournament schedule will be up by this Thursday (June 2, 2016) on the Rugby Ethos site.

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