Head coach Shane Thompson of the BC Elite Youth Sevens rugby program has announced his travelling roster of 37 players headed to the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational Sevens scheduled for Feb. 9-11.
Included on the team are G.P. Vanier Towhee players Jordan De Graaf and Gavin Mclean.
The 37 Under-18 players from across the province will soon be divided into three teams to compete in one of North America's largest youth rugby tournaments. British Columbia-1 (BC-1) and BC-2 have been entered into the International High School Elite 7s competition while the third and younger BC-3 squad will compete in the High School Boys 7s division.
BC-1 and BC-2 will be tested against state sides from Washington, Utah and Colorado as well as representative sides from Ontario and Canadian Prairies regional selects Dog River Howlers. Also entered in the competition are two national development sides known as the All-Americans 1 and All Americans 2.
This will be the first year Thompson has taken a third squad and he has entered them into the High School Boys 7s, a tournament set to feature teams from Indiana, Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington.
"We spend most of the year holding ID camps and trials to get the top athletes together for this tournament," said Thompson after announcing his travelling roster. "The Vegas event is quickly growing into the largest youth tournament and we are able to field teams at a feasible cost. As a provincial program we need tournaments like these which serve as great measuring sticks for us to see where we are in comparison to other national and regional programs."
As a result of rugby sevens being included into the 2016 Olympic Games, the BC Elite Youth Sevens program was designed by the British Columbia Rugby Union to identify, train and develop athletes for representative competition.
In 2011, under Thompson's guidance, BC sevens sides won the Western Canada Summer Games, medalled at the Victoria International Youth Sevens and six of his elite players went on to represent Canada at the Youth Commonwealth Games. The program is quickly paying dividends and this year Thompson will be relying on some of his more experienced players at the Las Vegas event.
"There are a number of players from our program who have gained crucial experience both at the provincial and national level and it is certainly paying off," added Thompson. "Our experienced guys are developing into strong leaders and you can see them coaching each other as they quickly gain understanding of how to play sevens. It's the same thing with some of our guys who went to the Western Canada Summer Games as they learn quickly and benefit from the number of times we have hit the field together."
The 37 players will assemble in Vancouver on Feb. 4 for a camp before travelling south to Vegas. The High School Boys 7s tournament will run Feb. 9-10 while the High School Elite 7s will run Feb. 10-11. The players will then remain in Vegas to watch the world's best in action at the HSBC Las Vegas 7s featuring international calibre sides including team Canada.
鈥� British Columbia Rugby Union
