USA Rugby City Based 7s Kicks off this Sunday!

Thanks to Ashley for covering the upcoming City Based 7s this weekend!

USA Rugby will hold its first ever City-Based 7’s Tournament this Sunday, July 26th, at Friendship Field in Phoenixville, Pa. The league was created as a way to support the development of
women’s 7’s in the USA. Organizers
hope this year’s pilot program will be a success- one which leads to growth within the league nationally.
The unique aspect of the league, which is made up of four teams: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, is it is not intended to be a league of All-Star teams, rather they have encouraged players of all skill levels to participate..
In preparation for the tournament each team held tryouts, followed by three to four practices in which a universal practice plan, followed by all the teams, was introduced. The goal of this was to ensure the teams were working towards the same outcome.
The tournament won’t be used just as a means of seeing which team comes out on top, it’s also a tool for the coaches and USA Women’s 7s coach Sue Parker, to gauge how the teams have progressed and highlight any areas in need of improvement. .
Philadelphia
Angie Brambley, Steph Burkhardt, Collette D’Angelo, Kate Hallinan, Melissa Hutchinson, Christina Jacovides, Kim Magrini, Lesha Meyer, Danielle Monica, Adrianne Ortiz, Deven Owsiany, Emily Record, Ines Rodriguez, Jen Sinkler, Moira Somerdyk, Rashida Stamps, Leigh Thierfielder
Staff: Peter Steinberg, Chris Ryan, Devin Keller, Sheena Woodard
New York
Alyssa Baccarella, Laura Bilazarian, Rebecca Brafman, Zania Campos, Melissa DiFabio, Jenna Flateman, Erika Granger, Elizabeth Inkellis, Elizabeth Kelly, Phaidra Knight, Rosalie MacGowan, Vanesha McGee, Daniela Mogro, Maria Muscara, Shantel Nelson, Jenny Petronis, Alison Price, Kelly Rafferty, Sophia Shapiro, Jasmine W id
Staff: Mark Bowker, Jonathan Gibbard, Kevin Tracey
Philadelphia
Angie Brambley, Steph Burkhardt, Collette D’Angelo, Kate Hallinan, Melissa Hutchinson, Christina Jacovides, Kim Magrini, Lesha Meyer, Danielle Monica, Adrianne Ortiz, Deven Owsiany, Emily Record, Ines Rodriguez, J en Sinkler, Moira Somerdyk, Rashida Stamps, Leigh Thierfielder
Staff: Peter Steinberg, Chris Ryan, Devin Keller, Sheena Woodard
Boston
Jaime Albarelli, Sherry Cheuk, Rose Deng, Katie Dowty, Lisa Harvey, Jamie Howard, Jessica Hurley, Olesia Kruglov, Kathleen Mathews, Rachel Milligan, Lisa Natalicchio, Kelly Seary, Kaley Smith, Ashley Snyder
Staff: Richard Ashfield, Bryan Hamlin, Ash ley Snyder
Washington, DC
Jeanna Beard, Ida Bernstein, Aurora Bushner , Caitlyn Chione, Kate Daley, Liz Dilley, Gabrielle Guillen, Sara Haugli, CJ Hildreth, Liz Hirschhorn, Lauren Hoeck, Meredith McAlister, Tracy Pecher, Danielle Reeder, Julia Swavola, Jasmine Utsey, Jessica Weiss, Eli White
Staff: Peter Baggetta, Dana Creager, Kellie Cavalier

7/30: Update from YSC Intern Ashley regarding the CBL Tournament:

The first City Based 7’s tournament was held this past Sunday in Phoenixville, Pa. Play kicked off at 11 am and even by then everyone involved knew the sun and heat would be undoubtedly be a factor with temperatures reaching the mid to high 80’s.

While all four teams played with both experienced and developmental sides, everyone had patches of brilliant play no matter how many years they had under their belts. The first game of the day between Philly and DC showcased just that. Both teams played very hard, and were able to string together series’ of good play, though it was obvious the little amount of time spent together as a team would affect the continuity of play. DC won the match scoring three quick tries, most of which came from them spreading the ball and beating the Philly defenders out wide.

There were equal moments of great defensive play and defensive breakdowns during the course of the day and every team saw their fair share of both. The veterans and experienced players definitely made their presence felt while they were on the pitch, but lack of team cohesion and the heat no doubt contributed to the spurts in which the teams’ succeeded.

Boston struggled and was the only team who that didn’t win any of their games despite the valiant effort put forth by their team. When stacked up against the other teams with more experience, their weakness on defense was exposed.

When advertising and recruiting for this pilot league, it was billed as a chance for players of all skill levels to play as well as a tourney in which the wins and losses didn’t matter as much as the effort put forth.

That supposed lack of pressure seemingly was enjoyed by both the players and coaches.

Despite every team having suffered losses, none of them seemed to ever let that get them down at all. The mood of both the players and coaches alike was very jovial and
even carried onto the pitch where players (Read: Jen Sinkler and Phaidra Knight) were laughing and tackling each other at the same time!

DC emerged as the tournament winner, beating NY in the final 17-10. Philly won the semi-final match against Boston 43-5.

The next plan of action is to add more divisions to the league as well as games. With the success of this year, it’s very possible Sue Parker’s dream of expanding this league and adding a pathway to the national team will be a reality very soon.

From YSC: Thank you for the comments and I appreciate the tone of respect that I do see in the comments. Keep the good dialogue coming!

Your Scrumhalf Connection – Women’s Rugby Blog. Daily posts about rugby across the world! Read the blog at http://yourscrumhalfconnection.com and follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/scrumhalfblog

Wendy Young

Editor of Your Scrumhalf Connection. Passionate Rugger since 2001. Want to know more about me? Go to About Us on the bar up there.

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  • JesseGirl!

    Although this program was advertised as "a way to support the development of women's 7's in the USA…and encouraged players of all skill levels to participate…" the actual goal of the program was to create another feeder program for the national team. They were in search of elite players who they could get to play international rugby. They had no intention of developing 7's for players of all skill levels, just look at the chosen teams. Its extremely disappointing when you can't trust the information which comes from the national governing body of the sport you love.

  • Eli

    i completely disagree. Sure this was a way to get seen for international rugby, but it most definitely was intended to develop 7s players of all skill levels and increase the level of competition throughout the US. I participated in the CBL and at our first practice, over half of our team had never even played 7s before. many are college players, and over the course of 4 practices, they learned fundamentals of 7s and applied it in the tournament successfully. The developmental games were just as exciting to watch as the experienced side, and several "developmental" players made it into the "experienced" final between DC and NY. Even though our team had several eagles on it, our practices were fundamental in nature, laying out the basics and we all practiced together, experienced and not. and on sunday, we all played together and the coaches were just as attentive and encouraging to developmental players as those who were playing on teh experienced sides. I've been playing rugby for nearly ten years and this was surely a program that treated all equally and encouraged players of all levels to develop their skills.

  • Anonymous

    I agree with Jesse…I attended the practices and the tournament as well. I felt that all of the focus was on the best players. They ignored those of us that were learning…when they told us that it would be ok to be a developmental player.

    I was very dissapointed!

  • One2Fifteen

    Surely the fundamental purpose of a tournament is for the best team to win?

    Rugby (ignoring favoritism and bureaucratic governing bodies) is a meritocracy, just like any other sport. There will always be "elite" players, and those players will usually come, predominantly, from the winning teams in this type of tournament.

    What else did you expect? A directive to play only non-elite players for the good of the game? We all know that approach would have guaranteed a shit-show of a tournament.

    Should the teams have received a handicap based on how many "experienced" players they turned out – maybe, but experience does not mean talent and even then it's a subjective measure.

    I've coached players that have played for 5-6 years and have seen rookies far exceed them in terms of ability and natural flair for the game.

    If even 1 "inexperienced" player gets involved it has to be good for the game (7s or 15s), but let's not fool ourselves to believe that any tournament/game isn't to promote excellence to identify who could play at the next highest level.

  • JesseGirl!

    Obviously each city interpreted the program differently; in an email I received from Pete Steinberg he stated: "This program is not an outreach program working to teach 7s to all, it is a National team program looking to identify players that can project to play international 7s." While there’s nothing wrong with that being their goal, its just disappointing to find out how falsely advertised the program was initially.

  • Anonymous

    The 'City Based 7's League' isn't growing the sport of 7s rugby. Hey here's an idea! Why not have a national or regional women's team 7s championship like the men? The best team may have the elite athletes and may win, but at least everybody who wants to play gets to compete.

  • Anonymous

    Direct from the CBL's website and press releases:

    "We must create elite environments in which players can learn sevens rugby and develop their skills," said USA Women's 7s Head Coach Sue Parker. "We are creating a pilot that allows the best athletes from all levels and backgrounds to come together to practice and play sevens."

    How is this false advertising JesseGirl?

    An "elite" environment means that though you may not be an experienced 7s player you are or have the potential to be an elite (aka "national team level") athlete.

    I have nothing to do w/ the CBL but all their press releases have been pretty clear about what the aim of the League is and it is to find elite athletes and create a baseline of knowledge and "common vocabulary" in a pool of potential national team coaches and staff.

    Accepting the risk that you or others might be offended by this statement but if you're an average athlete looking for an "every Jonny/Janey gets to play" set-up then join a social D-2 club or go play ultimate frisbee.

    Now, if you're an "elite athlete" but an inexperienced player and feel like you were under utilized maybe that means that whoever was coaching your team perhaps had his/her priorities wrong…maybe the coach got caught up in "winning" and lost site of the overall objectives and concentrated on "experienced players" rather than on turning elite athletes into competent beginners.

    If that's the case its the failure of an individual not a "they" problem…

  • JesseGirl!

    This is the first sentence of the 'Athletes Wanted' release which was sent out: "USA Rugby is launching a pilot program to help grow and develop the women’s sevens game as well as add another clear pathway into the National Team player pool." As of today, they can not tell me how they grew and developed the women's 7's game. "The City-Based Teams are not All-Star teams,” said Parker. Clearly some teams were all-star teams. “We want to be inclusive with the city-based teams,” Parker said. “We want this to be an opportunity for all players who are athletic to develop their skills and understanding of sevens." Its statements like this which would lead one to believe that an “average athlete” could attend this program and learn something to “develop their skills and understanding of sevens.” Like I said before obviously each city interpreted the program differently and obviously some cities did a better job at developing the 7's game for all and others focused on getting their players into the national pool. These quotes among others are my basis for feeling as if this program was falsely advertised and many "average athletes" were lied to about this program by USA Rugby.

  • One2Fifteen

    JesseGirl, I'd be interested to hear what your metrics would be to measure whether the program "grew and developed the women's 7s game.

    Obviously if you personally didn't get out of the program what you thought you would/should, there is some degree of failure on the part of the organizers/coaching staff involved.

    Can you clarify what the program actually consisted of? Ashley's article refers to try-outs and practice sessions following a universal practice plan. Did you attend these sessions? If you did and were not turned away, then I'd argue you were 'included'. Are you saying that the practice sessions did not teach you anything? if so, again, that is a failure of the coaches. If it did teach you something, then I'd say they "developed" your skills.

    Whether you were selected to play in the tournament is, I think, the crux of the matter. I'm assuming not, which is why you feel aggrieved. I know what it is like to practice with a team and not be selected, it sucks, but it doesn't mean I was lied to. It just means I wasn't perceived as being better than 7/15 other players to compete to win.

    Maybe there should have been A & B level tournament running side-by-side. That way more players could have received tournament play time. But in an inaugural tournament, I would assume they didn't have the time or resource to accommodate double the fixture load.

    If it was deemed a success by the organizers there will, hopefully be another showing next year, taking feedback from this year to make it better. If this happens, then yes, it did develop the game.

    As with most sports, especially marginal ones like rugby (in USA!) communication from the governing body is always woeful. However, a difference in interpretation of subjective wording does not constitute a lie.

    The fact that it was a failure in your eyes, does pose the question of how are USA rugby going to judge whether it was a success? Did they have a target for number of participants per practice? was there a specific goal for persistence rate between practices? Were there any objective measures of skill/talent? Did they collect feedback from players?