International Rugby Board (IRB) President Bernard Lapasset
has welcomed the announcement that women's rugby sevens will
feature for the first time ever at the Central American and
Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, in 2014.
The announcement comes after the IRB and the Central American and
Caribbean Sports Organisation (CACSO) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding that will see the sport feature at its second
Games.
The inclusion of a women's competition (pictured top, Guyana
women's sevens team), alongside the men's, also reflects the growth
of women's rugby in a region that is preparing to host the Rio 2016
Olympic Games, where rugby sevens will make its Olympic
debut.
"I would like to thank CACSO, the region's NOCs [National
Organising Committee] and in particular CACSO President Héctor
Cardona for their ongoing support of rugby," said Lapasset
(pictured below).
"We are committed to delivering an exceptional and competitive
event that will further the profile of the Games, rugby and our
shared values."
The decision to retain men's rugby sevens in the Games programme
and add the women's discipline comes after a successful inaugural
CACSO rugby sevens competition in Guyana in 2010 and detailed
evaluation of all sports by the 31 National Olympic Committees
affiliated to CACSO.
The new agreement will see eight men's and eight women's teams
compete in an event which will showcase the sport across the
region.
"It is excellent that rugby sevens will once again feature at the
CACSO Games," said Tom Jones, IRB regional manager for North
America and the Caribbean.
"The addition of a women's event is a real endorsement of a sport
that is taking off throughout the NACRA [North America Caribbean
Rugby Association] IRB region and South America (CONSUR), and its
inclusion will further the development of the game on all
fronts."
North America and the Caribbean are strategically important to
the IRB and the overall growth of the global game.
The region has witnessed significant increases in rugby
participation over the last four years with more than 500,000 men,
women and children actively participating.
The IRB is investing over £10 million ($16 million/€12 million) in
the development of the game there between 2009 and 2012.
The 2010 Games rugby sevens gold medal was won by Guyana (pictured
above), regular winners of the Caribbean sevens title in recent
years and who scooped the coveted Guyana team of the year award
after winning their sixth successive NACRA Caribbean title since
2006.
Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz
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