Upright Rugby won both the girls’ and boys’ U18 Elite titles.
The Rugby Breakdown named the North American Invitational (NAI) 7s the Event of 2016, as it set a professional standard for quality youth events. There are some additions for the 2017 event – including a partnership with the Utah Olympic Park – and tournament director Michael Cressler is currently gauging interest for a girls’ middle school division.
RELATED: NAI 7s: Best Event of 2016 • NAI 7s: Girls HS Elite Preview • NAI 7s All-Tournament Team
Unlike the boys, there’s no middle school league for girls in Utah, and so Cressler was unsure if there would be support outside of the state for a girls’ U14 division at the NAI 7s. Even before an Australia U14 program inquired about such a bracket, Cressler knew that he had to at least try to get the competition off the ground.
“I’m a huge supporter of girls’ rugby. I started the first girls’ team in Utah and we had no one to play,” Cressler said. “Parents come up to me and say their daughter’s in middle school and wants to play rugby. And the best I can do is invite them to camps. But since middle schoolers can’t play against high school girls, we lose them because they have nowhere to play. They had an interest but there was no way to explore it, so they forget about it.”
Cressler made some phone calls and the positive responses were incentive enough to go forward with the division. The hope is that the tournament serves as a vehicle for more middle school teams to form – at the very least, in Utah – now that there’s something for which to shoot.
Utah Olympic Park in the summer /// Photo: Montage Hotels
Remember that the NAI 7s isn’t your average tournament. For the viewer there’s quality live-streaming of the main pitch, which alternates between elite divisions and also shows other brackets’ finals; recordings of all the other games (click here for last year’s footage); educated commentators; and elite facilities set in a beautiful landscape. The event has also partnered with the Utah Olympic Park, which is opening up its summertime activities (bobsled, alpine slide, zip line) for a Friday event and team-building exercises, as well as the Utah Olympic Oval for a discounted price to teams.
Additionally, all of the proceeds are funneled into a scholarship fund that helps players attend All-American and other elite-level assemblies around the country. At present, seven players are being leveraged, and the future will see the formation of collegiate scholarships.
The girls’ U14 division is locked at eight teams, and Cressler is encouraging interested teams to contact him directly. All divisions could potentially expand, however, decisions will be weighed against the quality of the event. In other words, a division must establish interest before entertaining a larger presence at the NAI 7s.
The NAI 7s occurs on August 4-5 in Salt Lake City. Visit www.nai7s.com for more information and contact Cressler at mcressler@gmail.com for the girls’ middle school division.