February 7, 2017

Clark County School District Partners with USA Sevens for HSBC Adopt A Country Program

USA Sevens Rugby Release: Lea Komitzky, Feb. 7, 2017

2016 – 2017 school year is first ever to include the women’s teams from the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series

Tweet It: .@USASevensRugby @HSBC_US & @ClarkCountySch educate #CCSD students on international cultures in class & on the rugby field!

LAS VEGAS – For the seventh consecutive year, USA Sevens Rugby has partnered with the Clark County School District (CCSD) for the USA Sevens HSBC Adopt A Country Program, which builds a curriculum centered around the international cultures of the participating teams in the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament returning to Sam Boyd Stadium March 3 – 5. With the addition of the women’s rugby teams during the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series during the three-day tournament, more CCSD schools have been added into the program this year.

For the second year, USA Sevens Rugby has partnered with HSBC to further incorporate World Rugby’s core values Integrity, Passion, Solidarity, Discipline and Respect, into each participating school’s curriculum. Twenty-six CCSD schools who serve between 14,000 to 19,000 students are participating in the program this year, “adopting” one of the countries competing in the tournament while integrating hands-on lessons and values surrounding their individual countries into an all-encompassing education.

“We’re thrilled to see how much the program has grown and that we have been able to pass on the love of rugby onto over 40,000 students over the last seven years,” said Rob Cornelius, United World Sports vice president of business development. “More importantly, we are proud to see how the students are utilizing the comprehensive curriculum to gain appreciation for other cultures while using that knowledge to connect their home town with different cultures around the world.”

Throughout the school year, each of the participating schools fully delves into their adopted country and incorporates lessons to provide a broad education on international cultures, traditions, history, customs and geography. Leading up to the tournament, students will learn about the adopted nations with interactive lesson plans utilizing art, physical education, music and language. In addition, the program holds various rugby clinics and tournaments between participating schools, teaching students the rules of the game and offering students a first-hand opportunity to learn the sport.

In addition, the Adopt A Country program promotes further learning about the adopted country through a series of creative contests for the students to participate in, which includes a T-shirt design contest and critical thinking essay competition. Each school will select one T-shirt design created by a student that best captures the essence of the Adopt A Country program by connecting the school, the nation, rugby and Las Vegas. USA Sevens will select the top three submissions and create T-shirts for each student in the three schools from the winning design. The essay contest asks students to contrast their typical day with that of someone their age in the adopted country, challenging students to relate to their adopted country on a personal level. One essay winner from each school will be selected to lead their team down the red carpet during the 2017 USA Sevens Parade of Nations Ceremony on the Fremont Street Experience, which will be held Thursday, March 2 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

During Rugby Week, the students will be visited by their adopted country’s team and coaches for a special pep rally and celebration, complete with a meet-and-greet with the team, autograph signings, rugby drills and more. On Saturday, March 4, students from the participating schools will have the opportunity to travel to Sam Boyd Stadium and cheer on Team USA and their adopted country’s team.

2016 – 2017 CCSD and Country Pairings for Men’s Teams:

· Antonello Elementary School / Kenya

· Brown Junior High School / Samoa

· Connors Elementary School / Russia

· Dailey Elementary School / South Africa

· Elise Wolff Elementary School / Scotland

· Fitzgerald Elementary School / Argentina

· Gibson Middle School / Wales

· Leavitt Middle School / USA

· Long Elementary School / France

· Monaco Middle School / Japan

· Nate Mack Elementary School / Chile

· Paradise Professional Development School / Fiji

· Roundy Elementary School / England

· Rowe Elementary School / Australia

· Squires Elementary School / New Zealand

· Treem Elementary School / Canada

2016 – 2017 CCSD and Country Pairings for Women’s Teams:

· Booker Elementary School / Spain

· Bridger Middle School / **TBD

· Doris Reed Elementary School / USA

· Elise Wolff Elementary School / Ireland

· Gibson Elementary School / Russia

· Kay Carl Elementary School / New Zealand

· Myrtle Tate Elementary School / Australia

· Paradise Professional Development School / Fiji

· Roundy Elementary School / England

· Tanaka Elementary School / France

· Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts Middle School / Canada

· Williams Elementary School / Brazil

Tickets for the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament are on sale and available for purchase here.

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About Adopt-A-Country Program:

The Adopt-A-County and Clark County School District (CCSD) partnership brings the world to Las Vegas students through international education and hands-on ambassadorship inspired by rugby and its culture. Each participating Clark County school “adopts” the country of a team competing in the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament. Students explore and research international cultures, traditions, history, customs, languages, fine arts and geography in the classroom while learning touch rugby in physical education classes and on the playground. The curriculum culminates when the “adopted” team visits the school for a welcome assembly and pep rally. On the Saturday of the tournament, students take a field trip to Sam Boyd Stadium to cheer on the USA Eagles and their “adopted” team at the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament. Since the program began in 2010, over 40,000 CCSD students have participated in the program with 14,000-19,000 participating in the 2016 – 2017 school year.

About United World Sports:

United World Sports (UWS) LLC hosts a dynamic line up of emerging sports properties and has quickly become the leader at delivering premier international sports properties to U.S. audiences. UWS’ flagship property is the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament held annually in Las Vegas. This exciting 16-nation, three-day tournament has become the largest attended rugby event in North America with more than 80,000 fans coming to Sam Boyd Stadium. Broadcast live on NBC Sports the tournament serves as the only U.S. stop on a ten-city world tour and reaches more than 400 million television households worldwide. Additional UWS properties include the Las Vegas Invitational, which occurs alongside the USA Sevens and is the largest participatory rugby tournament in the western hemisphere; the Penn Mutual College Rugby Championship (CRC); and the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup Rugby Championship.

About USA Sevens Rugby:

The annual USA Sevens international rugby tournament is the premier rugby event in North America. The 2017 Las Vegas event will be the men’s fifth event out of ten and the women’s third event out of six in the HSBC Sevens World Series. Fans in attendance will see 16 international rugby sevens teams play 77 matches during a three-day competition in an attempt to gain points in the Sevens World Series standings. Fans can stay updated on all the latest USA Sevens Rugby news, events and details by following on Facebook (USA Sevens Rugby Tournament And Festival), Twitter (@USASevensRugby) and Instagram (@USASevensRugby).

Played on the same size field as traditional 15-player rugby, rugby sevens is played with just seven players per team. Matches have seven-minute halves with two-minute intervals for pool and knock-out matches. The fast pace and short duration of matches makes every moment of the action thrilling for spectators.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jaclyn Dadas / Lea Komitzky / Paige Adams

Kirvin Doak Communications

UsaSevensRugby@KirvinDoak.com

702.737.3100

https://djcoilrugby.com/

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