CITY OF LANGFORD DECLARES MAY 27TH “RUGBY DAY”

City of Langford declares May 27th “Rugby Day” in celebration of communities’ continued support to rugby from grass roots to high performance; Rugby Day to coincide with opening day of 2017 HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens at Westhills Stadium.

May 18, 2017, Langford, B.C. – In honour of the City of Langford’s longstanding support for the sport of rugby from grass roots to high performance, and in anticipation of the upcoming 2017 HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens tournament at Westhills Stadium, Stewart Young, Mayor of the City of Langford declared today that May 27th will be “Rugby Day” in Langford. Rugby Day will coincide with the first day of the two-day tournament that will host the best 12 women’s sevens teams in the world. With limited tickets remaining, Canada Sevens organizers are strongly encouraging the public to purchase their tickets now by visiting www.canadasevens.com.

“We are honoured to have Rugby Canada call Langford home, and we are proud of the hard work, talent and dedication these elite athletes put forth,” said Mayor Young. “We recognize the support of the community, fans, and volunteers and we look forward to the HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens playing in our world class sporting facility at Westhills Stadium May 27 & 28.”

The 2017 HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens will mark the third year in a row that the Langford community has enthusiastically embraced this dynamic weekend of high performance sport and community celebration. In addition to serving as an annual host to this international series, Langford is also the home of the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre, which will serve as a critical component for the on-going development of high performance rugby in Canada.

“Declaring May 27th as Rugby Day in Langford is a fitting initiative for a community that has played such an important role in supporting and inspiring our Canadian rugby athletes,” said Gareth Rees, Director Commercial and Program Relations for Rugby Canada. “We are grateful for the continued passion and leadership the City of Langford shows toward the development of rugby in Canada, and we look forward to hosting an exciting weekend where members of the community will have the chance to watch the best women’s sevens players in the world compete for the tournament and series title.”

The 2017 HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens will host 12 of the world’s best women’s sevens teams for the fifth stop on the six-event circuit of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series. Canadian women are currently third in the overall standings heading into Langford, coming off a recent silver medal performance in Japan. Previously, they finished sixth in Dubai, won in Sydney, and placed third in Las Vegas, and are only 12 points back of 1st overall and 2 points away from claiming 2nd with two tournaments remaining.

The tournament has capacity for 6430 fans over the two-day event, and is a proven crowd favourite, drawing rugby fans, families, and developing rugby athletes who aspire to represent Canada one day on the world stage. In addition to in-stadium viewing, the tournament will also be broadcast live on worldrugby.org and TSN GO.