To represent the Midwest Territory in the USA Rugby National Sevens Championship, teams must compete for points in a series of Qualifier events throughout the region. The two teams with the top records will play against other teams from across the nation in August for the National Championship.
The first Midwest Qualifier was held today in Minnesota. Hosted by the Youngbloodz — one of the premier Sevens programs in the region and Midwest representative in 2011 and 2012 — the Milwaukee Barbarians made the long trip to start their 2013 Qualifying campaign fresh on the heels of two dominant performances in local Wisconsin tournaments.
After 5 rounds of play, Milwaukee rugby finished 3rd and accumulated 9 points. The Chicago Lions and Columbus took the top two spots.
The current Midwest Qualifier standings are as follows:
- Lions (Chicago, IL), 12 pts
- 1823 (Columbus, OH), 10 pts
- Barbarians (Milwaukee, WI), 9 pts
- WRFC (Madison, WI), 8 pts
- Youngbloodz (Minneapolis, MN), 7 pts
- Griffins (Chicago, IL), 6 pts
- Wolfpack (Woodbury, MN), 5 pts
- WMU (Kalamazoo, MI), 4 pts
- Rhino (Chicago, IL), 0 pts
- Carps (Cleveland, OH), 0 pts
- Wolfhounds (Cincinatti, OH), 0 pts
- Gazelles (Grand Rapids, MI), 0 pts
The roster inluded:
- Rob Bartlett
- Mike Desoto
- Trevor Hergert
- Ignacio Herrerra
- Jerry Petfalski
- Mike Reagles
- Kevin Smyth
- Charlie Wagner
- Sean Williams
- John Hickey (coach)
- Joe Cunningham (manager)
Midwest Sevens Qualifier Series
USA Rugby holds a National Rugby Sevens Championship each year in August. To be eligible for the championship, teams compete around the country in a series of Qualifier matches in their geographic region.
Two teams are selected to represent the Midwest at the National Sevens Championships. The selection process is called the Midwest Sevens Qualifier Series. It consists of a set of events held across the Midwest at locally organized rugby sevens tournaments.
The 2013 Midwest Sevens Qualifier Series is held with the participation of the following tournaments:
- June 15th Minnesota 7s – Elk River, MN
- June 22nd Firehouse 7s – Lemont, IL
- June 29th Lakefront 7s – Milwaukee
- July 13th Rock & Roll 7s – Cleveland, OH
- July 20th Rock Hard 7s – Grand Rapids, MI
The official 2013 standings are updated following each event and published online. The complete Rules and Regulations for the Series are also available.
