The HSBC Women’s Sevens World Series will expand to eight rounds with six rounds combined with their male counterparts in an overhauled fixture list for the 2019-2020 season heading into the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The changes will see the Women’s Series almost mirror the Men’s Series for duration and will increase content for broadcasters and fans in Australia and globally.
The HSBC Women’s Sevens World Series will commence with the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens in Glendale, Colorado before five straight joint tournaments in Dubai, Cape Town, New Zealand, Sydney and Hong Kong that will see the best Men’s and Women’s Sevens athletes in the world compete on the same stage.
The final rounds will be played at the Canada Sevens (standalone) and a combined Paris Sevens with the Men’s Series.
The Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens squad will also expand with more professional opportunities for athletes to meet the demands of an expanded World Series.
Rugby Australia, alongside it’s competing Universities will also look to recruit more athletes to compete in the 2019 Aon University Sevens Series to expand the deepening talent pool of players in Women’s Sevens.
Rugby Australia Chief Executive Raelene Castle said: “This is an exciting development for the Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team and for Women’s Rugby more broadly. “The increase in rounds creates more playing opportunities for our squad and changes the nature of the series by extending its duration.
“It will also provide more broadcast content for fans and more opportunities to grow the game at home.
“Equality between our female and male players is something that Rugby Australia has strived for since we made the HSBC Sydney 7s a combined tournament and it’s fantastic for the global game that there will be more joint tournaments across the Series next season.”
Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens Head Coach, John Manenti said: “The additional rounds added to the series is an exciting development for Women’s Sevens and changes the nature of the Series to make it more line with the Men’s Series.
“We have seen how much the standard of the Women’s Series has improved over the last few years, so to have improvement recognised with more rounds is a testament to the standard and growth of Women’s Rugby.
“The renaissance of Women’s Sport in Australia makes us leaders in this space and we want athletes to know that Rugby is a viable career option for them and to realise their Olympic dream.
“With more rounds means that we can create more professional opportunities for elite players and I look forward to seeing a robust Aon University Sevens Series this year as the competition for spots from old and new players heats up.”
Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens Head Coach Tim Walsh: “The HSBC Sevens World Series is one of the toughest competitions in the world and the Aussie 7s Men are looking forward to playing on the same stage as the Aussie 7s Women more often next season.
“More combined tournaments are better for our game and will really accelerate the growth of Rugby Sevens as a sport to play and as an entertainment product.”
The Qantas Australian Sevens Squads remain in the hunt for automatic qualification for Tokyo 2020 in the current HSBC Sevens World Series. The top four sides automatically qualify for the event.
2019-2020 HSBC Sevens World Series’
HSBC USA Women’s Sevens – Glendale, Colorado (women’s standalone event)
Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens**
HSBC Cape Town Sevens **
HSBC New Zealand Sevens**
HSBC Sydney Sevens**
HSBC Canada Sevens - Vancouver (men’s standalone event)
Hong Kong Sevens**
HSBC Singapore Sevens (men’s standalone event)
HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens – Langford (women’s standalone event)
HSBC London Sevens (men’s standalone event)
HSBC Paris Sevens **
**Combined men’s and women’s sevens events for the season 2020 and starting in 2019.
