It’s another victory for B.C. as the province hosts a new international sporting tournament, the HSBC Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series. The women’s series is one of a number of world-renowned sporting events that are attracting visitors and keeping British Columbia in the global spotlight.

The Province invested $135,000 to bring the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series to Langford for the second time. The two-day event held on April 16 and 17, 2016, features high-calibre athletes from powerhouse rugby nations including Ireland, New Zealand, England, Russia and the United States. These teams will battle Team Canada in one of the fastest growing team sports in the world. The Canadian women’s team have finished second place overall this year and have already secured a spot at the sport’s Olympic debut at the Rio Olympics this summer.

Last month Vancouver set a record with 60,418 fans watching the inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens Men’s Series. This was the biggest crowd to watch rugby in Canada. Both the Men’s and Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series are Olympic qualifiers with the top four ranked teams from each series are given a placement at the Olympic Games.

The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Ministry Responsible for Labour has contributed $100,000 for broadcast production costs through the Tourism Events Program and the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development provided $35,000 for staging the tournament through the Major Sport Events Program.

Quotes:

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, Shirley Bond –

“The world’s top men’s rugby teams battled it out on the field in Vancouver last month during the acclaimed HSBC World Rugby Seven’s Men’s series. Now it’s the women’s turn to show their amazing skills to the thousands of fans in Langford. Both events help to attract visitors, support B.C.’s strong tourism sector and strengthen B.C.’s position as a premier destination for event hosting.”

Minister of Community, Sport, Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for Translink, Peter Fassbender –

“Building on the immense success of the inaugural women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens event in Langford last year, we look forward to welcoming some of the best female rugby players in the world to our province once again. Last year’s event showcased our hosting capabilities. This year, we look forward to another great tournament at the home of Rugby Canada.”

CEO, HSBC Canada Sevens, Rugby Canada, Bill Cooper –

“Having the Province of British Columbia support this event is a vital ingredient to its viability and in turn helps tremendously in growing the sport of Rugby in B.C. and beyond. The HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens brings significant awareness to the game, allows local youth to experience first-hand the sport played at its highest level and simultaneously gives our national team the invaluable opportunity of world-class competition on home soil and in front of a Canada-proud crowd which is critical to augmenting their performance on the international level.”

Quick Facts:

• The estimated economic impact of the women’s rugby event is $1.2 million.
• In 2015, there were sell-out crowds of 3,000 fans daily.
• Approximately 350 athletes, coaches, officials, staff and volunteers will attend the women’s event.
• In addition to the funding announced today, the Government of B.C. is investing close to $50 million in sport and over $90 million in the tourism sector this year.

Learn More:

To learn more about the HSBC Canada Sevens Langford, visit: http://www.worldrugby.org/womens-sevens-series/stage/1632

To learn more about the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/ministries/jobs-tourism-and-skills-training

To learn more about the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/ministries/community-sport-and-cultural-development