GLENDALE, Colo., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Glendale Raptors Sevens team is bound for Las Vegas to compete in the USA Sevens Championship Cup Series Finals February 12 and 13.  The tournament will be held during the Las Vegas Invitational USA Sevens International Rugby Board (IRB) event weekend.

The Raptors qualified for the Championship Finals by placing second at the Kansas City Tournament in July. They will battle in a field of 12 of the best sevens teams in the USA.  The champions will take home $7,500 and the runners up will get $2,500 in prize money.

Rugby Sevens is now recognized as an Olympic Sport and will debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics.  The Sevens version of the rugby game is played with teams made up of seven players rather than the usual fifteen and in fast paced matches of just seven minute halves.  

The inaugural USA Sevens Championship Cup is one of 24 National Championship events hosted by USA Rugby.  The USA Rugby National Championship Series is considered the highest level of play within our domestic competition structure.

The international event, Las Vegas Invitational USA Sevens IRB, begins on Saturday February 13 and features sixteen nations competing in forty-four matches over two days. The USA Eagles national team placed in the top four at the USA Sevens in 2009.

The Raptors Sevens will be traveling with a squad of 13 players who have been selected and trained for speed and agility to play an expansive game of fast and intense competition.  The squad roster: Dustin Gordon, Justin Howley, Tim Muraguri, Rati Nutsubidze, Juan Obergon, Mike Papp, Mike Pettes, Casey Rock, Christian Sarmento, Jordan Schmitz, Nick Tipton, Spencer Wells and Bradley Winbush.

Coach Mark Bullock considers the Sevens Championship Cup to be a big step for the Glendale Raptors.  "We are taking a largely inexperienced side to Las Vegas and look to build from the high level of competition we expect to face in the likes of NYAC and Belmont Shore, both of which have a long history of sevens success at the national level."

Glendale's Raptors open the competition playing against the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) on Friday morning followed by a face off with Belmont Shore.

The Glendale Raptors are the home team at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. Infinity Park is the only municipally owned rugby stadium in the U.S.A.

SOURCE The Glendale Raptors

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