WOMEN’S ALL-AMERICANS TO PLAY CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES IN JULY

BOULDER, Colo. — The Women’s Collegiate All-Americans will host a Canadian Universities side in a two match series in Lake Placid, N.Y., at the end of July. The final match will be on a grand stage, featured during the finals of the Can-Am Rugby Tournament, the largest tournament in the Western Hemisphere with over 100 teams in attendance.

Selection to the All-Americans is an important step on the Women’s High Performance Pathway. Playing an international opponent in front of a crowd of thousands is a critical development opportunity for our nation’s top collegiate athletes. The team will train at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Lake Placid prior to the matches against Canada.

“Holding camp at the OTC enables us to expose our collegiate athletes to a high performance environment,” said Women’s High Performance Director, Alex Williams.

“It’s a vital growth opportunity for those aspiring to represent the USA on the sevens or fifteens Women’s National Teams.”

Success as a Collegiate All-American is a strong predictor of success at the senior national team level. Sixteen former All-Americans competed in the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup and seven former All-Americans represented the USA at the Las Vegas and Hong Kong Sevens this year.

“It will be an intense week of training and competing as elite athletes and will give the National Team staff the opportunity to see who thrives in that environment,” said Williams.

ALL-AMERICAN SELECTION PROCESS
Collegiate athletes are currently being viewed by selectors around the country during the spring season and scouts will also attend collegiate playoffs and national championships. In addition, performance at the Collegiate National All-Star Championships in Pittsburgh in June will be an important factor in making All-American selections.

Following the June Collegiate NASC, selections will be announced for Division I and Division II All-Americans, as well as the Touring Side that will compete against the Canadian Universities squad.

More information about the Women’s All-American selection process can be found on usarugby.org, or by clicking here.

Collegiate coaches can nominate their athletes for All-America consideration by filling out the online Nomination Form found here.

ALL-AMERICAN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Individuals and organizations interested in sponsoring or supporting the USA Women’s Collegiate All-Americans in their quest to defeat their Canadian counterparts at the Can-Am Tournament in Lake Placid, NY, should contact Alex Williams, Women’s HP Director at awilliams@usarugby.org.

The team will compete in front of an audience of 8,000 spectators and the match will be covered by multiple local and national newspapers, radio and TV stations.

Further Information:
Alex Williams | Women’s High Performance Manager | USA Rugby | awilliams@usarugby.org