U14 Boys, U16 Boys and U16 Girls Attending Tropical 7s

On the back of a very successful first tour to the Tropical 7s tournament in Orlando, FL in 2019, the club is planning on taking 3 teams in 2020. The U14 Boys, U16 Boys and U16 Girls will represent the club at the Tropical 7s this year. Additionally, many of our U18 players will be attending the tournament playing on the NRU Thunder and Rogues teams also attending. As many as 50 Crusaders junior players (plus their families) are expected to attend the Tropical 7s this year between April 9-12, 2020.

Last year’s tournament saw both boys teams do very well. The U16 Boys finished 3rd overall, after a victory over USA South and then pipping the Ontario Blues in the bronze medal match. The U14 Boys finished 5th overall. Most importantly, the players and families thoroughly enjoyed the tournament, a great atmosphere and some fantastic 7s rugby.

This year, the U16 Girls are joining the two boys teams in Orlando, lead/head coached by Johnnie Scrivo and Josh Manuel. The tournament continues to grow in terms of the number and geographical variety of the attending teams and remains popular with Canadian teams apparently uninterested in the Canadian Easter Bunny, or perhaps more interested in escaping the final throes of winter.

Many of the Cru players are currently enrolled in the indoor skills programs that continue through to the beginning of May and the teams will be booking additional indoor space to get some practice in prior to the tournament in addition to scrimmage/training sessions with the NRU U17/U18 team and potentially the Ontario Blues team prior to leaving for Orlando.

The teams are still looking for sponsors to offset kit costs (sleeve logo and banner placements available), so please reach out to Gavin Alpe at u16.boys@crusadersrugby.ca if you have any ideas or sponsorship suggestions!