A major international rugby sevens event will take place in Wimbledon during the late May bank holiday weekend.
LIT7s London 7s will see 8 men’s and 4 women’s teams compete in an all-day event at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane Stadium for a £10,000 prize on Saturday 25th May.
Nations taking part in the tournament include Fiji, Ireland and Jamaica, as well as separate United Kingdom and Great Britain Teams such as Shogun Rugby.
LIT7s Founder Ellaine Gelman said: “Rugby 7s is such an exciting and action packed sport.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring this event to London with the support of the RFU and World Rugby and are confident that we can put on an amazing experience for all.”
The event had previously been part of the HSBC 7 Series since 2012 at Twickenham and was often the last stop on a 11-stop tour but the series was reduced to eight stops for 2024 and London wasn’t selected.
Gelman said: “The biggest rugby sevens event of the year had gone and there was nothing to replace it.
“If you lose the event, there is no opportunity to watch rugby sevens in a stadium and you lose the atmosphere and the vibe which would have been a massive loss for the sport.”
After a seven-month process to get approval from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and World Rugby, London 7s got the green light to host the event at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane.
The tournament will be one of the last chances for the teams competing to get some match practise before the Olympic Games in Paris.
USA 7s Head Coach Mike Friday said: “This will be a fantastic event and much needed in the 7s calendar in England with London 7s not taking place this year.
“It is a real opportunity for international teams to find valuable competition time for players in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.”
The men’s competition will have two pools of four teams each with the top two in each pool advancing to the semi-finals after which it is a straight knock-out format.
The women’s competition will have a single pool stage and then a final between the top two teams.
Each match will be conducted in seven minute halves with a one minute half-time break.
For Gelman, the event aims to get more children interested in rugby and she believes the shorter version of the sport would allow that to occur.
Gelman said: “I think it’s actually perfect for modern-day attention spans and actually for kids, because kids can focus for about 10 minutes and then they get distracted.
“It is better than a rugby match because you do have those breaks and there’s a lot happening and it’s not just one long kind of 40 minute stretch.”
The event will have a fan zone with activities for young children as well as performances from Britain’s Got Talent dance group IMD Legion who will hope to entertain both children and adults alike.
Following the tournament, an after-party will take place; headlined by the former England, Wasps and Northampton Saints player James Haskell.
Haskell said: “When LIT7s came calling I had to say yes, I can’t wait to DJ the biggest rugby party of the Summer.
“See you all at the after party on the 25th May, Plough Lane will be bouncing for sure.”
For more information about the event, please visit https://www.lit7s.com/
Featured Image Credit: LIT7s
