The national male and female 7s rugby outfits will start kick start their 2015 NACRA Championships and Olympic Qualifiers campaign today in Cary, North Carolina.
Their aim? To win their respective tournaments and clinch a berth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
For the male team, the Road to Rio starts against the Bahamas at the Main Stadium at 11:22am while the female ruggers will tackle Trinidad and Tobago in their opening match at 12:06 pm at the Koka Booth Stadium.
The two-day tournament has 10 male teams (two groups of five) and eight female teams (two groups of four) competing for honors.
Guyana’s male unit was drawn in Pool B where they will face Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Canada and the Cayman Islands. Pool A features Mexico, the USA, Barbados, Jamaica and St Vincent. The national women’s team is also in Group B, pooled with Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico while Pool A comprises of the USA, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Barbados. At the end of day one, the first two teams in each group go straight to the semifinals. The winner clinches an Olympic berth. Men’s squad: Richard Staglon (Captain), Dwayne Schroeder, Vallon Adams, Claudius Butts, Patrick King, Ronald Mayers, Avery Corbin, Lancelot Adonis, Rickford Cummings, Ryan Gonsalves and Travis Bascom.
Women’s squad:Carrin Carter (Captain), Collette Hope, Sabola Gray, Carren Skeete, Andrea Lashley, Tricia Munroe, Helen Jarvis, Alicia Blackman, Cleotta Dublin, Olana Reece, Alanna Fraser and Ashanti Carrington. (Emmerson Campbell)
