Knocking On: Summer 2008

5/17 Airborne 7s - Fort Bragg, NC

This was a fairly social sevens event hosted in Fayetteville, NC by Fort Bragg RFC - an army base. Cape Fear (Wilmington, NC) came out easy winners of the tournament. Competitors included Southern Pines, Bragg, Lejeune, Raleigh, Providence Hoggs, and more. The closest game of the day was Fear v. Raleigh early in the morning.

5/24 Memorial Day 7s - Charleston, SC

This tournament included many teams from NC, SC, and Georgia. Many of the larger rugby clubs, such as Charlotte (USA Super League Club), entered a few different sides under names such as "Playas," "Super Friends," "Legion of Doom," and "Team Beautiful." The tournament was definetly of a higher level than the Airborne Sevens, but still had a distinct social atmosphere. I can't recall the winners of the event - I know Fear lost in the semis to one of the Charlotte teams.

I got to meet many different referees at this event from regions much further south - including USA national panel referees - who watched and commented on a couple of my games. They provided some good input for sevens refereeing with regards to positioning, penalties, and forward passes. As anyone who has watched a real life rugby game knows, referees miss "forward" passes and knocks, it's inevitable, we cant see everything - but what many people form the sideline don't realize is that not all forward passes are really "forward." If the balls momentum carries it forward....even though it is directed backwards, it is NOT a forward pass. Anyone who doubts me, watch this video from the ARU (with some horrible 80s music)

6/21 Triad 7s - Greensboro, NC

Triad Rugby Club, based out of Greensboro, NC, competes in USA Rugby South Men's Division 3, but I really wonder why they aren't competing at a higher level. Greensboro now has a men's high school team and three men's university teams (Elon, Guilford, UNCG) - four if you include Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. That's FIVE teams that feed the Triad Rugby Club, where do all those players go after graduation? All the rugby players can't be moving out of Greensboro right out of college - where is the retention?

At any rate, this tournament was of a similar level to Airborne Sevens. The highlight of the day was the final between a Charlotte Team (heartwood??) and ECU. Prior to kickoff, the Charlotte team performed their version of a haka - similar to New Zealand's Ka Mate Haka - but with the use of chainsaws revving and smoking in the middle of the field. It was quite a spectacle - I wish I could post a youtube video of it for you.

Instead, here's a haka video:

7/5 Cape Fear 7s - Wilmington, NC

In summer 2008 I was living in Wilmington, NC - as such - I requested to be a part of officiating this tournament. The Cape Fear 7s tournament, held every July 4th Weekend - is the premier sevens tournament in the Southeast - many consider it to be one of the most important 7s tournaments in the country.

This year the USA Rugby decided to bring it's National Focus Panel of referees down to have a look at them - thus, many SERRS refs who would have normally officiated the tournament were not invited - including myself. I, however, being a local - decided to show up and offer my services anyway. SERRS el presidente and many of the older national referees w

ere happy to oblige - at one point giving me 3 games back to back!!!!! (high school, old boys, and club divisions). Then, at kangaroo court that night, they had the nerve to enforce beverage consumption and general embarassment on me for stupidly accepting 3 games back to back.....bastard shady old referees.

At this sevens tournament there is generally a few international touring sides..and they generally win it. This year, however, NOVA turned it over on a British Army touring side - winning a very entertaining final.

7/26 Bele Chere 7s - Asheville, NC

I don't have a lot to say about the rugby - the final was Asheville v. Greenville, Greenville came out on top. Most of the teams were social sides, all there for the same reason - Bele Chere - a big hippy redneck festival deep in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. It was a great weekend full of rugby, hippies, rednecks, mullets, booze, lots of live music, and shenanigans.

Me and a good friend from work made the trip up to Asheville, NC from Wilmington, NC - basically traveling the entire length of North Carolina. We picked up two NCSU ruggers on the way. On the way I got on the Tom Leykis Radio show - for those of you who know who that is.

We arrived on friday night to discover the tournament was actually in Hendersonville, NC - about 20 minutes outside of Asheville - and my hotel was there as well. We did not make it into Bele Chere that night due to horrible traffic conditions to the festival, so we had a few at Applebees and called it a night.

Rugby started the following morning and conveniently ended at about 3 PM - at which point we booked it into Asheville to join the bele chere festivities. I wont explain too much - hopefully pictures help: