Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side, Sevens or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby (WR), the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game originated in Melrose where the Melrose Sevens tournament is still played annually. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.

The World Rugby Sevens Series is coming to Vancouver, British Columbia in March 2016. Rugby Canada and the Canada Sevens Bid Committee announced today, the success of their bid to bring one of the world’s most thrilling sporting championships to Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium.

The Canada Sevens will be a two-day indoor tournament hosted at the world-class BC Place Stadium, host venue to Canada’s most prestigious events, and will feature sixteen of the world’s top men’s rugby sevens teams. Sevens rugby, a fast-paced and shorter version of traditional rugby with only seven players per side, has built a huge international audience through the success of the World Rugby Sevens Series, which attracts large audiences in markets around the world.