Time to come up with your costumes and get ready to make some noise: The HSBC Canada Sevens are set to bring some serious rugby action back to Vancouver after a lengthy pandemic pause.
BC Place will host the games in mid-September, though the City of Vancouver said Friday (July 9) that details, including stadium capacity, are being finalized.
The men's tournaments, scheduled for Sept. 18-19 in Vancouver and Sept. 25-26 in Edmonton, are slated to kick off the delayed 2021 World Series.
The women are set to return to action Oct. 2-3 in Paris.
The pandemic prompted the World Series to shut down after the men's HSBC Canada Sevens in Vancouver in March 2020. A women's event in Langford, B.C., scheduled for early May that year was one of the tournaments cancelled.
“The City of Vancouver is proud to welcome the HSBC Canada Sevens back to town,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart in a media release. “The Sevens’ return is a testament to Vancouver’s world-leading response to the pandemic and shows we’re ready to safely host world-class events, as we restart our city under provincial health guidelines.”
The mid-September Canada Sevens matches will be taking place after B.C. is expected to move into Step 4 of its four-step "Restart Plan."
Ticket sales for the HSBC Canada Sevens in Vancouver are scheduled for early August.
With files from the Canadian Press