Phil Berna and Olivia Apps will captain the Canadian sides looking to secure Olympic qualification at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens this weekend in Langford, B.C.

The two-day qualifying tournament features seven menB次元官网网址檚 and five womenB次元官网网址檚 rugby sevens teams with one Olympic berth for next year in Paris on the line for each. The second- and third-place sides will have one last crack at Olympic qualification via a world repechage tournament.

The menB次元官网网址檚 competition in Langford is divided into two pools, with Canada grouped with Barbados, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The other group features the U.S., Mexico and Bermuda.

Canada will open against St. Vincent and the Grenadines before playing Barbados and Jamaica on Saturday with the top two in each pool crossing over to meet in SundayB次元官网网址檚 semifinals.

The womenB次元官网网址檚 field has just one pool with Canada opening against Mexico on Saturday before facing St. Lucia and Jamaica on Saturday, The Canadians will then wrap up pool play Sunday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the top two teams meeting in the final.

The Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 road to Paris is eased by the fact the Americans have already qualified as one of the top four teams in the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series season standings.

New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and Ireland finished atop the womenB次元官网网址檚 table, with Ireland taking the place of No. 4 France, which has automatic qualification in the 12-country Paris field as Olympic host.

New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia secured automatic qualification for the men, with the fifth-place Australians benefitting from France finishing fourth.

The Canadian women finished ninth in the overall season standings while the men placed 14th.

The Langford tournament is one of six regional Olympic qualifiers. Uruguay and Ireland have already won their menB次元官网网址檚 regional events, while Brazil and Britain have won their way to Paris via their regional womenB次元官网网址檚 competitions.

Berna is joined on the Canadian menB次元官网网址檚 roster by Cooper Coats and Josiah Morra, with all three having helped Canada qualify for the Tokyo Olympics at the same tournament in July 2019 when it was held in the Cayman Islands. The Canadian men blanked Jamaica 40-5 to complete a 6-0-0 run at the eight-country competition that saw it outscore the opposition 293-15.

Canada looks for more of the same at Starlight Stadium in Langford.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 continually impressed by our group,B次元官网网址� Canada interim menB次元官网网址檚 coach Sean White said in a statement Monday. B次元官网网址淭heir effort level, attention to detail, and consistent willingness to make the small adjustments in training allow them to grow as a collective. WeB次元官网网址檝e had this date circled on our calendar for over a year now. To host it in front of our home crowd, family and friends is going to be special. WeB次元官网网址檙e ready to take the challenge head-on.B次元官网网址�

The American men skipped the 2019 qualifier by virtue of qualifying directly via their second-place finish on the season.

The Canadian women, who won bronze in 2016 in Rio, qualified for Tokyo by finishing third overall in the season standings.

The Canadian men and women finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in Tokyo, while the American men and women each finished sixth.

The Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 roster for Langford was chosen after a two-week competition on Vancouver Island featuring Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.

The squad features seven players who were part of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 15s team at the recent Pacific Four Series in Ottawa B次元官网网址� Apps, Florence Symonds, Fancy Bermudez, Alysha Corrigan, Maddy Grant, vice-captain Justine Pelletier and captain Sophie de Goede.

It will mark the first international sevens tournament for Pelletier and the second for de Goede. Asia Hogan Rochester returns to action, having missed the majority of the 2023 sevens season due to injury.

Apps, Breanne Nicholas and Julia Greenshields represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics.

B次元官网网址淭his has been a date on our minds and marked in our calendars for months,B次元官网网址� Canada womenB次元官网网址檚 coach Jack Hanratty said in a statement. B次元官网网址淲e have had a brilliant, competitive few weeks. Although we will have 12 players take the field, we had 40 players between the Maple Leaf academy and the senior squad in our environment during this period whose work and commitment has been unquestioned.

B次元官网网址淲e pride ourselves in being an Olympic program and Paris is where we want to be next summer. Our goal is to punch our ticket there at Starlight Stadium.B次元官网网址�

With the menB次元官网网址檚 sevens series being reduced to 12 from 16 countries next season to align with the womenB次元官网网址檚 and Olympic fields, the Canadian men had to survive a four-team relegation playoff in May in London to retain their place on the rebranded HSBC SVNS circuit.

The men missed out on the 2016 games when rugby sevens made its Olympic debut. They lost 21-5 to the U.S. in the regional qualifying final in Cary, N.C., and then were beaten 14-12 loss by Russia in the quarterfinals of a repechage tournament in Monaco.

Canada Men

Phil Berna (capt.), Vancouver, Vancouver Rowing Club; Alex Russell, Chichester, England, McGill University; Josiah Morra, Toronto, Toronto Saracens; Brock Webster, Uxbridge, Ont., Oshawa Vikings RFC; Cooper Coats, Halifax, Halifax Tars; David Richard Milton, Ont., Mississauga Blues RFC; Matthew Oworu, Calgary, Pacific Pride; Thomas Isherwood, Okotoks, Alta., Foothills Lions RFC; Kal Sager, Peterborough, Ont., Trent University; Lockie Kratz, Victoria, NOLA Gold (MLR); Elias Hancock, Ottawa, Bytown Blues; Jack Carson, Victoria, UBC.

Canada Women

Krissy Scurfield, Canmore, Alta., University of Victoria; Justine Pelletier, Riviere-du-Loup, Que., Stade Bordelais (France); Breanne Nicholas, Blenheim, Ont., Kent Havoc RFC; Julia Greenshields, Sarnia, Ont., Sarnia Saints; Florence Symonds, Hong Kong, UBC; Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Westshore RFC; Sophie de Goede, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers RFC; Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, CRFC; Olivia Apps (capt.), Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Asia Hogan Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads RFC; Maddy Grant, Cornwall, Ont., University of Ottawa; Chloe Daniels, Sutton, Ont., QueenB次元官网网址檚 University.

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