As the world casts its eyes on London, the road to the 2016 Olympic rugby pitch is underway.

Former national player Shane Thompson was among a handful of the most prominent figures from CanadaB次元官网网址檚 international rugby sevens community at the June 26 announcement of the Victoria International 7s Rugby tournament for July 13 and 14.

This yearB次元官网网址檚 tournament moves from UVicB次元官网网址檚 Wallace Field into the grand theatre of Centennial Stadium. ItB次元官网网址檚 part of the Victoria 7s steady growth towards its goal of becoming a freestanding rugby festival, the type of which Canada has never seen, said co-organizer Doug Tate, coach of the UVic Vikes rugby team.

The tourneyB次元官网网址檚 elite menB次元官网网址檚 division has eight teams, including Canadian and U.S.A. national development teams, the Cayman Islands national team, a B.C. provincial team, the IslandB次元官网网址檚 Crimson Tide representative team and the North American sevens champions Old Puget Sound Beach.

ThereB次元官网网址檚 also an elite womenB次元官网网址檚 tier and an international under-18 boys division.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got national players in the womenB次元官网网址檚 tier, and several youth divisions, girls and boys, so weB次元官网网址檙e happy with the way itB次元官网网址檚 going,B次元官网网址� Tate said.

Perhaps the tournamentB次元官网网址檚 biggest asset, next to being an international-level tournament at home in B.C., is the awareness it brings to the youth game, namely, drawing out future Olympians.

Thompson once coached the national sevens team along with Tate, and is at the helm of the B.C. Elite Youth Sevens program. When it started early last year, it targeted the 1994-born age group, specifically because theyB次元官网网址檒l be in their prime when rugby debuts at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

B次元官网网址淭wenty-two, 23 years old is a prime age for sevens players,B次元官网网址� Thompson said. B次元官网网址淪ome of these under-18 players already have more sevens experience than I did after a few years playing international.B次元官网网址�

Despite not joining until 23, Thompson was one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most dominant stars on the International Rugby Board sevens series. Because of rugby, the Ontario native is sprouting deep roots in Victoria.

Other sevens stars, such as captain Phil Mack, Nathan Hirayama and Sean Duke, make up the core of the current national team and play their club rugby for the UVic Vikes. The Victoria 7s is a rare opportunity to see them play at the international level on home soil.

B次元官网网址淭he thing about all our sevens players is theyB次元官网网址檝e come into the program with little previous experience, mostly from high school,B次元官网网址� Thompson said. B次元官网网址淎lready weB次元官网网址檙e seeing a real understanding of the game from our youth.B次元官网网址�

This year Canada won a qualifying tournament in Hong Kong for the right to gain core status on the IRB series for 2012-13.

B次元官网网址淚t means weB次元官网网址檒l be playing 12 tournaments, and weB次元官网网址檒l need 30 to 35 high calibre players to draw on if weB次元官网网址檙e going to be successful,B次元官网网址� Tate said.