The RRRC and TRU are excited to be returning to competition this Summer through the TOLA series. This is the 12th year* of the competition and it’s fitting that it’s been expanded for even more fun!
With consideration to the improving but ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that there will be no traditional USA Rugby 7s National Championship in 2021, the regional competition committees will be operating under the same TOLA provisions that defined the 2019 Guidelines with the following considerations (and excluding any provision that does not apply) :
- First tournament seeds will be determined by RRRC 7s subcommittee
- TOLA standings and Championship will be determined by taking a team’s top 4 results from qualifying tournaments
- Seeding prior to a team entering 4 tournaments will be based on the average points result (point structure is available on the competition table). If the team has entered at least 50% of available tournaments (if a team has entered less than 50%, 0 points will be added for the tournaments falling short of the 50% mark to determine average points)
- Teams wishing to be considered for the National 7s Tournament on August 14 will be held to RRRC roster standards and teams wishing only to compete at the TOLA level will be held to TOLA roster standards (same as hybrid format in years past)
We ask that teams continue to follow appropriate COVID-19 mitigation practices and adhere to any additional measures individual tournament organizers put forth.
2021 TOLA 7s Schedule
Date | Tournament | Location | Host | Contact Name | Contact email |
5-Jun | Lone Star Classic 7s | Dallas TX | Reds | Jeff Kolberg | |
12-Jun | |||||
19-Jun | Bloodfest 7s | Round Rock, TX | Huns | Hansel Johansen | |
26-Jun | Hell or Highwater 7s | Houston, TX | HARC | Sallie Buckner | |
3-Jul | |||||
10-Jul | HTX 7s | Houston, TX | Sabercats | Grant Cole | |
17-Jul | Cherrybone 7s | Woodlands, TX | Woodlands | Philip Devos | |
24-Jul | River City 7s | Austin, TX | Blacks | Bill Taute | |
31-Jul | Energy 7s | Oklahoma City, OK | OKC Tribe | John White | |
31-Jul | 7s by the Sea* | Corpus Christi, TX | Corpus | Louis Gaitan | |
7-Aug | Horseshoe 7s | Shreveport LA | Shreveport | Drew Tomsak | |
14-Aug | USA Rugby National Championship Invitational* | Seattle, WA | Seattle | NA | NA |
*Does not count toward TOLA points
Contacts
Director of TOLA 7s
Assistant Director of TOLA 7s
TOLA Points System
- 6 points are awarded to the winning team of each TOLA Series Tournament.
- 4 points awarded to the runner up team of each TOLA Series Tournament.
- 3 points awarded to the third place team of each TOLA Series Tournament.
- 2 points awarded to the fourth place team of each TOLA Series Tournament.
- 1 point awarded to the winner of any consolation bracket of each TOLA Series Tournament
- 1 bonus point awarded for each TOLA tournament entered.
- 2 “at large” points may be awarded at each TOLA Series events at the discretion of the TOLA Commissioner for a team or teams (1 pt. each) that display character that exemplifies the spirit of rugby.
- Examples of behavior that will be considered for these points include traveling a great distance, entering multiple teams, and assisting the tournament hosts in some way, playing up a division to fill a bracket, etc.
NOTE: Clubs fielding multiple sides in a TOLA tournament may not aggregate the TOLA points earned by all sides entered. If a club enters more than one side in a TOLA tournament, the side that finishes the highest in the tournament will be considered their first side for purposes of awarding TOLA points, their next highest finishing side will be considered their second side, and so on.
For more details about TOLA 7s, please go to https://texasrugbyunion.com/competitions/texas-sevens-series/.
USA Rugby National Championship Invitational 7s
The Club Council approved a Women’s & Men’s National 7s Open/Invitational/Championship Aug 14 & 15 & the field might be expanded because they want to encourage participation. Location is TBD but will be published as soon as it is confirmed and information is available.
The major items:
- Team & Player eligibility rules are similar to 2019 including registration with USAR.
- Teams should express interest by June 1 and confirm final interest by July 1 if they wish to attend Nationals.
- TOLA competition results and standings will be submitted to the Tournament Committee in order to determine bracket qualification (elite or social) and seeding.
- Teams wishing to compete at the national tournament will be subject to RRRC roster standards and must have rosters verified at each TOLA tournament.
Please contact RRRC 7s Chair Filip Keuppens at fkeuppens@picklepower.com or (716) 435-5757 if you have any questions or if your team wishes to express interest in being considered for the National Championship Invitational Tournament.
*TOLA 7s began in 2008 but did not take place in 2020.