CLAYTON, North Carolina – Registration for the 2021 CottonTown 7s Rugby Festival has opened. The tournament, hosted annually by the Clayton Rugby Football Club, was first played in 2016. The tournament has since become a mainstay on the Summer 7s Calendar in the Carolinas. After missing out on the tournament in 2020 due to COVID, the club is eager to get back in the saddle this summer. The date for the 2021 tournament is July 10th at East Clayon Community Park.
Due to ongoing concerns with gathering sizes, the club has decided to lower the number of teams at the event in 2021. Past years have seen 30+ teams in town for the tournament. The club is capping registration at 20 teams this year spread across three divisions. There are a maximum of eight teams respectively in the Men’s and Women’s Division and four team in a Men’s Old Boys (35 & Over) Division. Due to the decrease in numbers, clubs are only allowed to register one team per division. Teams in the Men’s and Women’s Divisions are each guaranteed at least four games while each team in the Old Boys Division will play three games.
“We would have loved to jump right back in and have as many teams as we could fit this summer, but it’s not the responsible thing to do,” said Clayton RFC President Ted Hardy. “We’re excited to even be allowed to play after the past year off from rugby. We are taking a cautious approach this year to ease our way back into hosting. We hope that we’ll be able to go full bore in 2022.”
With the limited number of spaces, registration is expected to fill up fast for the tournament. Teams are encouraged to register early to avoid being wait-listed. Registration is on a first-come first serve basis. Any teams not getting in before the cutoff are placed on a waiting list. In the event a team backs out or is unable to attend, the wait-listed teams will be contacted based on their place in line.
Aside from the rugby on the pitch, there will be vendors on site, rugby merchandise for sale, food trucks, PA announcer, and games/giveaways throughout the day.
To learn more about the CottonTown 7s or to register, please follow this link.
