TORONTO 2015 Rugby Sevens Schedule Released

Women's rugby sevens to make its Pan Am Games debut

TORONTO, June 11, 2015 /CNW/ - The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Organizing Committee (TO2015) has released its full competition schedule for both men's and women's rugby sevens, one of this summer's most anticipated competitions. Don't miss out on getting tickets to this fast-paced, intense sport during this region's once-in-lifetime multi-games experience.

"With less than 30 days to go before the Games begin, and with competition schedules for popular sports like rugby being released, venues opening, teams being announced and the lineup for PANAMANIA revealed, momentum is building," said Saäd Rafi, chief executive officer, TO2015. "We are excited and ready to welcome athletes and spectators from across the Americas to our region. Get your tickets now and join the excitement!"

Known for its speed and power, rugby sevens is quickly becoming a fan favourite and is expected to be one of the most popular events this summer. Rugby sevens games are fast and physical and feature some of the most intense battles for ball possession and field position anywhere in sport. With teams made up of seven players, instead of 15 as in rugby union, and matches finished in under 30 minutes, fans can expect action-packed games.

Both the men's and women's competitions will be held at Exhibition Stadium in CIBC Pan Am Park, which boasts one of the city's most scenic views of the  Toronto skyline and is known for its lively spectator atmosphere.

Adding to the excitement, women's rugby sevens will make its Pan Am Games debut. The Canadian women's team, which is currently the top team in the Americas and third in the world, will be in good company with top competitors including the United States, ranked sixth in the world and Argentina ranked eighth in the world. Rounding out the women's competitions will be teams from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

In the men's competitions, reigning Pan Am men's rugby sevens champions, the Canadians, have been drawn in the same pool as silver-medal holders Argentina. The two teams faced off in the finals at the 2011 Guadalajara Games, with Canada coming out in a 26–24 win. The United States will also be one to watch this summer, thanks to the team's sixth place finish in the World Series. Other competing teams include Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Guyana.

"Based on our men's and women's team's recent successes in their respective World Series circuits, and our women qualifying for RIO 2016 by finishing second place, we've seen an incredible amount of growth and support for Rugby Sevens across Canada," said Rugby Canada General Manager, Mike Chu. "A number of our best players, including men's captain John Moonlight and Women's Sevens Series scoring leader Ghislaine Landry, are from the GTA and are excited to compete on home soil in front of friends and family."

World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset has high expectations for this summer's tournament. "The Toronto 2015 tournament will showcase some fantastic talent in rugby sevens, with several of the world's top international teams competing, in both the men's and women's tournaments," said Lapasset. "This summer will be an exciting time for the sport. Fans across the world are excited to watch as the women make their debut at this tournament and of course it is all in the context of next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as rugby makes its long-awaited return to the world's biggest sporting stage."

Tickets for this summer's rugby sevens competition offer fans a great deal. Buying a ticket to any session in the tournament will give fans the opportunity to see every team, in both the men's and women's tournament, compete. This includes tickets to the final session (RU004) which will showcase the gold-medal and bronze-medal matches for both men's and women's teams.

To view the full TORONTO 2015 rugby sevens schedule for both the men's and women's tournaments and to purchase tickets, visit TORONTO2015.org/tickets.

The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games ticket program is designed to be affordable and accessible for everyone by offering:

Integrated tickets: Every event ticket will allow the holder to access transit on the day of the event.

Affordable pricing: Tickets start at just $20, with 75 per cent of tickets priced $45 and under.

Half-price tickets for persons under 16 years of age, or 65 and over: Tickets will be offered at a 50 per cent discount — some will start at $10. The number of discounted tickets is limited, so buy early.

Tickets for Parapan Am sporting events will range from $20 to $35 for adults, with a youth (under 16) and senior (65+) discount from $10 to $12.50 available, depending on the event. The number of discounted tickets is limited, so don't delay.

Easy options for buying: Tickets can be purchased online at TORONTO2015.org/tickets or at 1.855.726.2015 and internationally at 1.949.333.4824.

About TO2015
The TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10–26 and the Parapan American Games August 7–15. The TORONTO 2015 Games are funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, as well as Lead Partner CIBC and other partners and sponsors.

The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) is tasked with managing and delivering the Games. It is working to bring some of the world's best athletes and artists to Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, giving Ontarians a unique chance to be part of the action, and making the region a hub for sport.

For more information about the Games, please visit TORONTO2015.org or follow @TO2015, @TO2015_fr (French) or @TO2015_es (Spanish).

	Men's Pool A	Men's Pool B		Women's Pool
	A1 USA	B1 ARG		W1 CAN
	A2 URU	B2 CAN		W2 USA
	A3 CHI	B3 BRA		W3 BRA
	A4 MEX	B4 GUY		W4 ARG
				W5 COL
				W6 MEX

Match No.	Day 1	Time		Match No.	Day 2	Time
W1	W1  v  W5 CAN v COL	10:05		W10	W4  v  W1 ARG v CAN	10:05
W2	W2  v  W3 USA v BRA	10:27		W11	W5  v  W3 COL v BRA	10:27
W3	W6  v  W4 MEX v ARG	10:49		W12	W6  v  W2 MEX v USA	10:49
M1	A1   v  A3 USA v CHI	11:11		M13	Medal Quarter Final MA 1^st place  v  MB 4^th place	11:11
M2	A2   v  A4 URU v MEX	11:33		M14	Medal Quarter Final MB 2^nd place  v  MA 3^rd place	11:33
M3	B1   v  B3 ARG v BRA	11:55		M15	Medal Quarter Final MA 2^nd place  v  MB 3^rd place	11:55
M4	B2   v  B4 CAN v GUY	12:17		M16	Medal Quarter Final MB 1^st place  v  MA 4^th place	12:17
	10 minute interval	12:39			10 minute interval	12:39
W4	W2  v  W5 USA v COL	12:49		W13	W4  v  W5 ARG v COL	12:49
W5	W3  v  W4 BRA v ARG	13:11		W14	W3  v  W6 BRA v MEX	13:11
W6	W1  v  W6 CAN v MEX	13:33		W15	W1  v  W2 CAN v USA	13:33
	1^st Session Ends	13:55			3^rd Session Ends	13:55
M5	A1   v  A4 USA v MEX	16:05		M17	Loser M13 v Loser M14	16:05
M6	A2   v  A3 URU V CHI	16:27		M18	Loser M15 v Loser M16	16:27
M7	B1   v  B4 ARG v GUY	16:49		M19	Winner M13 v Winner M14   - Medal Semi Finals	16:49
M8	B2   v  B3 CAN v BRA	17:11		M20	Winner M15 v Winner M16   - Medal Semi Finals	17:11
W7	W4  v  W2 ARG v USA	17:33		W16	W 5^th Seed v W 6^th Seed	17:33
W8	W1  v  W3 CAN v BRA	17:55		W17	W 3rd Seed v W 4th Seed (W Bronze Medal) 25mins	17:55
W9	W5  v  W6 COL v MEX	18:17		W18	W 1^st Seed v  W 2^nd Seed (W Gold / Silver) 30mins	18:20
	10 minute interval	18:39		M21	Loser M17 v Loser M18	18:50
M9	A3   v  A4 CHI v MEX	18:49		M22	Winner M17 v Winner M18	19:12
M10	A1   v  A2 USA v URU	19:11		M23	Loser M19 v Loser M20 (M Bronze Medal)  25mins	19:34
M11	B3   v  B4 BRA v GUY	19:33		M24	Winner M19  v  Winner M20 (M Gold & Silver) 30mins	19:59
M12	B1   v  B2 ARG v CAN	19:55			Medal Presentation (30 minutes)	20:29
	2^nd Session Ends	20:17			Event Ends	20:59

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

For further information: Teddy Katz, Director, media relations and chief spokesperson, TO2015, 416.957.2117, [e-mail]