An update to fans on Premier Rugby Sevens and the PR7s professional competition circuit.
Following our Portland All-Star event in Fall 2024, our priority was to develop the foundation needed to sustainably grow professional rugby sevens in North America.
A key piece of that puzzle is the establishment of a Regulation 9 window for rugby sevens, an existing, reliable international player-release window that would allow athletes to move between domestic, professional, and national team competitions each year. Reg 9 already governs 15-a-side rugby, and similar release windows are well established in other global sports, including soccer. Implementing a Reg 9 window for rugby sevens would allow for advance scheduling of competitions, greater transparency around issues like player welfare, and expanded competitive opportunities for players.
Unfortunately, we have not yet made the progress we hoped for on this front. After careful and thoughtful consideration, our team has decided that continuing the professional competition in the absence of a Reg 9 commitment is unsustainable for PR7s in both the short and long term. As such, the PR7s professional circuit will remain paused until progress can be made toward a global sevens calendar that demonstrates a willingness to support professional competition and allow them to exist and thrive.
While the news regarding the pro circuit is disappointing, the PR7s team has continued to prioritize the development of PR7s RISE – our grassroots rugby development initiative focused on expanding high performance pathways and growing the game of rugby through its most accessible format.
RISE has already launched successful girls and boys academy programs in: New Jersey, New York, Long Island, Bay Area, and Portland, Oregon with new programs set to launch soon in Los Angeles, San Diego and additional cities.
RISE is committed to expanding access and developing high-quality rugby experiences for youth and high school athletes while growing participation in rugby across the United States. For more information on PR7s RISE – please visit www.prsevens.com
Lastly, PR7s of course wants to celebrate the last 4 years of pro competition, including:
- Establishing the first professional women’s rugby competition in North America
- Launching the first professional sports league to pay men and women equally
- National linear television broadcasts on Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and TSN
- First professional rugby matches hosted in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Portland
- Providing a platform for hundreds of athletes, including more than 40 Olympians and 20 Olympic medalists
- Creating pathways for players identified at PR7s tryouts to earn USA Rugby and international caps
- Welcoming tens of thousands of fans in stadiums and reaching millions of viewers worldwide
- A tremendous team that helped bring professional rugby sevens to life over multiple seasons
We remain incredibly excited about the future of rugby sevens and will continue to build the sustainable infrastructure needed to grow the game for the long term.
