Rugby has been recommended to the IOC Members by the IOC executive committee as one of the two sports for consideration for inclusion into the 2016 Olympic games from the seven sports that were petitioning for entry. The other is golf.
This is a big initial step for re-inclusion; however, the full IOC members may vote to either accept both rugby and golf or decline both on 9 October, in Copenhagen.
The fact that rugby has been initially selected from the seven sports that were seeking re-inclusion and recommended for re-inclusion by the IOC executive to the IOC members, is in itself a major step towards Rugby 7’s ending rugby’s hiatus of 85 years from the Olympics.
If rugby is included into the 2016 Summer Games, it will open new avenues of player development pathways to the youth, coaches, officials and administrators of islands such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands for the tournaments of tomorrow.
Richard Adams writes, “We need to urgently look at development pathways for players and officials who need to undergo correct preparation for the 2016 as well as 2020 Olympic games.
“If you work backwards from both dates, we are talking about identifying players in the schools, communities and current rugby programs, between the ages of eleven and fourteen for 2016 and seven and eleven for 2020.”
“As part of these development pathways, there will be a multitude of other tournaments and competitions that will include Pan Am Games, Casco Games, Commonwealth Games, NACRA Games, Junior Commonwealth Games and likely a host more as the Olympic movement and rugby are embraced globally.
“The future for these players must be carefully planned now in terms of skill, physical, psychological, tactical and strategic development. We must have a planned route of tournaments and competitions to ensure that these players are properly prepared for such competition and if necessary, we must mentor these players’ development by placing them into such universities as Loughborough in the United Kingdom and working alongside their coaching staff to enable these players the opportunities to play at higher levels with more frequency.
“The players are the major stake holders in the game and our job as a Nation and Union is to ensure that we give them every possible aid in reaching and performing at such games as the Olympics, undoubtedly the apex of Rugby sevens competition in the World.”
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