Welcome to March Madness, oblong-ball style.
It has everything the round-ball version boasts, from pulsating pace to whiplash momentum swings to the dizzying array of games in succession.
The kings of the madness on the pitch are the University of Victoria.
The UVic Vikes鈥� roster depth has been unmatched in Canadian rugby and that will be on ample display once again today and Saturday at Westhills Stadium in Langford when the Vikes go after their fifth consecutive national men鈥檚 university sevens title.
It must be nice for a coach to have a kind of magic box out of which he can pluck players almost at will who have national-team experience.
Luke Bradley from Port Alberni, who has played for sa国际传媒 in sevens, and Ollie Nott of Qualicum Beach and Guiseppe du Toit out of Shawnigan Lake School, both most recently with sa国际传媒 in the XVs Americas Championship, help lead the Vikes into the 2017 Canadian university sevens tournament.
Missing are Vikes Isaac Kaay and Lucas Hammond, both recuperating from playing in the sa国际传媒 Sevens last weekend at sa国际传媒 Place.
鈥淵ou really notice the changes in the players, and see how much they鈥檝e improved, when the come back from time up with the sevens or XVs national teams,鈥� said Vikes coach Doug Tate.
Whatever it is, it works. UVic Vikes alumni include Phil Mack of Victoria and Nathan Hirayama of Richmond, the two leading scorers for sa国际传媒 in international sevens play, and also former Canadian sevens great Sean Duke.
The current generation of Vikes, captained by James Pitblado, open pool play in Group A against UBC-Okanagan today at 10 a.m., followed by games against Mount Royal at 12:30 p.m. and versus the University of Regina Cougars at 3 p.m.
The host program is so deep that UVic has also entered its Norsemen development team into the national championship tournament. The UVic Norsemen are in Group C against the Alberta Golden Bears, Saskatchewan Huskies and Trent from Peterborough, Ont.
The championship rounds are Saturday through to the finals at 5:30 p.m. Both Goudy Field and Westhills Stadium will be utilized today with Westhills the lone venue for Saturday.
鈥淎 lot of these other teams are going to be hurt by the recent weather back home because they won鈥檛 have had a lot of time outside this winter,鈥� noted Tate.
鈥淲e had winter this year, too, but while we lost days outside, the rest of the country lost weeks at a time.鈥�
That has allowed the Vikes鈥� normally-sharp passing game to stay well honed.
鈥淥ur philosophy has always been to let the ball do the work for us,鈥� said Tate, the ground-breaking original coach of the sa国际传媒 sevens team, long before this version of the game became an Olympic sport.
鈥淲e look to make the other teams move around by using the width and length of the field,鈥� added Tate.
The UVic Vikes open the women鈥檚 national sevens university championship against the Calgary Dinos this morning at 11:28 a.m. Also in Group C are York and Regina.
