A little-known fact of the Olympics is that coaches are not awarded medals.
鈥淭hey get to keep their jobs,鈥� quipped Mill Bay鈥檚 Tait.
He admits he鈥檚 鈥渟leeping better these days now that the pressure鈥檚 off.鈥�
That came with reaching the podium in Rio.
But the great wheel never stops turning.
Langford will host a sa国际传媒 Sevens stop on the World Series for the third consecutive year. The 2017 sa国际传媒 Sevens will be held May 27-28 at Westhills Stadium.
鈥淩io is in the past. We are already looking forward to the next four to eight years,鈥� said Tait.
鈥淭his is the first year of the quadrennial building to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and we will take a slow, methodical approach. There are new goals. The next big piece in the puzzle is the 2018 Commonwealth Games [in Gold Coast, Australia].鈥�
The players who didn鈥檛 play in the Rio Olympics will open training at Westhills and PISE on the Camosun College Interurban campus in mid-September. The returning Rio Olympics veterans will join the camp in mid-October. An ongoing group of 25 players will be based in Greater Victoria in the quadrennial leading to Tokyo 2020. The same with the Canadian men鈥檚 rugby sevens program, which failed to qualify for Rio.
The other dates on the 2016-17 Women鈥檚 Rugby Sevens World Series are Dec. 1-2 in Dubai, Feb. 3-4 in Sydney, April 22-23 in Kitakyushu, Japan, and June 24-25 in Clermont-Ferrand, France. A sixth venue will be announced at a later date.
鈥淭he last two years, we had the [2015] Toronto Pan Am Games and Rio Olympics to peak for,鈥� added Tait.
鈥淸With 2017 a non-Games year], we will point to our own tournament at Langford in May as what we are peaking for this season.鈥�
With the enthusiastic crowds and precision organization at Westhills Stadium the past two years, the sa国际传媒 Sevens set the standard on the women鈥檚 World Series.
鈥淭his is an opportunity, and reward, for our local community that has hosted and supported this team so well. Fans are going to see all the Rio Olympic medallists in Langford [Australia, New Zealand and sa国际传媒]鈥� said Gareth Rees of Victoria, director of commercial projects and relations for Rugby sa国际传媒.
鈥淚t鈥檚 turned into the best event on the women鈥檚 World Series and we鈥檙e proud of that.鈥�
Ticket details will be announced soon.
