Play Rugby USA & Northeast Academy Community Development Academy Program Assembly

NEW YORK – Play Rugby USA, in partnership with the Northeast Academy, is excited to announce their first “Community Olympic Development Program” player assembly to promote the pathway for High School athletes to National Team selections. The first assembly of its kind will commence June 20 at Baker Field in New York.

Following the assembly, athletes will be selected to represent the Northeast in the North American Invitational Sevens Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah July 29-30. Training dates for representative sides will take place June 20 and 27, July 11, 18 and 25.

Athletes interested in being considered for selection have three options for assembly invitation:

1. Attend the June 11 USA Rugby National Tracking Camp in Saratoga Springs, NY
2. Be selected by Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) scouts at upcoming CRC and All-Star events
3. Be nominated by a coach

To be eligible for assembly selection, athletes must have represented their High School or Club’s 1st XV and/or Varsity Team and be committed to training in a high-performance Sevens environment. Coaches interested in nominating an athlete must contact both CODP Manager Ryszard Chadwick and Northeast Academy Director Sean Horan.

The next assembly will be an invitation-only event ahead of the New York Sevens in November, with the team competing in the High School Elite Division against club teams from the UK, USA and Canada.

Community Olympic Development Program Background:
Play Rugby USA, an established grassroots rugby development program, was recently designated by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as the nation’s first Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) for Rugby.

Formally launched in January 2016, the CODP combines resources from Play Rugby USA and the Northeast Academy, a USA Rugby approved elite development program, to formalize and consolidate a pathway for talented young players to USA Rugby national teams.

The mission of the jointly run CODP is to “identify, develop, empower and support young talented athletes from the Northeast to achieve their rugby dreams, by maximizing their potential to compete effectively on the international stage.”

“USA Rugby has firmly endorsed this partnership, which combines one of the highest performing adult sevens programs in the country with the largest youth outreach program in a city with more young athletes than anywhere else in the country,” said USA Rugby High Performance Director Alex Magleby.

To learn more about the CODP program, click here.

About Play Rugby USA
Founded in 2003, Play Rugby USA is achieving its vision of creating “A Better World through Rugby” by providing young people with programs that help them develop a vitality for life, both on and off the rugby field. Play Rugby USA’s mission is “to use the unique power of rugby to inspire and empower youth primarily from underserved communities, to go-forward and realize their true potential. The long-term objectives of the program are for young people to achieve economic success, exhibit healthy habits and be positive influencers in their communities. To learn more, visit www.playrugbyusa.com.

About Northeast Academy
The Northeast Academy, with training squads in New York City, Buffalo and Boston, is a National Development Academy that has been sanctioned by USA Rugby as the official Academy (Men & Women) in the Northeast of America and as a designated pathway to the USA Eagles National Team selection. The purpose of the Academy is to identify, develop and prepare Sevens rugby players with the intention of placing ambitious athletes onto the USA National teams and future USA Olympic teams. The Academy will provide athletes with top level coaching, physical preparation, and playing competition to accelerate their personal development as Sevens players in line with current USA Eagles High Performance criteria.