GLENDALE, Colo. –
The 2024 Armed Forces Sports Rugby 7s men’s tournament will field teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard for competition at Infinity Park, Aug. 23 to Aug. 25.
The first two days will feature round-robin games, followed by an Armed Forces Championship match. The schedule is packed.
Day 1, Aug. 23, will begin at 11 a.m. with Navy vs. Air Force, followed by Marine Corps vs. Army at 11:20 a.m.
Then at 2 p.m. Coast Guard will face off against Navy and at 2:20 p.m., Air Force will compete with Army.
At 5 p.m., it’s Coast Guard vs. Marine Corps, then 5:20 p.m. finds Navy at Army.
Finally, at 8 p.m. Air Force meets Marine Corps on the pitch as the sun sets over the Rocky Mountains.
Day 2 will similarly be busy with the services each vying for the championship.
The Army captured the last nine titles that it played in, so the other services will be working especially hard to unseat them for gold.
The Armed Forces rugby 7s was established in 2012 moving from the 15-aside format, after it was announced it would be an Olympic sport beginning at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rugby 7s, also known as rugby sevens, fields seven players on each team, playing for two seven-minute halves.
Besides rugby, Armed Forces Sports hosts 23 other sports, including basketball, judo, marathon, shooting, soccer, track and field and wrestling.
These sporting events support the secretary of defense’s priorities of resilience and taking care of people. Rugby, as with other sports, requires, leadership, teamwork, mental acuity, physical fitness and perseverance, all traits valued in military members.
Head to armedforcessports.com to follow all the action.