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Surfer or Cowboy?! With the North American season well under the way Robin Heymann looks ahead to two very different but equally high profile tournaments set to commence this weekend.

The Independence Day – or ‘Fourth of July’ – celebrations will need to be put on ice in North Carolina with one of the biggest tournaments in the USA taking place over Saturday and Sunday. The Cape Fear Sevens is also one of America’s oldest events starting all the way back in started in 1975.

The Men’s Premier has been won by a variety of sides over the years, predominately from Virginia with a smattering of UK based teams. Perennial sevens powerhouse Nova (managed as ever by the charismatic Bill Gardener) dominated the event in the late 90s taking home the title six years in succession from 1997-2002. The Washington based side also took the title last year in 2008 and with young recruits from UK in Hamish Smales (Kooga Wailers) and David Smith (Samurai International and England Sevens) along with USA’s PJ Komongnan in their ranks they will again be a force to reckon with in the Premier Division.

Pushing them all the way will no doubt will be Old Blue (NY), who returned to winning ways recently when they took home the PAC 7s in Maryland. If they can keep USA 7s player Troy Hall and Welsh international James Strong in their ranks they could repeat their success of 1993. OMBAC might be licking their wounds after their 50-5 trouncing by Belmont Shore at the Final of Vegas, but with quality in their ranks thanks to the likes of internationals Zach Pangelinan and Alex Ross will again pose a serious threat. The only UK based side to make its way to North Carolina are the Marchwood Dolphins a side often packed players from the British Army that has included England’s Isoa Damudamu. Kenya Exiles and the home club themselves are sides also with the ability to make potential inroads.

As can be expected from a tournament in the Series there is a wide scope of 7s on tap at Ogden Park outside of the Elite men. This includes Men’s Club, Men’s Social, Women’s Premier, and Women’s Social.

Nestled midway between New York and Florida along the southeastern coast of North Carolina, the cone shaped peninsula of the Cape Fear Coast, encompasses the city of Wilmington and the island communities of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach. With the area famed for glorious sandy beaches, rolling surf, diverse attractions, and a sub-tropical climate all help to provide a sensational location for big numbers expected to assemble.

Perhaps the only blot on this year’s event is the clashing of the tournament with the scheduled 1st leg of the USA v Canada 15s World Cup Qualifier in nearby Charleston. No-one can really tell the true impact that this will have on Cape Fear but is a source of concern for the tournament organisers. Tournament Director Ray Fudderbank showed is anger for the situation, when writing of his concern of the clash to USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville.

‘Regional rugby events compete for sponsorship dollars and publicity with regional soccer, baseball, lacrosse, MMA, and too many events and organizations to list here. We should not compete with other Rugby Events for those dollars and spectators,’ quoted Fudderbank.

For the non-surfer types there’s another typically North American experience on offer this weekend deep in Canadian Cowboy Country.

Calgary Park once again play host for the 38th Stampede Sevens. Yes that’s right the words ‘Calgary’ and ‘Stampede’ probably ring a bell with you? That’s because this tournament happens to coincide with one of Canada’s largest events of the year famed for the world’s biggest outdoor rodeo – The Calgary Stampede. Not professing to be the rodeo expert myself, I’ve been informed this is a pretty incredible spectacle with a total pot of $1,000,000 up for grabs in prize money.

So how does 7s fit into this festival of lasso and spurs? It features 32 teams from all over Canada, with well known names whom have turned out for the national side at the IRB World Sevens Series this year. The Men`s Premier division will kick things off with two of three preliminary games being held at the CRU on Saturday, July 4th in a hunt for the cash prize of $5,000. With the Canadian team taking home the title last year, a marker has been set down on the high level of the elite part of the tournament. Also on show will be a Men`s Open and Women`s division that will also kick off the competition on Day 1 following the Cape Fear blueprint of offering a broad range of rugby abilities from both sexes over the weekend.

In what is sure to be an always memorable soiree at the quintessentially Country Ho Down will take place at The Whiskey Bar a chance to buy your opposite man a chilled a Molsen/Labbatt Blue whilst sampling some ambiance from the Stampede. There’s also the Rachman's legendary big stampede tent back down at Calgary Park where Cowboys and Cowgirls can kick off their evening.

With both Cape Fear and the Stampede Sevens firmly established as some the most competitive and best loved events in what’s a notoriously busy time on the North American circuit, it’s an exciting time for the game in this part of the world. If Sevens does get the thumbs up from the IOC hierarchy for Olympic Inclusion for it will be fascinating to see how tournaments like these two really begin to develop. Much has been spoken on how the US game would be transformed but what would be the effects on the Canadian game?

With the 15s game in Canada consistently on another plain to their 7’s contemporaries, Olympic status will surely mean an increasing influx of events such as the Calgary Stampede Sevens that will obviously help to close the respective gap between the codes. From an American standpoint the sevens game remains in a relatively rosy health, helped largely by the sheer volume of tournaments. With the buzz building as ever for the US Nationals in San Francisco on 15/16th this weekend should be another corker.