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IN LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS TIME the International Olympic Committee Executive Board will recommend two new sports for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic programme. It is now down to all of us to help make sure Rugby Sevens is one of those two chosen sports… and we have no time to waste.

For Rugby to find its way back into the Olympics would be the biggest thing to have happened to this great sport since it went professional - if not the biggest thing since William Webb Ellis first thought it might be fun to pick up the ball and run with it.

So how can we do our bit to make it happen? How can you play your part in creating the sport’s greatest legacy? You may not think that anything you do can make a difference, now that the IRB has campaigned and presented its case to the IOC. Wrong. Collectively we can still make a difference, but it’s up to each and every one of us.

At the very least, all you need to do is sign the petition and help spread the word far and wide. To take things a step further, send a letter to your National Olympic Committee outlining why you think Rugby Sevens should be in the Olympics. Finally – and this goes for all of you – over the next few weeks spend as much time as possible talking to as many people as possible about why Rugby Sevens should be in the Olympics. The more chatter we can get going, the more likely it is that voting members will get the message.

Check out the UR7s guide to playing your part in rugby’s Olympic dream…

Rugby’s inclusion in the Olympics would be massive for the sport and add huge value to the Olympic mission and Games themselves.

For Rugby, not only would it cast an unprecedented spotlight on the sport and raise its profile globally, it would also open up funds, facilities and focus in many non-traditional rugby playing countries. It would bring mouthwatering prospects in powerhouses such as the USA, China and Russia, and unlock the exciting potential in the likes of Nigeria – who, let’s face it, has provided some of England’s greatest 7s players (Harriman, Adebayo, Monye et al).

For the Olympics, well, many of the benefits have been well-documented. In short, Rugby Sevens at the Games would:

• Reinforce the ideals of Olympism, thanks to Rugby’s long-standing ethos of fair play and friendship
• Reach a new and young audience
• Attract a huge number of additional travelling spectators
• Fill the Olympic Stadium in the first week of competition, adding an additional vibrant, youthful and multi-cultural atmosphere
• Attract a massive and global TV audience
• Extend the number of potential medal-winning nations, in what would be a true world championship and the pinnacle for the sport
• Increase funds to grow the Olympic Movement, by attracting new commercial partners and spectators

So we all know it makes sense. Let’s make it happen. It’s over to us - all of us.

* Sevens is currently one of seven sports vying for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games, alongside golf, squash, softball, baseball, roller sports and karate. This shortlist will be whittled down to two August 13th, in Berlin. Then in October (7th - 9th) at the IOC congress in Copenhagen, one, both or neither of the sports will be elected by the 107 IOC members.