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The 2009 North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Sevens starts this weekend with 13 men’s teams and 5 women’s teams lining up in Mexico City.

The men’s tournament will also act as a regional qualifier for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. The top five teams will qualify for the CAC Games with the number one ranked Caribbean team gaining the honour of automatic qualification for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

Defending champions Guyana will once again line up as slight favourites with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), Jamaica, and hosts Mexico considered the likely threats.

Mexico warmed up for the event by travelling to California to play exhibirtion training matches against US National champions, Belmont Shore and OMBAC. The tournament is new coach Dion Rameka’s first major event in charge of the squad.

With many of teams playing at alititude for the first time Trinidad and Tobago manager Curtis Nero is confident his ‘Calypso Warriors’ are up to the challenge.

“In the end I am confident that the players are up to the task. It is four years since we last held the Caribbean 7s title. Guyana and Jamaica have dominated the 7s version. We are the current 15s Rugby champs. But Sevens is an Olympic sport now.”

“The team selected is an experienced one. We had to make some difficult choices,” added Nero.

The Bahamas and Cayman Islands are also teams who could threaten with both nations supplying players to the West Indies Sevens side in recent years and have implemented initiatives to develop their youngsters through domestic academies.

The women's tournament is wide open, although Guyana, the 2008 Caribbean champions, will also start off as favourites with Cayman close behind. Mexico and Bahamas make their debut in the event with St.Lucia expected to struggle.

"The team we will be travelling with have some good 15-a-side experience under their belt which will help to ease nerves when they step on the pitch,” said Cayman captain Joanne Ziegler.

“The next critical level of experience for these players is in the Sevens field and we are confident that our training will lead to great improvements over last year's performance".

With Mexico hosting the 2011 PANAM Games, an event that will feature Rugby Sevens for the first time, this weekend’s event provides an ideal opportunity for the local crowd to become accustomed to the sport.

In the men’s event the top 3 teams from Pool A and top 2 teams from Pools B and C automatically go through to the Cup knockout competition on Day 2. The 3rd placed teams in Pools B and C play a one off match to decide the remaining 8th team in the Day 2 knockout tournament.

The remaining 5 teams enter a round robin tournament on Day 2.

The women's tournament format is a round-robin over two days with each playing each other. On Day 2, the 1st and 2nd placed teams will play off for the overall Championship with additional matches between 3rd and 4th and 5th and 6th.

Men's Teams:

Pool A: Guyana, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic
Pool B: Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, Barbados, St Lucia
Pool C: Bermuda, Jamaica, Martinique, St Vincent & The Grenadines

Women's Teams:

Mexico, Cayman, Bahamas, St Lucia, Guyana

Originally formed in March 2001, under the name of North America and West Indies Rugby Association (“NAWIRA”), NACRA is one of the six IRB regional associations. NACRA is the governing body of the thirteen Unions in North America Caribbean Rugby Association.