Trinidad aiming for Rio

The North America & Caribbean Olympic sevens qualifier will be held in in Cary, North Carolina on 13/14 June with the prize of a place at the Rio Olympics for the winner. But, if the United States and Canada both qualify for the Games from the World Series (quite possible with Canada currently second and the United States fifth) the way will be clear for the next ranked team in the NACRA region to qualify for Rio - and even the two teams below that will be able to look forward to the glamour and excitement of the world repecharge tournament later in the year.

Mexico () are the current but they will not have it all their own way in North Carolina. Until?˜the Mexicans?˜joined NACRA, Trinidad & Tobago were the region??s leading team. ?˜Before the region??s test rugby championship disappeared from the fixture list they had the remarkable record of 13 wins and a draw in 15 tests.

When?˜sevens became the region??s exclusive international form of the game (XVs is still played at club level in Trinidad) "T&T" took a while to adjust, but since 2012 they have been the Caribbean islands?? leading team in NACRA tournaments. They are also the only NACRA team (other than Canada and the United States) to have ever played in a World Series event ?? at Houston in 2013 where they ran Japan close in the bowl semi-final before finishing 12. ?˜However Serge Piquet, who produces our test rankings, also calculates that has Mexico at 35 and Trinidad at 43.

Nonetheless ??T&T?? are determined to regain their regional primacy this year. We spoke to Kanisha Vincent about the challenges of playing for the national team:

??Skinned knees and elbows are a sign that the Women??s 7s team in Trinidad and Tobago are training harder than ever for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers. For those of us who are unfamiliar with the Caribbean weather, there are basically two seasons; one is wet and the other is dry. The rugby season in T&T is confined to the wetter months of August to December in order to avoid the hard, concrete-like surfaces, which are caked dry during the other months, and the meanest bruises known to man.

??So you know it??s absolutely serious when I tell you that we, the National Women??s team, are braving the dry season and skinned knees and bleeding elbows ?? our rewards for tackles well made - and all in order to give ourselves the best possible chance against contenders in June. Until you have experienced it, you will not be able to understand that missing skin. But we persevere??

??To prep ourselves for the competition looming in the foreground, in the past few months there have been visits from Barbados, as well as Princeton University, in which the team got the opportunity to host friendlies. There is no other testament to hard work and the love of the game than braving shin splints and aching feet in order to achieve our goals; seeking structural fortitude and using what works for the team to get the best possible results.

??That is something the Women??s 7s Team in T&T has been renowned for for countless years: braving all adversity to succeed. The coaching team which consists of Carlton Felix (Head Coach) and Jenilee Limada (Assistant Coach) has recently been joined by former national 7s icon, Kelson Figaro, who brings an interesting, fresh and new twist to the training sessions, truly legendary. Even with his inclusion it has been a long hard journey and will continue to be.

??Good-bye to long sleeves and any sort of fitted pants past the knee. Sacrifices must be made for victory.??