The International Rugby Board welcomes the outcomes of positive discussions with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the leaders of eight international federations at the SportAccord convention to discuss the potential hosting of the Rugby Sevens events at the new Deodoro Olympic Park.
Rugby Sevens will make its debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with the 12 men’s and 12 women’s team competition format providing the Sevens pinnacle for players from all over the world and providing the opportunity to play on the world’s greatest sporting stage.
During the meeting, which was attended by senior representatives from the sports of basketball, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, hockey, modern pentathlon, shooting and rugby, Rio 2016 Executive Director of Sport Agberto Guimaraes discussed updated proposals for the Deodoro Olympic Park, both in terms of the sports venues, and the common areas for spectators.
The updated plans see the Deodoro Olympic Park hosting the 10,000-seat Olympic Hockey Centre, and Rugby Sevens and modern pentathlon sharing a temporary, purpose-built 20,000-capacity arena. Meanwhile, basketball preliminary matches would take place in the Deodoro Arena.
While the updated proposals are subject to formal board approval by the international federations, including IRB Executive Committee, Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman was delighted with the productive and positive discussions that took place: “We are very pleased with the significant progress made regarding the Deodoro Olympic Park. Without doubt, Deodoro will be a very vibrant, exciting and atmospheric element of the Rio 2016 Games.
“We look forward to continuing to work very closely with our international federation partners, and the IOC and IPC, to deliver our shared goals of technical excellence and outstanding spectator experience. I would like to thank my colleagues at the international federations for their great spirit of partnership and cooperation, and for sharing their expertise with us.”
IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper added: “We are encouraged with the highly positive discussions with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee regarding the Deodoro zone, which is being proposed by Rio 2016 as the venue for the men’s and women’s Rugby Sevens events at the 2016 Games.”
“While the venue is ultimately subject to IRB Executive Board approval, the IRB is satisfied that Rio 2016’s exciting plans to ensure that the zone is an accessible and vibrant festival hub will deliver a great experience for the sports and for fans.”
“The IRB will continue to work alongside Rio 2016 and the IOC to ensure the delivery of outstanding and successful Rugby Sevens events for teams, fans and the Olympic and Rugby families.”
At the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission meeting in February this year, it was confirmed that the Rio 2016 Games would uniquely include two Olympic Parks. One located in Barra and the other in Deodoro.
Deodoro is the area of Rio with the highest concentration of young people under the age of 18 and will host an exciting mix of traditional Olympic sports and newer additions to the programme. In legacy mode after 2016, the IRB is in discussion with Rio 2016 regarding the possibility of delivering a dedicated Rugby high performance and development facility to boost the growth of Rugby in Brazil further. Deodoro will also host to a youth-focused X Park containing BMX cycling and slalom canoeing.
