In four years time when Rugby makes its return to the Olympics after 92 years, the U.S. will once again win a medal. However, it most likely won’t be the men (although, hopefully they do), but the women that will have that honor. That push for a medal begins this weekend at the National All-Star 7’s Championships in Chula Vista, California. Women’s team from each of U.S.A. Rugby’s territorial unions, as well as a developmental team, will fight it out not only for a title, but for the eye of coach Ric Suggitt.

But to say that the NASC is where Suggitt discovers all his players would be misleading. Over the last few years, the women’s game has grown by leaps and bounds. Here are just some of the positive things going for the program:

• Eight players have signed contracts with U.S.A. Rugby and are in full-time residency. This means that they live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. That is a huge move for women’s rugby. There are maybe only two dozen women in the world getting paid to play rugby, and to have eight of our athletes in the care of specialists is huge. Already the move seems to be paying dividends in terms of quality of play and performance.
• The performance of the national team is strong. Traditionally, the U.S. women have been some of the best international rugby players in the world. As teams caught up with the U.S., that tapered off a bit, but the team still has the power to win a major tournament. Just this last year, the Women Eagles advanced to the final of the Las Vegas Invitational and the Amsterdam 7’s.
• The college game is improving. Under NCAA rules, women’s rugby is eligible to be a varsity sport. That comes with certain thresholds, but it has nevertheless encouraged several women’s programs around the country to build up their women’s teams. For example, just this last week, Harvard announced that they would taking their women’s team varsity. Additionally, these programs are turning out better and better players.
• Youth national teams are playing more. The hardest aspect of women’s rugby is getting all interested players in the same place at the same time. However, through funding and effort, U.S.A. Rugby has managed to have several assemblies throughout the year where younger players get more exposure to Suggitt and his staff. From such assemblies, players like Buil Baravilala have emerged. This is going to be vitally important as the team surges towards Rio.
• More clubs are forming. Participation numbers among women have been consistently strong over the last few years. This has often resulted in the formation of women only rugby clubs. These clubs deserve credit for more fully organizing the women’s game by hosting tournaments and producing quality players.

Even though the team has a lot going for it, there are still struggles:

• A lack of games. Unlike the men, women’s 7’s teams around the country do not have a nine stop series. Instead, they have a three to five tournaments a year. This is not enough to improve. These women deserve the same opportunity to play the same number of games as the men.
• Lack of resources. Women’s clubs often do not have the same type of financial backing that men do and this causes them to miss out on major opportunities. For example, several teams dropped out of the women’s Club 7’s Championship at the last minute because of funds and other reasons. Dropping out of any tournament at the last minute is inexcusable, but it’s difficult to ignore that the women face extra difficulties in funding.
• A lack of attention. U.S.A. Rugby does a fantastic job of providing opportunity and resources to the women’s game. However, little attention was paid to the women’s tournament at the Las Vegas Invitational by NBC despite several top matches. The same can be said for the women’s tournament in Dubai and Hong Kong. Unless it is a final, highlights of the matches are almost impossible to find. As Rio rolls around and the powers that be realize that the women are the most likely to medal, this could change, but it should change now.

There is a lot of work left to be done before the team gets to Rio, but as a country, we would be smart to put more support and effort to the women’s 7’s team. It won’t be easy, but the possibility of a gold medal should be enough for any one to rally behind the cause of the women’s rugby.

Curtis Reed is the editor and founder of This Is American Rugby and can be found at www.thisisamericanrugby.com or on Twitter @ThisIsAmerRugby