Lloyd McDermott’s KARI Ella 7’s tournament took place over the weekend, March 1st – 2nd for its 11th consecutive year. This tournament showcases talent as well as the culture of Indigenous communities who participate in the Rugby Union tournament.
Held at C.ex International Sports Stadium in Coffs Harbour, the tournament started on Friday night with the Women’s competition. A total of 10 women’s teams participated in the event that saw the Highlanders defeating Mob Deep, taking out the title of tournament champions.
A total of 28 men’s teams spread across 7 pools competed for the title of Ella 7’s champions. In what was an intense match, the Southern Kings triumphed over Bourke Warriors 10-7, to secure the tournament trophy.
The tournament is a key marketing tool to bring the game of Sevens to the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, with a large number of male and female players going on to represent the Australian Sevens program.
KARI are proud to be involved in an event that allows the Indigenous community to show pride in their culture whilst playing a sport they love. It is a pathway to professional Rugby Union that allows the community to showcase their excellence.
“Once again we were very proud to be the major sponsor for the Ella Sevens 2019 tournament. This year we saw more teams participate and the standard of play was again a very high standard. One most pleasing aspect of this event is the great community spirit and respect shown towards all teams and each other. We are now looking forward to next year.” said KARI Founder, Paul Ralph.
To view some images from the day, see the gallery below.
