Cape Fear Sevens is, without a doubt, the premier (pronounced prem-YEAY) U.S. 7-a-side rugby tournament of the year with a family festival atmosphere. They have pools and brackets for Oldies, U19, U12 touch, Open, Social and Qualifier (for Women and Men), and you will be guaranteed to rub elbows with one of our National VII or XV, so bring your snappy cam and a sharpie.

The organizers accept walk-ons in the Social pools for those without a full side, or are not feeling challenged. Every game starts exactly on time, and all the referees are INVITED, the six pitches are within 100 meters of center stage, which is ringed with Matt Godek, a fruit-slushie stand and other rugby trinkets.

Dayton, Lexington and Louisville (now Cincinnati) generally gather on the beach out the back door of the hotel as one big family. We have been known to take up a whole floor at times, every door propped open for a room-hopping, buffet (meat and sides in room 202, chips and dessert in 203, drinks down the hall...). The hotel we prefer is The Silver Gull beside Johnny Mercer Pier on Wrightsville Beach - full kitchen with dishes and cutlery so cooking-in is the prefered way to keep the costs low (a full grocery is only five miles away), avoiding the dinner crowds and high costs; and some folks head to Wrightsville Beach a week prior and prefer renting a bungalo down the strand a piece for the same price as one weekend in a hotel.

In the tournament we might play for our home clubs, or mix it up and enter a Social side (Stoned Pigs) and an Oldies side (Picaso). Moments after our final games of the first day, we can all be found on Wrightsville Beach, sharing lies, drinks and what-else people might share, body surfing and watching, and the occasional man-hunt for someone-or-other who has wandered, or was taken by the tide uncomfortably far down the beach.

Back in the day we used to drive down in caravan form just after our Thursday sprints in training. Recently, with incomes and ages increasing, more people are flying to RDU or Wilmington and renting cars or vans. It is a trade-off: 11.5 hours of road-tripping fun versus only slightly fewer hours of being herded through the rat maze of airports in these times of tightened security.

The driving directions are simple: OH-35 East, OH-23 South, OH-50 East to Huntington, WV, I-64 East, I-77 South, I-74 East, NC-52 South, I-40 East (for six hours), make the loop-de-loop and Right turn onto US-74/17 East, in five miles the beach is between your toes and the Silver Gull is on your right, find a spot to park under the hotel and do not move your car until check-out time on Monday (or Sunday if you must leave early) - you are warned.