• Can my team play at the Amsterdam 7s Tournament?
• How do I enter a team into the Amsterdam 7s?
• How do you select which International teams get a place?
• Can my team combine the Amsterdam 7s with other tournaments?
• How much is the entry fee and how do we pay it?
• How many players can I bring and are there any age restrictions?
• Do we need Visas to come to the tournament?
• Am I insured at the tournament?
• When should we travel?
• When are the games?
• Where is the tournament held and how do I get there?
• Where should I stay?
• Can I camp at the tournament site?
• How does the tournament work?
• How can I follow the Fixtures and Scores?

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The process to register a team to take part in the Amsterdam 7s is the same for the Men 7s, Women 7s, Men Vets 10s and Women Vets 10s. The only way to register is by using our registration process in our webshop.

The application process starts by going to de Amsterdam 7s webshop. A new screen will open with the webshop where you can choose your tournament package. Click here.

When this process is completed, you will be redirected to our back office, make sure to fill out your team details (tell us about the team) as well as upload a team picture and team logo. We will use this to promote the teams on our social media!

Your club has entered the tournament with one or more teams in the past

Most likely a known contact person can provide you with the credentials or you can retrieve them if you have forgotten them. If this has no result then start registering yourself and your club again. After having logged in.

Follow the help instructions by using the question mark buttons. Use “My Clubs and Teams” to manage your applications.

When your club details are in the system you can enter a team into a tournament. The contact and club details only need to be filled in once and can then be used for applications each year. It is also possible for one club to enter teams into more than one tournament (Men’s tournament, Women’s tournament, Veterans (men or women) Tournament, and more than one team into one tournament although it is unlikely both teams would be accepted. You can also see details of all of your previous applications from 2022 and the years before.

All of your data is protected by the Login and Password so that only authorized people can access it. You can change or delete your contact details at any time. Club and team details can be changed at any time. It is possible to have more than one contact for a Club. We like to have more than one contact person as this reduces the chance of losing contact with a club (computer viruses, changed e-mail address, people leaving the club etc.). We will only use your data for the purpose of running the Amsterdam 7s tournament.

The two main selection criteria are the quality of the team and the geography. If you can bring a top-quality team, we will confirm a place straight away. We do try to check out teams that claim to be top class. Teams that have played in the tournament before and have performed well also get preferential treatment. If you come from a country or area that is not well represented you will stand a much higher chance of being selected. Because it is easy to get to Amsterdam from the London area the number of applications from that area is very high. Applying and paying the entry fee early also gets your team preferential treatment.

Due to the many entries, it is highly likely that no ‘second teams’ will be allowed in the same class this year.

The selection is a continuous process and, especially for top teams, the process can carry on until the last minute with teams dropping out at the last minute and teams applying. It is never too early or too late to apply.

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The entry fee for 2023 is €600 for a 7s team and €720 for a 10s team. This includes entry to the tournament for 15 people for the Men & Women 7s (18 for the Veterans 10s), a match ball, packed lunches for Saturday and Sunday, a team photograph and much more. Note, if you are bringing more than 15 people on the touring party (18 for the Vets) you will need to purchase extra weekend tickets for these people. Teams can order extra weekend tickets (15 and more) at a discount compared to the regular price by entering the number of tickets they want into the application in our webshop (there is a field there) and paying the extra money in the same way as the entry fee or with the entry fee.

The only method of paying the entry fee is by using our webshop.

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Arriving in Amsterdam
You need to be in time for the tournament to start on Saturday morning. Time depends on when the first games will start. The game schedule will be available as soon as the team setup has been finalized. On Saturday morning you need to sort out the administration. Get your lunch tickets and game ball.
We recommend scheduling arrival on Thursday. Use Friday to acclimate and you are welcome for a training session on the grounds.

Leaving Amsterdam
The final game finishes around 18.00 on Sunday. This is followed by the prize-giving ceremony followed by a few hours of very sociable winding down. If you are booking a flight, try to get one as late as possible on Sunday or, even better, wait until Monday. Leaving early and missing the final and after party is something you want to avoid at all costs. Late planes avoid having to make the choice. Warning: booking a taxi to the airport is no guarantee it will arrive or that someone else will not steal it. The party moves to Coco’s Outback at the Thorbeckeplein until late on Sunday. Well worth staying on for.

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The first games will start between 09.00 and 10.00 o’clock on Saturday. On Saturday the last games usually finish at 17:00. The draw for Sunday is made when all games are finished on Saturday so most teams wait around to find out who they are playing and how late their first game is. The draw is usually available about one hour after the last game finishes.

Sunday starts at 10.00 in the morning. From lunch onwards, the final games will be played. (Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals) Culminating in the big final starting around 17:30.

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By Road
Don’t get lost. The route description below is now the way you get to the National Rugby Centre Amsterdam if you come via Haarlemmerweg (N200), the easiest way for most people coming by road. Coming from Amsterdam, head towards Halfweg and Haarlem on the N200 until you hit traffic lights with a signpost for Geuzenveld to the left. Turn left if you are coming from Amsterdam and then turn right at the T Junction about 200 meters further. Immediately after the enforced left turn, turn right onto Cornelis Outshoornstraat which becomes JM den Uylstraat. A little more than a kilometer further there is a bend to the left into the car park. Allow at least half an hour from Central Amsterdam.

Always check Maps before getting on the road.

By Uber Taxi or Minibus
The easiest way to get around Amsterdam is by downloading the Uber or BOLT app. Just make sure your uber or bolt won’t get poached by other players 😉

There are Taxi ranks on the Leidseplein and at the Central Station. You can also book a taxi or minibus to pick you up. The number of the biggest taxi company is +31 20 777 7777. A number of teams have asked about booking a taxi/minibus to travel to and from the tournament. To book in advance try TCA at +31 20 7777777. Ask for “special vervoer” which is the section dealing with mini-buses.

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The tournament structure can be checked when the regulations for each year’s tournament are put on this website. The structure can change depending on the number of teams who have registered and the number of pitches. The usual structure is as follows. Each of the Tournaments is split into two parts: The Saturday Pool Games and the Sunday Competitions.

You can enter a team in the following competitions:

• Men Elite Pier
  All registered teams will be ranked and placed in a number of pools. Depending on their performance the teams will play on Sunday in the following competitions:
  • Men 7s Elite Pier
  • Men 7s Elite Cup
  • Men 7s Elite Boot
  • Men 7s Elite Plate
• Men 7s Social Shield
  All registered teams will be ranked and placed in a number of pools. Depending on their performance the teams will play on Sunday in the following competitions:
  • Men 7s Social Shield
  • Men 7s Social Badge
• Men 10s Veterans
  All registered teams will be ranked and placed in a number of pools. Depending on their performance the teams will play on Sunday in the following competitions:
  • Men Vets 10s Pier
  • Men Vets 10s GOLDEN OLDIES
• Women 7s Elite Pier
  • Women 7s Elite Pier
  • Women 7s Elite Cup
  • Women 7s Elite Boot
• Women 7s Social Shield
• Women 10s Veterans

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The Amsterdam 7s takes place on the outskirts of Amsterdam at the National Rugby Centre in Geuzenveld. Most people stay in the center of Amsterdam.
The best places to stay are:

• The Sportscamping
  The sports campsite next to the tournament site is the easiest and cheapest option to spend the weekend, and guaranteed to be a heck of a good time. They offer the option of bringing your own tent, renting a tent, or renting a tiny house.
  With a 20-minute taxi, you’re in the center of town. Ideal.
• In or near the Red Light District.
  This is not as juicy as it sounds and since most players and spectators seem drawn to the area it saves the problem of trying to get back to your hotel after a few beers. There are a couple of “clubhouses” in that area. Cafe Corso is the clubhouse of the Marauders and Suzies Saloon has its own invitation team of mostly Kiwis. This is also close to Central Station where you can get a bus or taxi to the sports park.
• Near the Leidseplein.
  There are also a couple of Clubhouses here including Cafe Heuvel on the corner of Prinsengracht and Spiegelgracht. The Hans Brinker Hotel is very cheap, is central, welcomes Rugby Clubs and many, many teams stay there. The owner usually reserves the whole weekend for teams from the 7s (normal tourists might be a little overwhelmed staying with many rugby teams). For this reason, the online booking system shows the hotel as full during that weekend. To book rooms you, therefore, need to ring up the hotel (+31 20 6220687) or e-mail sybil@hans-brinker.net and say you are a team from the Amsterdam 7s.
• If you want to keep your players away from the temptations of Amsterdam there is another possibility.
  Holiday park Spaarnwoude is set in the middle of a nature area with a golf course about 10 km to the North West of the Tournament site (away from Amsterdam). You can rent different kinds of bungalows, from 2 to 8 people. Click here for more details.

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Visas are needed for nationals from the Pacific Islands including Fiji and Tonga, Africa, South Africa, most of Eastern Europe, and Asia. Airlines will only let you onto the plane if you have a valid visa and we have had players left behind at the Airport. More commonly, teams apply too late (we recommend you contact the consulate or embassy 8 weeks before the tournament) and can only get appointments after the tournament and so cannot come. If you want to avoid problems, read this section carefully and apply as early as you can. The reference site for this is the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken). Click here to get to the site. Once on the home page, you can switch the languages at the bottom of the page. Enter ‘Visa’ in the Search box to get to the relevant information.

The countries where you do not need a visa are:

• The whole of Europe except Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia, and Macedonia.
• All of the Americas, North, and South, except Colombia and some Caribbean states.
• Australia and New Zealand.
• If you already have a valid visa for another Schengen country, e.g. Italy, Spain, France, or Germany, then you do not need an extra visa to come to the Netherlands but you will have to show that visa. For Schengen visas, you normally need to have a visa for the first Schengen country you enter. Note that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is not a Schengen country.

The countries where you do need a visa are:

• All of Africa, including South Africa.
• All of the Pacific Islands including Fiji, Tonga, and West Samoa.
• All of the former USSR states.
• All of the Middle East except Israel.
• All of Asia, including Turkey but excluding Japan, South Korea, and Brunei.

Applying for a Visa.
The process for getting a visa is explained via this link.
To find your nearest Embassy or Consulate follow this link.

If you, or one of your players, needs a visa you will need to contact me as the Embassy or Consulate will need proof of your invitation to the tournament and insist on a formal letter with headed paper, etc. Some embassies and consulates will allow a scanned copy by e-mail, but not all. You will need to check beforehand with the embassy/consulate exactly what you need to bring as it can be a real bummer as well as a waste of everyone’s time if you are missing one item.
If you need a visa it can take up to two months to get an appointment and get your visa.

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If you are coming to the Amsterdam 7s you need to arrange your own travel and health insurance coverage. The Amsterdam 7s have strong medical support at the tournament with doctors, medical assistants, and a medical room where minor repairs (stitches, bandages, etc.) can be carried out. However, if you need to go to the hospital you will need medical insurance. If you are an EU Citizen you are covered if you have an EU EHIC (European Health Insurance Card, replaces E111). Some non-EU nationals resident in EU countries can also get an EU EHIC. Check your local EHIC website. In the UK these are available from the NHS at no cost and are valid for 3 to 5 years. If you have private health insurance, check you are covered.

The EU EHIC does not cover repatriation. You will need travel insurance for this. We encourage everyone coming to the Amsterdam 7s from abroad to take out comprehensive travel insurance.

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The fixtures and scores will be available online during the tournament. From midweek before the tournament, the fixtures for the Saturday Pools will be available online. During the day on Saturday, the scores and tables will be updated and available online. On Saturday evening, hopefully by around 18:00, the fixtures for Sunday Morning will be available online. During Sunday the results will be updated online during the day and, as teams progress, the teams in each fixture in the knock-out phases will be filled in as the teams qualify.

To access the fixtures and scores click on “Fixtures & Results”. In the Fixtures and Results screen select the results you want to see.

Select

Year
The current year’s Saturday fixtures will be available from midweek before the tournament, Sunday Morning fixtures from about 18:00 on Saturday and the knock-out games on Sunday as teams qualify. You can also select any year to see the completed results of previous tournaments.

Day/date
Choose either Saturday or Sunday. This can be done by selecting either the date or choosing the Saturday or Sunday radio buttons. Tournament Choose Women 7s, Men 7s, or Veterans 10s.

Sub-Tournament
If you leave this blank it will create all fixtures/scores for that tournament on that day. You can select, for example, Silver Pier Sunday Pool matches or Heineken Boot Semi-finals. This will show all Silver Pier Sunday matches or all Heineken Boot semi-finals.

Pool
To select just one pool or match you can select it here. For example, there are normally 12 pools in the men’s Saturday Pools. You can select one of the 12 pools. Similarly you can select semi-final 1 or Semi-final 2.

Click on “Create Report”. The report can be printed off.
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