Rugby sevens — also known as 7-a-side, or 7s — is a short form of the sport of
rugby union that was first played in 1883. The first (men's) internationals took place in 1973. As
women's rugby union developed in the 1960s and 1970s the format became very popular as it allowed games, and entire leagues, to be developed in countries even when player numbers were small, and it remains the main form the women's game is played in most parts of the world. However, although the first
women's international rugby union 15-a-side test match took place in 1982, it was not until 1997 before the first
women's international 7s tournaments were played, when the
1997 Hong Kong Sevens included a women's tournament for the first time. Over the next decade the number of tournaments grew, with almost every region developing regular championship competitions. This reached its zenith with 2009's inaugural
women's tournament for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, shortly followed by the announcement that women's rugby sevens will be included in the Olympics from 2016. The first official regional 7s championship for international women's teams from European was the European Women's Sevens Championship held in 2003 in
Lunel,
France. Since then, the regional 7s championships have periodically served as pre-qualifying competitions for the Rugby 7s World Cup, or other sevens tournaments. ==Tournaments==