Can-Am Rugby players battle for possession of the ball on a line-out play during the tournament in Saranac Lake on July 28, 2024. (News photo Parker O'Brien)

SARANAC LAKE — More than 1,000 rugby players will descend on the Tri-Lakes region this weekend as the 51st annual Can-Am Rugby Tournament, one of the largest rugby tournaments in the United States, kicks off on Friday, July 25.

The tournament, which started in 1974, will wrap up with championship games on Sunday, July 27. Games will be in Saranac Lake at the Schroeter’s Field, Petrova fields, the Saranac Lake High School practice field and in Lake Placid at the North Elba Athletic Fields.

This year’s event will feature 100 teams spanning across 11 divisions, according to Adirondack Rugby, Inc. President Libby Clark. While last year there were 120 teams — partly because it was the half-century anniversary — 100 teams is typical for this event. However, they are down some northern teams.

“We are sadly missing some Canadian friends,” Clark said. “So, that’s definitely a loss for us, but we still have a lot of teams that are coming back year after year.”

She added that this tournament is very generational, and there are a lot of families coming up and repeat players.

“People tend to spend more than just the tournament days up here,” Clark said. “They come up here to enjoy where we get to live every single day. They go on a vacation. So a lot of them are staying in local hotels, Airbnbs and things like that. They get to come up here with their families, enjoy the water, do other things in rugby. It’s really kind of fun to see and hear their stories. You can hear a lot of different memories from all the people that come up here.”

While the tournament is relatively the same from the previous years, one big change is that there will be an Old Girls Women’s Over-35 division.

“That’s something we’ve never had before,” Clark said. “We’ve had like, an over-35 women’s one-off team, which is loosely put together. But this year, we’re really excited to have a division where we’ve got multiple teams playing.”

The Saranac Lake-based Mountaineers Rugby Club, which hosts the tournament and has spent the past few weeks practicing for the upcoming event, will have three teams this year — all in the younger divisions.

“We’ve got a men’s club and a men’s social,” Clark said. “We have had a premier team in the past, not this year. And we do a women’s social team.”

Tournament director Cameron Moody, who has been involved with this event for well over a decade, won’t be able to attend this year. Moody is currently deployed with the National Guard overseas.

“But the work that he’s done to help plan this year has been really valuable and we couldn’t do it without him,” Clark said. “He’s doing it all from afar at 4:30 in the morning or earlier. It’s really amazing. His dedication to this, you know, in our community.”

Along with the typical action, there will also be two days of wheelchair rugby hosted at the Saranac Lake Civic Center and outside of the games, there will be the third annual Can-Am carnival in Riverside Park in Saranac Lake. The carnival will run from 1 to 8 p.m. on July 25, 2 to 8 p.m. on July 26 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 27.

Clark said a big reason this tournament has lasted 51 years is because of the community.

“Everyone’s been really supportive, so we really appreciate that,” She said. “We know how much of an impact it makes on our communities and we love the support that we get from whether it’s the village or Harristown or Franklin County and just individuals that are really enjoy the rugby weekend. We call it rugby Christmas. A lot of people do, so for us, it’s pretty special. And it’s just it’s a great time.”

For the game schedules and results, visit canamrugby.com.