The researches at the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP) have been awarded $21,579 to investigate injury occurrence and risk factors in rugby sevens –  a new Olympic sport. 

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15. 

Chief investigator Dr Lauren Fortington said the project would explore why some of the rugby sevens athletes tended to experience multiple injuries and how different training programs impacted on their risk of injury.

“Both the men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams are tipped to be medal contenders at the upcoming games. Keeping the athletes free from injury is key to enabling the team to train at its best in the lead up to this major event,” Dr Fortington said.

“It’s about keeping more people fit to play.”

Dr Fortington said the project was in its early stages but the research team would travel to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra to meet with medical staff, watch the athletes train and talk about outcomes and data.

The Federation University Australia researchers, including Dr Fortington, Dr Muhammad Akram and Professor Caroline Finch, will work with the Australian Rugby Union.

Dr Fortington said ACRISP was proud to be taking on world-class research for an international sport in Ballarat.

“The fact that it’s happening on our doorstep with this amazing organisation,” she said.

Through a competitive application process, ACRISP researchers were awarded the grant from the AIS High Performance Research Fund.

Rugby sevens will be played at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.

ACRISP has been recognised as Australia's premier sports injury prevention research centre, being only one of nine centres worldwide to be selected by the International Olympic Committee as a member of the IOC Medical Research Network.