ADT Security Services, the Florida-based business and home security provider, has signed on as one of four presenting sponsors of the Feb. 12-13 USA Sevens international rugby championship event in Las Vegas. The single-year deal is valued in the mid-six figures and provides ADT on-field signage and corporate hospitality at the tournament. As part of the deal, ADT also becomes a sponsor of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the eight-stop world tour for the seven-man format of rugby. "This is huge; it shows that they believe in what we are doing," said USA Sevens President Jonathan First. The rugby sevens tournaments include national teams from traditional rugby powerhouse countries, such as England, New Zealand and Scotland. The seven-man format features faster, more wide open games than traditional 15-man rugby and is played in seven-minute halves. The sport will debut as an Olympic sport in '16. NBC and Universal Sports will broadcast 15 combined hours of live coverage from the Las Vegas tournament and beam the host feed to 140 countries. Universal Sports will broadcast six of the eight stops on the HSBC Sevens World Series. NBC Sports Exec VP Jon Miller described the game as "non-stop action." "One of the things that really caught our attention was how fast the game is played and how athletic these guys are," Miller said. "It's played at hyper speed. It's always a challenge when you introduce a new sport to the American public, but I think people will think [rugby sevens] is entertaining and fun."
