Rugby is growing day by day in the USA with thousands of young players picking up a rugby ball for the first time and for Sevens coach Al Caravelli the "sky is the limit" for potential growth across the world if the sport is successful in its bid to be included in the Olympic Games.
The IOC Executive Board will meet in Berlin on Thursday and recommend two of the seven sports vying for inclusion on the Olympic programme. The IOC Members will convene in Copenhagen on 9 October to select the sports to join the 2016 Olympic Games.
"The true beauty of modern Sevens is that there isn't a large gap between the top teams and some of the supposed 'lesser' nations," explained Caravelli. "The World Series continues to demonstrate that upsets are always possible and a Cinderella team medalling in the Olympics, if we are included, is indeed a possibility.
"If we do get into the Olympics, I believe the sky is the limit.
"Our sport would explode on an unforeseen global scale. Nations not traditionally associated with rugby will experience a profound growth and hopefully will compete with the traditional superpowers, creating an even more entertaining product and making Sevens a truly global game."
USA hold the distinction of being Rugby's last Olympic champions, having triumphed in both the 1920 and 1924 Games, the latter with a 17-3 defeat of hosts France at the Colombes Stadium in Paris before a crowd of 30,000.
Converting to rugby
Sevens already features in multi-sport events, including the Commonwealth, World - Fiji beating Portugal last month to retain their crown - and Asian Games and has also been adopted into the Pan American Games for Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
"The Pan American Games selection is not only important for American rugby, but the world game as a whole," added Caravelli. "As the Pan-Am Games are widely seen as the North and South American precursor to the Summer Olympiad, it is feasible that Sevens would eventually become an Olympic sport."
For Caravelli, the potential for encouraging players from other sports to play rugby would greatly increase with Olympic status. Only last month former NFL player Leonard Peters turned out for Caravelli's side at the World Games in Chinese Taipei.
READ ABOUT PETERS' CROSS OVER TO RUGBY >>
"From an early age, Americans believe that the greatest success an athlete can achieve is becoming an Olympian and competing in the Olympics.
"If rugby is included in the Olympics, I believe we will see more athletes taking up rugby who previously played other American sports. And the United States has a massive quantity of these untapped athletes who failed to make the next level or go professional in their original disciplines. If rugby becomes an Olympic sport, one of our goals will be to convert these athletes into rugby players."
USA Rugby is one of the many Unions around the world backing Sevens' campaign for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games and is among the masses in the sporting world eagerly awaiting the IOC Executive Board's recommendation.
Nigel Melville, USA Rugby's CEO and President of Rugby Operations, echoed Caravelli's sentiments and believes that Rugby's traditions of teamwork, camaraderie and fair play will provide inspiration to people around the world.
"Rugby Sevens would be a wonderful addition to the Olympic Games," admitted Melville. "The global game of Rugby Sevens is a fast and furious contact sport, played by great athletes and followed by millions across the globe.
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"In the USA, rugby is growing by the day. We have thousands of young players now picking up a rugby ball for the first time.
"If Rugby Sevens were to be included in the Olympic Games, the sport would have an even greater appeal to an even wider audience as there is no better global sporting stage than the Olympic Games.
"It would enable rugby and its leading principles of teamwork, camaraderie and fair play to inspire people not only around this nation, but around the world."
It is not only the men's game that is growing in America, but also the Women's with Ines Rodriguez - part of USA's squad who reached the RWC Sevens 2009 semi finals in March - confident that Olympic inclusion would see further development.
"Rugby is a sport that has seen a great rise in female participation. More attention and formal organisation has meant exponential growth in the sport at all levels. The level of play at the 2009 Sevens Rugby World Cup was a testament to this," said Rodriguez.
"As an athlete, I have always dreamed of being an Olympic athlete, but beyond my personal dreams is the dream of growing the sport of rugby into a global game beyond the major 'rugby playing nations'.
"If rugby was allowed in the Olympic Games, I'm certain we would see a similar growth and development as women's soccer did following the Olympics in 1996."
