The next Olympics in Rio may seem a long way down the track, but with the introduction of rugby to the program, preparations have already started.
Men's and women's Rugby Sevens will debut at the Games in 2016 and some countries are already spending millions on developing their teams.
Over the next two months the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) will host a series of talent camps aimed at finding potential Olympians for its women's squad.
Current Australian captain Rebecca Tavo says she is privileged to be part of the preparation towards Rio de Janiero.
"It's so exciting and more so now it's an Olympic sport, like that's the dream come true for everyone," she said.
"Not many people get to do it and I'm very privileged and honoured to be able to do that."
And Tavo is more than prepared to make the sacrifices to represent her country at the Olympic Games.
When she is not in the north of Western Australia driving trains on the mines, the Sevens skipper travels back to Brisbane to train with her team-mates.
"I work two weeks out in the mines and I could start anytime between 2:00am or 10:00pm at night and I work 12 hours," she said.
"Obviously it is very challenging, out in the heat by myself, but it is just something that I'm prepared to do."
One of Tavo's team-mates, Emma Gillogly, was plucked by the ARU to make the switch to Sevens from touch football.
"It's always been a dream of mine to go to the Olympics. I never thought it would be for rugby though and to have this opportunity, I'll definitely take it with both hands," she said.
Gillogly's meteoric rise is similar to that of Emilee Cherry, who until she started playing Sevens had only travelled to New Zealand.
"If you'd asked me a year ago there's no way I would have ever thought I would have had the opportunity to go to the Olympics playing a sport like Rugby Sevens," she said.
"Now it gives me that opportunity and yeah, it's quite unbelievable really."
The Olympic dream could become a reality for a lot more young Australians with the Pathway to Gold program about to start.
Trials will be held in Perth on the weekend of September 15 followed by Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Australia's head coach Chris Lane is encouraging every female athlete to come along and give it a try.
"We're looking to really broaden our base, broaden our talent pool as such and anyone from any sport please come and give it a try," Lane said.
And even Tavo knows there is always a chance of unearthing a diamond in the rough.
"You might have speed, fitness, strength, ball skills, anything that another sport might have that we might not have and you could be helping your country out," she said.
"You could be representing Australia next year in Vegas some time."
Australia's women's sevens are the current world champions and most recently they won the Asia Pacific Sevens championships in Malaysia.
But nothing keeps the team focused more than the lure of an Olympic gold medal.
"The big picture for Australia is 2016, so if we can get some younger girls, get some experience at World Cups and three or four years later, they're going to dominate," Tavo added.
Tags: rugby-7, rugby-union, sport, olympics-summer, australia First posted September 13, 2012 13:14:17