While U.S. sports fans recognize rugby as the precursor to American-style football, opportunities to participate or see it played professionally in the United States are rare. That’s been changing since USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament began bringing international teams to Las Vegas five years ago for what’s grown into a multiday event complete with an amateur competition and a Parade of Nations Ceremony at Fremont Street Experience. Sevens rugby is a slightly different game than its parent sport, though, with seven players per team playing two seven-minute halves rather than more than two dozen players on the field for 80 minutes.

The result is a faster game with more scoring. It’s a fast-growing sport as well, making its Olympics debut in Rio de Janeiro this summer. The USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament has given it a firm foothold domestically. “We’re trying to grow the event,” says USA Sevens spokesman Rob Cornelius. “We want Las Vegas to know that we are here and we’re building this event for the locals and for the community.”

The Las Vegas tournament is the fifth of 10 rounds in the 2015-’16 series, with New Zealand winning the most recent round in Sydney with a 27-25 win over Australia. The 16 teams go to Vancouver and Hong Kong next, but before they do there are three days of competition at Sam Boyd Stadium, beginning March 4. Last year, Fiji dominated a field that included previous USA Sevens tournament winners including Samoa and South Africa, with each team—featuring star players such as Vatemo Ravouvou (Fiji), Alesana Tuilagi (Samoa) and Seabelo Senatla (South Africa)—thrilling crowds with an athleticism that can only be expressed via sevens rugby.

Sevens rugby may seem like a new sport due to the excitement surrounding its growth, but the first game was played in 1883 in Scotland. It was immediately apparent that it was a faster game, and it thrived as an amateur sport, since it took fewer players to organize a match. The first rugby sevens international tournament took place in Scotland in 1973, with the inaugural Hong Kong Sevens tournament in 1976 considered an important step as it made the competition an event with festival pageantry and commercial potential. The first Rugby World Cup Sevens (now sponsored by HSBC) was held in Scotland in 1993.

Cornelius, a rugby player himself, first attended a USA Sevens event in San Diego, then helped launch it in Las Vegas. The USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament is now a pace setter in terms of production, kicking things off Wednesday, March 2, at 11 a.m. with a Team USA pep rally on the Strip at BLVD Plaza at Monte Carlo. The Parade of Nations follows at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Fremont Street, parties and conferences are scheduled throughout, and amateur rugby players test their skills Saturday morning at the Las Vegas Invitational. It also partners with schools for HSBC USA Sevens Adopt a Country, in which Clark County students learn about one of the tournament team’s home countries for the duration of USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament—good preparation for potential future rugby players.

Sam Boyd Stadium, 3 p.m. March 4, 10:30 a.m. March 5, 9:30 a.m. March 6, prices vary per day, multiday packages available. 702.739.3267