ILKLEY Rugby Club are hoping that Saturday's Sevens Festival becomes a regular feature on the calendar.

Sixteen men's teams and four women's sides are set for action at Stacks Field, and the inaugural event has a £400 first prize for the men's competition and £200 for the women.

The host club, who are fielding three teams, provided the perfect tonic for the occasion by qualifying for the Sevens national finals last weekend.

An outstanding achievement saw them come second in the regional finals at London Irish's training ground to book their spot in the showpiece at Bath's Recreation Ground on Saturday, July 29.

It means the mood is sure to be buoyant this weekend as Stacks Field welcomes teams including England Police and England Deaf, while local clubs Baildon and Old Grovians will also be competing along with Bradford Grammar School.

Blackburn, who will be visiting Ilkley for a pre-season friendly on August 19, are in the line-up along with a number of invitation sides such as Sons of Lazarus, Codfathers, Rob's Wreckers and Team Condition.

Carlisle, Sefton, England Deaf and a Barbarians side will compete for the women's title.

The man who has been pulling the event together is head of rugby Rhys Morgan.

He said: "The response has been fantastic and it looks like being a great day.

"Sevens is a short, sharp game and is great for spectators to watch. We are hoping to draw in a good crowd.

"This is a chance to get people to the club who might not normally come down to watch."

New Keighley and Ilkley MP John Grogan is due at the event, with play starting at 11am in matches being contested across two pitches. Admission is free and a souvenir programme has also been produced for spectators.

There will be food and drink served in the clubhouse throughout the day, while outside there will be nacho and bottle bars.

The club are providing free camping at Stacks Field on Friday and Saturday night. There will be musical entertainment throughout the day and the Otley band, Road Kill, will play on Saturday evening.

* There was more good news for Ilkley, with Bradford Council granting them planning permission for an extension to their clubhouse.

This will expand the catering and entertaining areas and make the facilities more viable for use by the community.

The improvements will cost in the region of £350,000 and the club are due to set up fund-raising.

Plans for the project are available in the clubhouse foyer.