Referee Appreciation Month!

BOULDER, Colo. – It takes a ref to play rugby.  No matter what level of rugby you play or are a fan of, rugby just wouldn’t be rugby without match officials to make sure the game stays safe, enjoyable and keeps with the longstanding rugby tradition of sportsmanship and fair play.  That is why USA Rugby is pleased to announce that July is Referee Appreciation Month in the United States.

As the sport grows in popularity in the United States, referees play and will continue to play a crucial role in developing the game at all levels.  USA Rugby wants to give current and former referees a nod of appreciation and also encourage people to pick up a whistle and see the game as a referee.

Visit www.usarugby.org in July for features highlighting the men and women who enable so many others to enjoy the sport.  Also, become a fan of USA Rugby on Facebook to take part in referee trivia and a weekly “Ask a Ref” session hosted by USA Rugby’s Referee Development Department.  There will also be interactive contests and promotions on USA Rugby’s Facebook page throughout the month.

Refereeing is a great way to remain or get involved in the sport and, as any referee can attest, is a wonderful way stay in shape.  Whether you want to get involved in community rugby or you see yourself picking up the whistle in the Olympics or a Rugby World Cup, becoming a certified match official is the first step to getting there.

“When I finished my career as a player, I knew that refereeing would allow me to lace up my boots on a Saturday and run around.  If you’re a current player, becoming a certified referee is a great way to understand and think about the game in a way that you never have before,” said USA Rugby Director of Referee Development and longtime whistle blower, Ed Todd.

Todd has seen referee development take large strides in recent years. American match officials have been appointed to senior men’s and women’s international matches, with those appointments becoming more and more frequent.

 

So prepare yourself for July and Referee Appreciation Month because, after all, It Takes a Referee to Play Rugby!

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Western RFU Playoffs (April 30 & May 1)

Austin Rugby Club will be hosting the Western Rugby Football Union Territorial Championships the weekend of April 30 & May 1 (SAT & SUN).

A draft schedule is published on the TRU Calendar and the official schedule is posted on the WRFU.ORG website:

https://wrfu.org/2011/04/club-high-school-championship-informtion/

Our Texas teams start the tournament off with Austin II playing Sioux Falls Crow at 930am on Field One to be followed by defending champion Northern State versus DARC at 1100am, also on Field One.

Fort Worth will be playing a team TBD from Eastern Rockies @ 1230pm on Field Two.

The Rugby Texas winners will also be playing with two sides from U19 Club and two sides from U19 Single school. Teams to be confirmed and update.

The Texas Rugby Referee Association will be working with the Western Rugby Referee Association to coordinate teams of 4 on all matches. Thanks to Jim Wolfinger, James Summers, Chris Kelly and Richard Zdunkewicz for all their help during the year as well as the efforts to coordinate and staff this event.

2011 Game Management Guidelines – Please Read

All Clubs, Coaches, Players should review the attached email and links as distributed by the USA National Offices (Referee Panel). It has all ready been sent to the TRRA and its members.

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All

Attached please find the 2011 Game Management Guidelines for USA Rugby. There are multiple edits so please do review them and apply across all competitions with immediate effect.

They can also be downloaded here: https://usarnp.com/USARR-2011/ USARR-GMG-2011.pdf

The Assistant Referee Guidelines are not included and will be available at a later date in a separate document.

In addition, please review the Video Guidelines here:

https://usarnp.com/USARR-2011/ that include videos presented at the iRB High Performance Referee Meeting in London in November 2010.

CMS Compliance – Chris Chefchis

All clubs that are participating in West Leagues have been advised of their requirement to follow match reporting via the USA Competitions Management System.

As the depth & width of the CMS grows so does the need to ensure timely reporting and compliance of required posting of scores, rosters, substutions, etc.

Mr. Chris Chefchis has been appointed by the TRU to assist Alan Sharpley (USA/West) and Ron Watson (TRU) in the ongoing complaince and administrative support needed to ensure compliance.

Chris has repeatedly served the TRU in many roles and his acceptance of yet another task is greatly appreciated.

Divisional Secretaries and individual Match Secretaries should work closely with Chris during the League season and through the Playoffs.

Chris can be reached at: chris.chefchis@forneycorp.com

Regards and Thanks.

Texas Rugby Union

Player Movement / Multiple Divisional Play / UPDATED

*** Update ***

Per my discussions with Alan Sharpley (USA Competitions) we are placing the policy on hold pending a ruling from the USA Eligibility Committee. Alan believes that an official ruling on player movement will be forthcoming from the National Office in the next 10 (or so days). Therefore, we will continue the policy of playing for ONE and ONLY ONE side in a League match in a given weekend.

Thanks.
DRM

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As follow up to the TRU Summer Meeting, an Ad Hoc Committee was formed to review all policies (TRU, West and USA) governing player movement.

The Ad Hoc Committee was comprised of the following:

Ted Hill – Chair and former TRU Mens Rep.
Bret Babineaux – current TRU Mens Rep.
Alan Sharpley – former TRU Director of Competitions
Anna Kunkle – U23 Womens Rep.
Ron Watson – Appointee
Doug Corrigan – Appointee

Scot Courtney – Ex Officio & Non Voting / Discipline Director
David McPhail – Ex Officio & Non Voting / President

The group weighed the needs of both Upper and Lower Division Clubs level versus the ability to report, track and comply with game day proceedures on a weekly basis during the course of a season.

A proposal and vote was made by the members of the Committe, with results accepted and endorsed by the Union.

Two Main Principles shall prevail for this upcoming season:

1. Teams, especially those who are of higher divisions and fielding multiple sides in multiple league competitions; shall strive to maintain the integrity of the competition and the spirit of the game. Thus, at all times the team of priority shall be the higher divisional squad shall be the focus of each Club.

Player movement downward shall primarily be for developmental purposes and the building of team depth, skill and retention. At no times shall a team “willfully or purposefully” stack a lower division side at the expense of the higher division side.

2. The Roster Changes: Players can play up at any time. Players on a higher league roster can play down; only if they did not take the pitch in the earlier match. If a player in D1 or D2 is on a roster and even plays just 5 minutes, then he or she is not eligible for the D3 match but could play up in the D1 or D3 match. Thus it is imperitive that the teams be mindful of the order matches are played, especially when team competing in multiple divisions is playing in two divisional competitions on the same day and same venue.

Further changes will be addressed at Winter Meeting for next years competition.

Any questions can be directed to your Divisional Representative or Mens Electoral Representative for further clarificaiton.

Regards,

David McPhail
Texas Rugby Union

IRB / USA Law Updates for all to review

HI All,

I have uploaded 5 clips that the IRB sent to the USA office last week.

The clips deal with:
• Law 15. 7(c) Sealing
• Law 15.6 (d) Ruck Entry
• Law 19.8 (i) Lineout Receiver
• Law 17.4(c) Maul Entry
• Law 16.5(d) Offside-Rucks

You can find them on the Officiating MultiMedia page.

Go to:
• www.usarugby.org
• Officiate the Game
• Referee Resources—scroll down to the bottom of the page then select
• MultiMedia resources

Please keep an eye on this page as I will be updating it with new clips as they are made available.
Please feel free to forward this link on to anyone who might find it useful!

Regards,
Jen

Dana Teagarden’s IRB Referee Appointment

For Immediate Release
October 21, 2010

Teagarden makes ref history

BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby is proud to announce that National Panel Referee Dana Teagarden has been appointed by the International Rugby Board (iRB) to referee the upcoming international test match between The Netherlands and Hong Kong on December 18, 2010 in Amsterdam. This makes Teagarden the first woman ever to referee a senior men’s international match.

This appointment comes after several successful performances at the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC). Teagarden refereed the Australia v. France Bronze medal match in front of 13,200 rugby fans at the Twickenham Stoop. She also refereed critical pool matches at the tournament including New Zealand v. Australia and France v. Canada.

As one of USA Rugby’s most internationally experienced referees, Dana is no stranger to the historic occasion. In 2007 she was the first, and so far only, female to referee at an iRB Sevens World Series Tournament. To date, Dana has refereed fifteen international level 15’s matches, including age-grade boys and girls, senior women, and ‘A’ level senior men.

“We are constantly working to establish and implement new and innovative systems and processes to develop all aspects of refereeing,” said National Panel Referee Manager Richard Every. “Dana has been an integral part of these initiatives over the past three years. Her innate talent and her commitment to our approach have enabled her to perform and be successful at the highest levels. This appointment is indeed a huge honor and achievement for both Dana and USA Rugby Referees.”

“USA Rugby is both happy and proud to publicly acknowledge Dana’s achievement,” said Referee Development Director Ed Todd. “I am confident there will be many more opportunities for me to congratulate Dana on a job well done.”

For more information on USA Rugby’s National Panel or to find out how you can become involved with officiating, check out the ‘Officiate the Game’ section at https://www.usarugby.org.

For further information contact:
Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org | 303.539.0300 ext. 124

Violations of CIPP registration policies

TRU Board & Member Clubs:

The USA competitive cycle ends each year on August 31. This has been the procedure for the last several years. Both the TRU and the WRU have both followed this CIPP cycle year end since inception.
In order to facilitate that CIPP registration process and ensure that Clubs, Coaches, Referees and Players have the adequate time to comply with USA regulations the registration window for the new cycle is opened two weeks prior (on or about 8/15) to the end of the current cycle.

This year, USA Rugby opened 2010-11 enrollment on August 13th. It was also on that same day that notice of open enrollment was posted to the TRU Website as is all normal news and informational items. Despite adequate notice there have been several teams that have not been able to (a) register their club or (b) register their players prior to taking the field in what were TRU approved matches.

The TRU policy is that all players, match officials and clubs be in good standing with the minimum guidelines as established by USA Rugby and any additional requirement that may be imposed by the WRU or TRU. The TRU has repeatedly told its member clubs that CIPP compliance for all is the minimum standard. Ignorance of the rules are not an acceptable excuse as these rules have been in place for several years and the TRU provided ample notice of the expectations.

Based on the matches played to date the following Clubs are hereby fined $50.00 and are put on probation for the upcoming season for failing to meet one or both of the requirements detailed above. I have only listed the violation and date for playing without enough registered players.

The $50.00 fine shall be suspended should there be no further infractions.

1. Fort Hood – less than 15 players (9/4)
2. Midland – less than 15 players (9/4
3. Austin Huns – less than 15 players (9/4)
4. Frisco Griffins – less than 15 players (9/4)
5. TRRA – assignment on non CIPP referee (9/11)
6. UTSA – less than 15 players (9/11)
7. St. Mary’s – less than 15 players (9/11)
8. Texas Tech Women – less than 15 players (9/11)
9. Baylor – less than 15 players (9/4)
10. TCU – less than 15 players (9/4)
11. Stephen F. Austin – less than 15 players (9/4)

*** There are numerous Collegiate Clubs that have participated but have not paid their USA Club dues. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt that these payments are coming via the Rec Sports department and are in process via school administration. However, not having a minimum number of players cipp’d is not acceptable.

Any further violations by any TRU member club shall result in an automatic fine and further disciplinary action.

Club status is posted on the TRU website and is posted on the USA Rugby webpage (membership, compliance reports, LAU, Texas). Player status can be done via Member or Club searches. If any Club is uncertain about these reports or requirements, please consult your divisional secretary or TRU Board Representative.

Thank you in advance for taking care of these important registration and safety matters immediately.

Regards,
David McPhail
President, TRU

Front Row Replacement Law Revised

Reminder to all Clubs:

Greetings,

The following recommendation from USA Rugby Competitions Committee was approved by the Rugby Committee and the Board of Directors and is in force for all matches that lead in any way to a USA Rugby National Championship.
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Attached is the new version of IRB Law 3. We have adopted the Union Specific Variations as they pertain to front row replacements as detailed below:
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The following competition regulation applies for any match that leads in any way to a USA Rugby National Championship.

• All matches shall be governed by IRB Law 3 with respect to substitutions and front row replacements. In particular, Law 3.14 “Union Specific Variations” will apply to front row replacements.

• Failure to have three trained and experienced front-row players at the start of a match will result in a forfeit.

• Teams shall submit a match roster nominating a maximum of 23 players – 15 starting players and a maximum of eight reserves.

• The table below indicates the required numbers of suitably trained and experienced front row players for different numbers of players on the match roster

Number of Players on the roster Required number of suitably trained and experienced Front row players
15 3
16, 17 or 18 4
19, 20 or 21 5
22 or 23 6

• Should a team lose all of their available front row players, then uncontested scrums will take place but the team opting out of the set-piece will not be able to replace the injured player – forcing them to continue with only fourteen players. (Note – This is a change to the existing Laws and ensures that a team going to uncontested scrums does not gain an advantage.)

3.14 UNION SPECIFIC VARIATIONS

(a) A Union having jurisdiction (or where a match or competition is played between teams
from two or more Unions those Unions by agreement between them) may implement
variations to Law 3 .4 for matches below international level as set out in 3(b) and/or 3 (c)
below .

(b) When 22 or 23 players are nominated in a team there must be sufficient front row players
to play at hooker, tight-head prop and loose-head prop who are suitably trained and
experienced to ensure that on the first occasion that a replacement in any front row
position is required, the team can continue to play safely with contested scrums.

(c) A provision may be introduced that where uncontested scrums are ordered as result of
there being no suitably trained and experienced front row replacement for any reason, the
team concerned play with not more than 14 players