Official Statement Regarding the National High School and Under-19 Club Championship Eligibility Regulations

via my inbox and from USA Rugby:

The eligibility regulations for the 2009 National High School Club Championship and for the Under-19 Club Championship have been revised over the last month or so. That revision process is now complete, and the new regulations will go into effect for the 2009 Competitive Season.

The High School regulations were completed a while ago, and a release detailing the new regulations and the rationale for them was issued by USA Rugby on January 26, 2009. For completeness, the new regulations are repeated in Attachment 1.

The Under-19 regulations were approved by USA Rugby’s Board of Directors on February 14, 2009. The new regulations are shown in Attachment 2, and the rationale for them shown in Attachment 3.

In some instances, it may be that some players did not meet the previous National High School or Under-19 Club Championship requirements, and, as a result, elected to play in Qualifying Matches for other Club Championships, such as the Senior Club Championships. Such players will continue to be eligible for either the High School or the U-19 Club Championships during 2009, provided that from this point forward they play in Qualifying Matches in only either the High School Club Championship or the U-19 Club Championship. To remain eligible they must not play any future 2009 Qualifying Match in any other division.

Please see the attached documents for the individual breakdown of the new regulations and or read below for the combined version of the text.

Attachment 1
National High School Club Championship

5.1 Club Eligibility

a) Club must be based on a state- or nationally-accredited school that issues High School Graduation Diplomas.

b) Club must be represented by a Roster that is limited to: players that are registered students at the High School upon which the Club is based, plus players that have graduated from that High School, plus up to a maximum of five (5) special exemption players in 2009, three (3) special exemption players in 2010 and two (2) special exemption players thereafter.

c) Special exemption players are students that do not have an otherwise available high school contact rugby program, and are either home-schooled students in the Club high school district, or are students from high schools in districts that are contiguous to, or overlapping, the club district.

d) Club may carry an unlimited number of players on its Roster

5.2 Player Eligibility

a) Players are eligible if they have not reached their nineteenth birthday by the September 1st that occurs at the start of the competitive season.

b) Players, except those that have graduated, must be attending class full time, as defined by the High School registrar.

c) Players must have certified High School transcripts either for the semester during which the spring competition season takes place, or, for players that have graduated, the final semester prior to graduation.

d) If the competition season extends beyond the end of school year, then the players may continue to participate in the competition provided that the players were otherwise eligible at the end of the school year.

e) Players must be within four (4) years of the moment that the players first enrolled in ninth grade regardless of when they started playing rugby or had the ability to start playing rugby.

f) Players must have played for the club in at least two (2) Qualifying Matches or second-side matches associated with a Qualifying Match during the competitive season at least one week apart prior to participating in a USA Rugby Championship event.

g) Players must not have played in a Qualifying Match for any other club in a fifteens match during the competitive season, including the Under 19 Club or Senior competition.

h) h) Player must meet and remain in compliance with all applicable amateur standards.

i) Section 13.6 for additional information about Waivers

5.3 State and Other Championship Eligibility

USA Rugby has neither the compelling interest, nor the practical ability, in enforcing eligibility regulations at State High School Championship events. The regulations are more properly determined by the organizer of the State event, be that a State-Based Rugby Organization (SBRO), a Local Area Union (LAU), or a Territorial Union (TU). However, USA Rugby recommends that, in determining the requirements, the organizers consider the model that USA Rugby has established for the National High School Championship, but that they also consider the eligibility regulations for championships of other state championships within their state.

Attachment 2
National Under-19 Club Championship

6.1. Club Eligibility

a) Club can be represented by players that meet the requirements of 6.2 provided there is not more than five (5) non-resident players on their Roster for any particular match that may in any way lead to the applicable USA Rugby Championship Event.

b) Club may carry an unlimited number of players on its Roster.

6.2. Player Eligibility

a) Players are eligible if they have not reached their 19th birthday by the September 1st that occurs at the start of the competitive season.

b) Player must have played for the club in at least two (2) Qualifying Matches or second-side match associated with a Qualifying Match during the competitive season at least a week apart from each other prior to participating in a USA Rugby Championship Event.

c) The player must not have played in a Qualifying Match for any other club during the fifteens competitive season – including in High School, Collegiate, or Senior competitions.

e) See Section 13.6 for additional information about potential Waivers.

Attachment 3
National U-19 Club Championship Eligibility Regulations

The Youth & High School Committee (Y&HSC) recommends that the high school enrollment and attendance requirement to be eligible for participation in the National U-19 Club Championships be eliminated. The High School Championship will remain as a separate event, together with its requirement for enrollment and attendance. However, if the recommendation is adopted the U-19 Championship would become entirely age-based, and would be in better line with selection for the U-19 National Team – an important component in increasing visibility for those seeking to represent their country

The current eligibility requirements for the U-19 Championships contain Section 6.2 (d), to the effect that:

Players must be enrolled in high school and attending classes full time, as defined by the High School registrar. However, if graduation for a particular player occurs during the Competitive Season, the player retains eligibility for the remainder of the Competitive Season.

The requirement was introduced in part with the very laudable aim of encouraging players to enroll, attend and remain in high school if they wished to be eligible to play in the National Championships. However, the requirement has an unfortunate, probably inadvertent side effect, in that it essentially implies that there is no place in youth rugby for players that have dropped out of high school.

As they co
nsider their rosters for a particular competitive season coaches have two options with regard to such players. They can decline to recruit them, or they can recruit them, and then be prepared to tell them that, even though they contributed to a very successful season, they are no longer have a place on the team when it comes to championship time. Neither option presents an attractive proposition for either coaches or kids.

Rugby is a superb sport that brings not only physical education and development, but also brings emotional support and teaches life lessons to all of those that are involved in it. It instills many character-building traits such teamwork, responsibility, accountability, loyalty, and camaraderie that are often desperately needed by kids living at the margins. If kids cannot find these in healthy outlets, such as rugby, they will find them in other, less healthy outlets.

USA Rugby does not exist solely to save such kids. However, that said, there is also no need for us to take actions that, consciously or otherwise, effectively turn our backs on them. The Y&HSC recognizes that there may be a small number of kids that would change their minds, and, rather than drop out, remain in high school solely because of the requirement. These are the beneficiaries of the current stance. However, the Y&HSC also believes that these few will be far outnumbered by the kids that will benefit, together with Rugby itself, from a more inclusive stance.

Inclusiveness is the main focus of the recommendation. That inclusiveness extends beyond those that have dropped out of high school. It will also include players that have graduated early. Currently such players may meet the age requirements, but, since they no longer attend high school, they are denied eligibility to the U-19 National Club Championships. The result is that if, for whatever reason, they do not have access to college rugby then their only option to continue to play the Game is adult rugby. For seventeen-year old players this can be a daunting challenge. The recommendation would provide an age-appropriate alternative.