The BOD plus Committee members listed on the attached sheet met at the SFGG clubhouse.

Transcription

1 Northern California Youth Rugby Association (NCYRA) Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting Minutes #02 Date: November 3, 2010 Time: 7:00 PM 9:00 PM Location: SFGG Club House 725 California Avenue Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA The BOD plus Committee members listed on the attached sheet met at the SFGG clubhouse. 1. Salaber (President) called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and followed the agenda. 2. Salaber asked for discussion of the minutes of AGM meeting. Motion to approve the minutes was made by John Cullom, 2 nd Paul Keeler. The group unanimously approved the minutes from the previous meeting. 3. Salaber made a presentation on the new website, the Competition Management System (CMS) for registration and the Master Schedule. 4. Taylor (Treasurer) presented the budget and discussed aspects of the budget (See attachment) He emphasized the fixed cost aspects of the budget He recommended that the NCYRA would like to have ~$20,000 (or approximately 20% of the budget) at the end of the year to carry into the next year, however, this year it would likely not be that high The $5,000 approval of coaches clinics included up to a $100/coach subsidy for the USAR certification clinics, which could cover the entire cost of the upcoming Santa Rosa clinic, as well as reimbursement for last weeks SFGG clinic Motion to approve the budget was made by Paul Keeler, 2 nd Rob Harrison. The group unanimously approved the Budget as presented. 5. Committee Chair Reports 5.1. Inter-Conference Competition (Playoff) - Scott Wood presented the the committee report (see attached). Motion to approve the recommendations of the Committee was made by Karen Chance, 2 nd Robert Benson. The group unanimously approved the report and recommendations as presented High Performance (All-Star) - Paul Keeler presented the High Performance / All Star Committee report High performance and All Star are different. High performance Coaches at a minimum have to be certified by USA rugby Conferences need to present their player selections by March Recommend $1,000 per conference for All Star kit NCYRA should sponsor an All Star tournament Memorial Day weekend will be the Pacific Coast All-Star Tournamernt. Page 1 of 3 Filename: 2011ncyra(boardminutes02)101104rwb.doc

2 NCYRA should send a combined U19 team to the Rocky Mountain Challenge with the intent of winning the tournament NCYRA conferences should send U17 teams to the Rocky Mountain Challenge Coaches should submit names of U15 teams to the High Performance Committee Motion to approve the report was made by Jay Hanson, 2 nd Scott Wood. The group unanimously approved the program and budget as presented Inter-Conference Disciplinary - Scott Wood presented (for Matt Eaton) the disciplinary committee. There are no current issues Boys High School - Mateo Medrano presented the committee report for the High School competition committee. He reported no action Girls U-19 - Karen Chance presented the committee report for women s U19 league. There are between 11 and 13 teams playing in 2 divisions / conferences (Varsity Gold and Varsity Silver). She indicated that by next year that they hope that it will be only a high school conference, not a U19. The were allowing it this year because some Clubs would not have been able to compete Middle School - Salaber indicated that there was no report Youth - Taylor presented the report for the NCYRA youth committee. See attachment. The primary issue discussed was the request that birth certificates/passports be required in the CMS and not school cards. The motion to approve the report and recommendations was made by Tony McKenszie, 2 nd Mateo Medrano. The group unanimously approved the program and budget as presented Sevens (Ad-Hoc) Salaber asked for volunteers and chairman for the Seven s committee. After a discussion the group approved adding the Seven s program to NCYRA and forming an Ad-Hoc Committee and that Salaber would be the Committee Chair until a replacement could be found. Tony McKenzie and John Cullom spoke against adding Seven s. A motion to approve the recommendation was made by Mateo Medrano, 2 nd Paul Keeler. The motion carried 6 ayes to 2 nays Public Relations - Ray Schwartz presented the report and discussed the following The NCYRA should attempt to review quotations given to the media to avoid what happened with the Illinois press The Committee plans to make a stylized logo (with the web URL) and make bumper stickers and window stickers A motion to approve the program and budget was made by Mateo Medrano, 2 nd Paul Keeler. The group unanimously approved the program and budget as presented. 6. There was discussion on the Playoffs, the possible single-school conference and U19 teams. I Single School Conference Ad-Hoc Committee would be formed and request for members was made. Salaber, Cullom, Harrison and possibly Sagehorn volunteered for the committee. 7. There was discussion about whether the NCYRA should pursue a conference that included U19 (non high school) teams which would play each other and not other teams. During the discussion, John Cullom and Tony McKenzie noted that the NCYRA was founded to pursue changing the USA Rugby position on U19 rugby to include only high school U19 teams A motion to not allow U19 (non high school) teams was made by John Cullom, 2 nd Rob Harrison. Motion carried with 6 ayes to 4 nays Salaber lead a discussion about whether NCYRA should compete with SoCal for a State Cup competition. A motion carried to allow Salaber to negotiate a State Cup with a Page 2 of 3 Filename: 2011ncyra(boardminutes02)101104rwb.doc

3 maximum of three U19 (non high school) players on the SoCal team. The motion was made by John Cullom, 2 nd Rob Harrison. Motion carried unanimously. 8. There was discussion on whether NCYRA should have a red card approach to a coach when fans are unruly. A motion to send this back to the Disciplinary committee for further clarification was made by John Cullom, 2 nd Paul Keeler. The group unanimously approved. 9. New Business - These topics will be added for the next BOD meeting John Cullom asked that coaching certification be for life and CPR be included Ray Schwartz asked that a referee committee be formed. 10. The motion to adjourn was made by John Cullom, 2 nd Tony McKenzie. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM. Page 3 of 3 Filename: 2011ncyra(boardminutes02)101104rwb.doc

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6 Northern California Youth Rugby Association (NCYRA) Approved Budget (11/3/10) Season Revenues Item Estimate #'s NCYRA Dues Sub-Total High School 1,800 $20 $36,000 Middle School 600 $15 $9,000 Youth 600 $10 $6,000 NCYRA / USAR Club Fees 70 $150 $10,500 Donations - Corporate (Munson Foundation - Actual) $15,000 Donations - Personal (M. Taylor - Actual) $1,000 Sponsorship $0 Fundraisers $0 Tournament Fees $0 Other - Dues (2010 Past Dues - Estimate) $10,000 Other - USA Rugby (09/10 USAR Dues - Actual) $2,500 Other - PCRFU (09/10 PCRFU Dues - Actual) $4,200 Other (09/10 Rugby Cal) $0 Total Revenue = $94,200 Expenses General Administration / Management Website / Registration Set-Up & Management $17,000 USA Rugby Club Dues $3,000 Executive Director - Part Time $0 Assistant - Part Time $15,000 Office and Materials (R. Salaber - Office Donated) $1,000 Public Relations $3,000 USAR / SBRO Meetings - NCYRA Officers Attendance $2,000 Non-Profit Set-Up & Costs $2,000 Bookeeping, Accounting and Taxes $2,500 Officers and Directors Insurance $1,000 Playoffs / Tournaments Boys / Girls Varsity (NCYRA Final 4) $2,000 Varsity Boys / Girls National Championships $5,000 Middle School / Youth End of Season Tournaments $2,000 High Performance / All Stars U-19 (Pac Coast / Rocky Mountain) $7,500 U-17 (Pac Coast / Rocky Mountain) $7,500 U-15 (Pac Coast) $2,000 Training Camps / Clinics Clubs (Administrators and Coaches Development) $1,000 Referees $1,000 Coaches (USAR Certification Subsidy) $5,000 High School $2,000 Middle School $1,000 Youth $3,000 Total Expenses = $85,500 This Years Net / Reserves = $8,700 Previous Year Carry-Over = $0 Total Net / Reserves = $8,700 Worksheet: 2011 Season Filename: 2010ncyra(preliminarybudget)101101rls.xls

7 NCYRA INTER-CONFERENCE COMPETITION (PLAYOFF) COMMITTEE REPORT November 3, 2010 The Committee had several conference calls and collaborated on the following: Divisions There are currently five (5) high school Divisions that will compete in the NCYRA Playoffs. Below is the breakdown of Divisions, Conferences, Teams and Playoff Seeds: Division Conferences Teams Playoff Seeds (Approx) Boys Varsity Gold 4 or Boys Varsity Silver 4 or Girls U-19 1 or or 6 Boys Junior Varsity Gold 3 or Boys Junior Varsity Silver 2 or or 6 Playoff Schedule Playoffs for all the Divisions will occur on April 29/30 (Friday and Saturday) at the Pacific Coast Invitational Tournament (PCIT) which will also involve a large tournament of non-playoff teams, competing on Saturday and Sunday. The reason for the Friday/Saturday schedule is that some of the Playoff Teams may have Sunday restrictions and we want all schools to participate to make it legitimate. It is anticipated that there will be well over one hundred (100) Teams participating between the Playoffs of the various Divisions and the open End-of-Year tournament for the other teams, and that at least eight (8) fields will be required. We envision the PCIT being the Grande Finale of the season and hope that it will attract teams from all over the country. The results of the April 29/30 Playoffs will be: A Final 4 for Boys Varsity Gold and Girls U-19 (depending on the number of teams), which will then compete in a well organized and publicized Final 4 the following week of May 5/6 (Friday and Saturday). We envision Friday and Saturday night lights games to encourage more attendance and a festive atmosphere. The other Divisions (Boys Varsity Silver and Boys Junior Varsity Gold and Silver) will result in Champions and Final Rankings at the end of the April 29/30 weekend.

8 Playoff Seeding and Structure The number of Playoff spots will be dictated by the number of Teams in each Conference of the specific Divisions, broken down in the following format: Conferences with 5 or 6 Teams: 2 Playoff Spots Conferences with 7, 8 or 9 Teams: 3 Playoff Spots Conferences with 10, 11 or 12 Teams: 4 Playoff Spots There will need to be some flexibility, as determined by and in collaboration with the High School Conference Reps and the Inter-Conference Competition Committee, so that there are an even number of Playoff Spots. Teams will be seeded according to their Conference standings and in collaboration between the High School Conference Reps and the Inter-Conference Competition (Playoff) Committee. There will be either 8, 12 or 16 Teams that can compete in any given Division Playoff. The initial rounds will be Pool Play of generally four (4) Teams per Pool, which will generally result in the best two (2) Teams in each bracket advancing to the next round. These games will be either 30 or 45 minutes in length, depending on the Division. A maximum of 90 minutes of play a day is allowed. This Pool Play structure allows for smoothing out the disparity between Conferences. Then there will be the final rounds (championship and consolation) that will result in a Champion and Runner-Up and a Consolation Round with a 3 rd and 4 th Place, or in the case of the Boys Varsity Gold and Girls U-19, a Final 4, which will be played the following week (consequently, this will result in less matches for these Divisions played during the April 29/20 tournament). USA Rugby National Championships The caveat to the above structure is that accommodations (changes in schedule) may have to be made due to the structure and seeding of the USA Rugby Championship schedule and system. We will be working with the PCRFU and USA Rugby in the coming weeks to determine the number of seeds and the required schedule for the Single High School and the U-19 Club Championships and Playoffs. A PCRFU tournament for seeding/standings may be required. For clarification, USA Rugby has two Championship tracks only: 1. Single High School, which allows two (2) players not attending the school to participate 2. U-19 Club, which allows Freshmen in college and players not attending a high school to participate but that must meet the age requirements. There is currently no Championship track for multi-high school Clubs, which we currently have in the NCYRA.

9 N C Y R A Youth Committee Meeting Notes from 10/26/10 Call Prepared by Matt Taylor 11/1/10 On the call: Pat Farley, Glenn Worden, Matt Taylor. Paul Keeler joined later in the call. Not present: Rob Harrison, Steve Hudson Attachment: Playing format/law variation guidelines. List of Participating Clubs: Matt to send out an to identify clubs participating in the U12 and younger age groups. It was noted that new clubs may include Chico, Marysville and Granite Bay. We will try to get a comprehensive list in the next few weeks. Playing format/law variations: We largely agreed to continue using the guidelines agreed to last year (attached), with the exception that we should clarify that the offside line for the opposing scrumhalf during a scrum will be the middle of the scrum on the put-in side and the back foot of the scrum otherwise. The purpose is to give the scrumhalf time to make a clean pass. Matt noted that the ref can help here by consistently providing a ball is out call so the defense respects the offsides lines. Paul joined the call later and we revisited this point because SFGG prefers touch or flag rugby at U10 and younger because it better teaches evasion and ball movement, whereas tackle results in kids trying to beat everyone individually. Pat and Matt suggested that their clubs (Marin and Lamorinda) are now used to and expecting tackle at U10, but may be able to be flexible for certain events. It was agreed that clubs need to coordinate playing formats prior to matches and if certain clubs are using other formats/variations, a common format should be agreed to or the clubs would not play. It is desirable to coordinate this before scheduling the season. Scheduling: The general schedule is that games will commence about mid-january and end the weekend of March 26 with the 3 rd Annual Year-End Tournament. Once we have a more complete picture of participating clubs, we will develop a more detailed schedule. It was noted that multi-club events with round robin-type play have been successful in the past and are desirable. Age Requirements and Verification: It was noted that the new NCYRA player registration system will have photos and age verification requirements, so there should be readily available age verification. Team rosters can be printed from the system with photos. We discussed the past practice of allowing suitable players (smaller and less experienced) to play down in age if the opposing coaches agree. We agreed that this probably remains appropriate as we grow the sport, but that all players must register in the age verification system, and over-age requests must be communicated prior to game day, and such kids must be presented to the opposing coach at the game. Registration: All clubs and all players who will compete against other clubs must be registered with NCYRA and file the appropriate photo and age verification documents. 1

10 Tournaments: The only ones scheduled at this point are the Kick Off Tournament and the Year End Tournament. Matt noted that Lamorinda U10 and U8 may not participate in the KOT unless there are sufficient opposing teams. It was suggested that maybe a local (Bay Area) tournament might be better for the younger age groups in the Bay Area, and we may look into this as an alternative to the KOT. Safety: It was suggested that coaches have pre-game safety and sportsmanship talks with all players. This might include discussion of what may constitute dangerous play, that the primary purpose of age group play is to learn the sport and have fun, that we should try to be mindful of size differences, etc. U12 and younger rugby is meant to get the kids started playing, learning and having fun with rugby, while deemphasizing score and winning. Referees: We talked about the desire to have trained, independent refs. Various ideas were floated and it was agreed that Matt would contact the referee society to see if reffing the young guys might be fun and a productive training ground. Multi-club events worked well because non-partisan coaches could ref games. Coach T raining: It was agreed that we should encourage all coaches to become USA-certified. However, it was also noted that this is time-consuming and may not focus on areas most effective for introductory age group rugby. NCYRA has talked about age grade certifications, and it was agreed that this is desirable, but not yet available. We need to push for this, maybe along the lines of youth soccer coaching classifications. Budget: Matt noted that NCYRA has budgeted $3,000 for youth rugby development, and it was agreed that this money should be focused on coach and referee development. We had no concrete ideas for such training, but need to develop some ideas. One thought is to contact the Play Rugby organization to see if they have some tools or programs. Matt to do that. We may also want to look at Positive Coaching Alliance programs. 2

11 Attachment: Playing Format/Variations U12 12 and Under. Must not turn 12 before 9/1/10. Mainly 5th and 6th grade. 10 to 12-a-side by mutual agreement of coaches. Uncontested scrums that will be 3 man for 10-a-side and 5 man for 12-a-side. Contested lineout throw, no lifting. Smaller field (generally half size). Size 4 ball. Offsides lines approximately 8 yards from lineout and 3-4 yards from back of scrum. Game times TBD at each event, but typically minutes. Kicking should be allowed, but the 22 meter line will be a 10 meter line for the smaller field configuration and marked with a cone. Touch in goal is a scrum from where kicked, so kids need to know the reasons for kicking as well as the downside. U10 10 and Under. Must not turn 10 before 9/1/10. Mainly 3rd and 4th grade. Size 4 ball. be determined by coaches. Game times TBD at each event, but typically minutes. U8 8 and Under. Must not turn 8 before 9/1/10. Mainly 1st and 2nd grade. Touch and/or flag rugby 3

12 Nor Cal Youth Rugby Call 11/2/09 On the call: Matt Taylor, Lamorinda Aaron Solomon, Peninsula Owen Flynn, Land Park Kevin Rowell, Marin Peter Hawes, YMCA Paul Keeler, SFGG, joined late. Participating Clubs Our best estimate of NorCal youth clubs this year is as follows: U8 U10 U12 Danville x x Diablo Islanders? Lamorinda x x x Land Park Marin x x x Mission? Peninsula x x x SF Golden Gate x x x Sierra Foothills? Santa Clara??? x We haven t heard from some of the clubs and it s too early to confirm playing numbers, but it s looking like no or little growth this year. We need to confirm all clubs and player numbers soon. There may be another club called Bay Area Youth Rugby. Playing Format for Each Age G roup We discussed various aspects of the law variations for each age group and agreed: U12 12 and Under. Must not turn 12 before 9/1/09. Mainly 5th and 6th grade. 10 to 12-a-side by mutual agreement of coaches. Uncontested scrums that will be 3 man for 10-a-side and 5 man for 12-a-side. Contested lineout throw, no lifting. Smaller field (generally half size). Size 4 ball. Offsides lines approximately 8 yards from lineout and 3-4 yards from back of scrum. Game times TBD at each event, but typically minutes.

13 We also discussed kicking and agreed that kicking is an important part of the game and should be allowed, but the 22 meter line will be a 10 meter line for the smaller field configuration and marked with a cone. Touch in goal is a scrum from where kicked, so kids need to know the reasons for kicking as well as the downside. U10 10 and Under. Must not turn 10 before 9/1/09. Mainly 3rd and 4th grade. Size 4 ball. be determined by coaches. Game times TBD at each event, but typically minutes. U8 8 and Under. Must not turn 8 before 9/1/09. Mainly 1st and 2nd grade. Touch and/or flag rugby We did not discuss all of these points this year specifically, but I repeat from last year that we emphasized and agreed that when refereeing games, coaches should emphasize: 1. Safety 2. Correct entry through the gate at breakdowns. 3. The offside lines at set plays to provide adequate separation for plays to develop. Scheduling Season to run from the Kickoff Tournament to the weekend of 3/28. We could also schedule some games or scrimmages in January before the KOT for those interested. We have tentatively set a scheduling meeting for January 5 th, at which time we will have a better feel for participating age groups and numbers. We will games. It was agreed that we should have a year-end tournament the weekend of March 28 to be held in a central location like the Maritime Academy. style events are also desirable and Lamorinda is likely to host one or more of them. Age Verification It was agreed that we need to improve the age verification process and that each club shall have a binder with birth certificates, student ID cards and CIPP cards (or Rugby California equivalent) for every participating player. Matt noted that Danville is willing to be a clearinghouse to review all of this information and produce standard player cards that would be easier to check at games. Matt to confirm that Danville will do this. It was also suggested that this should become a duty of Rugby California. C IPP Registration It was agreed that CIPP registration, or whatever supersedes it under Rugby California, is required for all players. Tournaments It was agreed that tournaments are a good format for these ages and that the KOT and Year End Tournaments will be part of the season and that jamboree type formats are desirable.

14 Other Matt noted that pre-game safety talks are desirable, where the coaches bring both teams together to talk about proper tackling, sportsmanship, etc. Lamorinda used this some last year and U14 has instituted it as a regular practice. Coaches will generally have to referee games as there are not sufficient certified refs available to work the youth games. Coaches should agree before the games who is reffing and whether clubs will trade-off during the game providing the ref.