Safety and Participation Policies 2017 POLICY AND PROCEDURE CHANGES From the Australian Rugby Strategic Plan 2016-2020, under the Pillar Make Rugby a Game for All, Australian Rugby is committed to ensuring that Rugby is as inclusive and fair as possible for all Australians, so long as it safe. This underpins the Australian Rugby Safety Policy that states: Australian Rugby believes that when participants with broadly compatible attributes compete with one another, an environment is created for safe, fair and inclusive participation. The Australian Rugby Participation Policy states: There are a series of procedures which provides step-by-step processes to achieve this policy objective. These cover age, senior rugby, mixed gender, gender identity and disability. DISPENSATION TO ENABLE SAFE, INCLUSIVE AND FAIR PARTICIPATION The procedures to apply for any of the following dispensations will be available online at: aru.com.au/policies from 8 March 2017. Age Dispensation Australian Rugby currently allows for player to play in the age group he/she is turning in the playing year and in the age group one year above. For example, a player turning 15 in the calendar year (1 January 31 December) is currently eligible to play in the Under 15 age group and the Under 16 age group. The Age Dispensation Procedure now provides that, where a player s physical development in conjunction with their ability and/or experience supports it, he or she may be allowed/asked to participate in an age grade competition that is one year above or one year below their already Eligible Age Grades. For example, the player turning 15 in the calendar year (1January 31 December) who is already eligible to play in the Under 15 age group and the Under 16 age group, may receive dispensation to participate in the Under 14 age group or Under 17 age group. Players who turn 19 in the relevant calendar year and are therefore considered senior rugby players, may receive dispensation to play in the under 18 age grade. Players (or their parents/guardians) may make an application for dispensation; or a Union may, in exceptional circumstances, mandate that a player play in a particular age group in order to ensure the safety of both the player and/or other participants. Senior Rugby Dispensation A player s physical development in conjunction with their ability and/or experience may be such that: The primary consideration in all participation decisions must be the safety of all participants as a requirement that overrides all others. All endeavours must be made for Rugby participants with broadly compatible physical development in conjunction with ability and/or experience to play with and against each other. a player who turns 18 in the relevant calendar year but has not yet turned 18 at the start of or during the competition, may be eligible to participate in Senior Rugby with parental / guardian approval. only in exceptional circumstances, players turning 17 in the relevant calendar year may be eligible to participate in Senior Rugby with parental / guardian approval and coach / competition manager assessment. Mixed Gender Dispensation Australian Rugby currently allows males and females to participate in mixed gender Rugby up to and including the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) in which they turn 12 years of age. The Mixed Gender Dispensation procedure now allows, in exceptional circumstances, females over the age of 12 to participate with males up to and including the year that they turn 15 years of age. Whilst the goal is to have sufficient female competitions available, this procedure provides opportunities for females to continue to participate in Rugby where regular female competitions do not exist.
Safety and Participation Policies 2017 Disability Dispensation The Disability Dispensation Procedure provides for those with a physical and/or intellectual disability to participate in age grade competitions below their eligible age groups. Gender Identification Dispensation Australian Rugby supports a player s participation in a gender competition with which they identify provided that is safe for them and all other participants. Expert external third party organisations have assisted the ARU to develop the disability and gender identity policies and procedures.
BACKGROUND The Australian Rugby National Safety Committee recently expressed the need to strengthen the evidence to guide policy and guidelines on mismatches in physical development in adolescent Rugby, specifically around the variation in physical development of players within Age Grade Rugby. To this end, dispensation procedures within age based grades are now being proposed in line with the Australian Rugby Participation Policy: All endeavours must be made for Rugby participants with broadly compatible physical development in conjunction with ability and/or experience to play with and against each other. Australian Catholic University s recent research with Australian Rugby Union on size differences* was based on OFF- FIELD testing. Existing age grade policies in Australia require a stronger evidence-base that includes ON-FIELD match performances. Thus, this project addresses the research questions: What is the range of physical qualities and match performance in junior Rugby player? How predictive of on-field match performances are physical qualities? How much does match performance change when players are regraded in line with the Age Dispensation Procedure? PURPOSE To test the application of weight criteria as a trigger to have players assessed by an approved coach in an age grade Rugby competition. To assess the impact on the competition when players participate in their appropriately assessed grade. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Specifically, the project involves: (i) gathering the evidence on the physical qualities (weight, height, fitness, power, speed) of selected teams of Rugby players in Under 13 years competitions prior to the start of competition; (ii) all players in selected teams following regular age grading in the first four games in the first half of the season where videotaping and GPS devices will assist in monitoring match distances, speeds and skills (iii) after four matches, selected, trained and experienced Level 2 coaches, reviewing all the evidence and observing players during games to determine which players should be invited to play up or down an agebased grade in line with the Age Dispensation Procedure to either the Under 12, Under 14 or Under 15 competitions; (iv) certain players moving to a different Age Grade after round 7 (when teams are usually re-graded) and being monitored under new age graded conditions for an additional four matches: and (v) the performance of the Under 13 teams without these outlier players being reviewed during four matches following the re-grading. DESIRED OUTCOMES The outcomes of the research project will provide evidence to assist Australian Rugby Union and our State Unions further develop policy, procedure, training and education to: Continue to ensure Rugby is safe, inclusive and fair; Provide a framework to improve the playing experience for all age grade Rugby players; and Address the challenges of significant differences in physical development in outlier players in age grade Rugby that is player focused and examines the physical development of individual players in conjunction with their ability and / or experience. *(Krause LM, Naughton GA, Denny G, Patton D, Hartwig T, Gabbett T. Understanding mismatches in body size, speed and power among adolescent rugby union players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 2015, 18(3): 358-363)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What if I don t want my son to be videoed? All players in selected matches will be videotaped but we will not analyse the tapes, without another more direct request for parent consent. Parents and Guardians will be provided consent forms and where parents and / or guardians do not consent to video, the games with those players will not be analysed. How will physical testing be undertaken? At a selected club and / or school prior to the season to get physical quality data on various teams for comparison purposes. This will give us the range for expected data on speed, power, agility and endurance in this age group of players. Australian Rugby and the research team are currently negotiating on venues and dates. There will also be a testing session held at Brumbies HQ to which specific players from other schools and clubs will be invited to attend. Appendix 1 details the off-field tests that will be conducted. Will participants receive testing results and scores? Yes, all participants will receive a one page summary of their own physical fitness test results for speed, power, agility and endurance, along with the averages from the group. Average match performance results will be compiled in a report to Australian Rugby for broader distribution. Will there be the opportunity to discuss potential Age Dispensation with a coach or Rugby official? Yes, this is required and parents and or / guardians will be provided an Age Dispensation Consent Form to consider and complete prior to any player moving age grades within the ACTJRU season 2017. Who will assess the players, what s considered and what will be their expertise? Australian Rugby and the Brumbies have identified a number of high quality coaches that are participating in the Emerging Coach program as the Qualified Assessing Coach. The Coach Development team from the ARU will train the coaches in assessing players in line with the Age Dispensation Procedure and Schedule A and B Dispensation Forms. Will any players be required to move age grades? Under most circumstances, any player moving age grades will do so on a voluntary basis. Recommendations will be made to players and their parents/guardians based on the assessment made. It is the intention that these recommendations be followed by players and parents/guardians. A player may be mandated to move age grades under the Age Dispensation Procedure in exceptional circumstances when the assessing coaches deem a player is a significant safety risk to themselves or others by NOT moving to another Age Grade (in line with the Australian Rugby Safety Policy). How is the ACTJRU application of the Age Dispensation Procedure different to other Age Grade competitions in 2017? During the trial, independent Qualified Assessing Coaches will be provided by, and receive training and development by, Australian Rugby as opposed to Club Coaches under the Age Dispensation Procedure. Will I have the right to appeal an Age Dispensation decision? YES, in the first instance, and in line with the procedure, players and their parents and or guardians will have the right to a subsequent review by an alternate independent assessment panel. An appeals process will also be in place to review any recommendation for a player to play in an Age Grade competition either within their Eligible Age Grades or one year above or below the player s Eligible Age Grade. What if there is no team at a Club / School for a player to play for in the recommended Age Grade? Unless in a exceptional circumstance that the player is deemed a significant safety risk to themselves or others by NOT playing in the proposed age grade, players will not be required to move to their proposed Age Grade as recommended by an Assessing Coach. How will matches be analysed? The matches will be analysed as per the criteria attached in Appendix 1
APPENDIX 1 TESTING AND ANALYSIS PROTOCOL OFF-FIELD TESTING "Physical qualities"/fitness testing session prior to the start of the season. Using facilities at home grounds of clubs within the ACT with INDOOR facilities A series of rotating stations will be set up. Physical quality Selected test Equipment Physical size Standing height Sitting height Body weight Short survey Questions on playing history, injury history approximately 5 to 6 questions Speed Acceleration (0 to 5 metres) Speed (0 to 20 metres) Medical grade scales for weight Two stadiometres for height Pens, clipboards to lean on Electronic timing lights Agility 505 agility Electronic timing lights Leg power Countermovement jumps * vertical jump height * absolute explosive leg power * relative explosive leg power (score divided by body weight) Portable force platform (Kistler or Quattro) Upper body power Standing medicine ball throw 4 kg medicine ball and measuring tape Endurance* Yo Yo Intermittent 1 audio of test and speakers to run it through Endurance testing completed by the whole group at the end of the session ON-FIELD MATCH PERFORMANCE The on-field movement profile will occur in up to 8 rounds of the season: four under regular grading conditions and four following player Age Dispensation. Match performance data will be analysed from: (i) video of matches that are monitored for Rugby specific movements (such as passes, kicks, touches, tackles and intercepts); and (ii) data collected from the use of a small micro technology (GPS) device tucked into a vest worn under the rugby jersey that will give information on how much distance and speed occurs during matches. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND FEEDBACK The ACT Junior Rugby Community, Participants and their parents and / or guardians will be provided the opportunity to provide feedback of their experience as a participant in the research project via online surveys and interviews. ACTJRU and the ACT Junior Rugby Community will be provided the results of the feedback and survey along with the findings of the Research. TIMELINE Physical Testing Window (Off-Field) Mid April 2017 Player Assessment and Game data collection Rounds 1 to 4 Consultation and Age Dispensation Rounds 5 and 6 Age Dispensation and game data collection under regraded conditions Rounds 7 to 12 Data Analysis and report writing October 2017 Results published and presented to ACT Junior Rugby Community November 2017