JUNIOR DOLPHINS HANDBOOK

JUNIOR DOLPHINS HANDBOOK 2018 CONTACT THE DOLPHINS Phone 3203 4754 Email juniors@redcliffeleagues.com.au Fax 3203 8377 Website www.redcliffedolphins.com.au

2 Contents WHO WE ARE 3 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DOLPHIN 4 DOLPHINS CLUB LIFE 5 UNIFORMS 6 TRAINING 7 TEAM PHOTOS 7 GAMES AND GROUND LOCATIONS 8 DOLPHINS DEVELOPMENT 9 COMMUNICATION WITH THE CLUB 9 SOCIAL MEDIA 10 VOLUNTEERS 11 SPONSORSHIP 11 GRADING AND TEAM ALLOCATIONS 12 INSURANCE 13 CODES OF CONDUCT AND POLICIES 13

3 Who Are We? Our Mission is to strengthen a culture which breeds success through the Club s Core Values of Commitment, Professionalism and Mateship. The Redcliffe District Rugby League Football Club (the Dolphins) is the most successful Club in the history of the Queensland Cup, having won more premierships than any other Club. At the Senior level the Club has teams in the BRL A-Grade and FOGS Colts competitions as well as the Intrust Super Cup. The Intrust Super Cup is regarded as the second toughest competition in Australia, after the NRL and is the feeder competition to the NRL. Our Intrust Super Cup Team is the team to which all our Junior Dolphins should aspire if they want to develop in rugby league at a senior level. The Dolphins is committed to helping our junior players who show the skill, commitment and persistence needed to play at the elite level find pathways to play at their best, in the best team available. Our Club has played a leading role in the development of Rugby League in our region since it was first constituted in 1965. We have the biggest Junior Rugby League base in Queensland with around 800 Junior Players registering with us each year. We aim to give our Juniors opportunities to learn about team work, new sporting skills and the importance of healthy physical activity. Above all, we want our juniors to have fun participating as part of the Dolphins family.

4 What Does it Mean to be a Dolphin? DEFENCE OWNERSHIP LOYALTY PERSISTENCE HARD WORK IMPROVEMENT NEVER GIVE UP Wear your Dolphins uniform with pride. Please and Thank You follow you everywhere. Be on time.

5 Dolphins Club Life How to join Clearances Junior Registrations open in mid November 2017 for existing players and 8th January 2018 for new players. Registrations close at the end of January. Registrations must be done online at Play NRL Payment must be made at the time of Registration. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email. If you are transferring from another Club, visit redcliffedolphins.com.au to fill out a transfer request. Transfers must be approved by the CLub s Administration. Fees 2017 Registration Fee: $155 per player (non-refundable). The Registration Fee covers the following: Dolphins Polo Shirt (given to players at the end of March by Team Manager) Players Year Book and trophies (given to players at end of year Presentation Day) Team Photo Weekly Game Day Fees QRL Club affiliation QRL-SEQ Division Team Levy fees GBJRL Team Nomination fees QRL Player s Insurance program Online Processing Fee Referees Fees Administration costs Grounds running costs No team funds or fundraising are to be collected by any individual on behalf of a team. QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT S GET STARTED PROGRAM The Get Started Program provides eligible children and young people with a voucher of up to $150 to help pay for sporting club membership and/or participation fees. The next round of applications for Get Started Grants opens on 24th January 2018. If you are eligible to apply for a Get Started Voucher, the following steps will need to be completed: Check the details on the Get Started Voucher. Ensure the child s details and parent/guardian details are in the correct places on the Voucher (if this is not correct please contact the Department of have it corrected). If all details are correct print the voucher and sign it. The Club can only accept signed vouchers. Email the signed voucher to juniors@redcliffeleagues.com.au OR leave the voucher in an envelope at the Redcliffe Leagues Club reception, marked Att: Junior Football. Once the Dolphins receives the Voucher, you will be emailed the next business day with instructions on how to register your child online. Once you have completed the above steps: The Club will apply for the final stage of approval of your GSV, he Club will then receive payment of the voucher from QGrants if successful, The Club will confirm with you the outcome of your success (or unsuccessful) registration. Important notes about Get Started Vouchers Applying for a Get Started Voucher and providing it to the Club is your responsibility and you will need to apply for your voucher on or as close to January 24th as possible to increase your success rate. Submit your GSV prior to Friday 26th January in order for your child to be registered in time to attend the first training session. Children with a GSV will not be able to receive any items from the Club until their GSV payment is received by the Club (by cash or successful voucher). If for any reason the voucher is not received by the Club, not approved by QGrants or payment is not received your child will not be registered for 2018 and you will have to contact the Club immediately to arrange to pay the Registration Fee directly. Checking the box against the 2018 Junior Rugby League Get Started Voucher in the online registration form is not an application for the grant. An application for a Get Started Grant is not a guarantee you will be successful. The RDRLFC Inc. do not accept the responsibility of completing this process, nor do they have any say in the approval process.

6 Uniforms The RealWay Junior Dolphins uniform is compulsory. Players are responsible for purchasing their own Club Shorts, Club Socks and football boots (QRL safety codes have a moulded sole football boot aka footy boots as a requirement for all age groups). Leading Edge Sports at Clontarf supplies all items required for the uniform as well as additional protective garments, equipment and playing boots. Each fully registered player will receive a polo shirt from their Team Manager at the beginning of the season. This polo short is to be worn to and from all games. The Club Polo Shirt is not to be worn to training. UNIFORM ITEM COST SUPPLIER CLUB POLICY Club Shorts $35.00 Leading Edge Sports Compulsory Club Socks $12.00 www. leadingedgesports. com.au Compulsory Playing Jersey N/A Provided by club for the season Compulsory SAFETY ITEMS Mouth Guards U12-U18 Mouth Guards U6-U11 Redcliffe Smiles www.redcliffesmiles. com.au STRONGLY Recommended Preferred Head Gear Shoulder Pads Varied Varied Leading Edge Sports www. leadingedgesports. com.au Optional Optional Hornibrook Esp, BOOTS U13-U18s Varied Clontarf Moulded sole boots Ph: 3283 5200 U6-U12s Varied Moulded sole boots MOUTH GUARDS The Dolphins strongly encourages the use of mouth guards by all our players. If you decide you would like your child to wear a mouthguard, the Dolphins recommends seeing the team at Redcliffe Smiles Dentist which is located at Dolphins Central Shopping Centre. Phone 1300 428 715, www.redcliffesmiles.com.au. DOLPHINS MERCHANDISE Dolphins branded apparel can be purchased online from the Dolphins Store (visit our website) or from the Dolphins Store in the Dick Boxsell Courtyard at Dolphin Stadium on Intrust Super Cup game days.

7 Training Initial training dates are in early February. Training dates and times are published on our website under the Juniors menu. Cancellation due to weather will be posted on our website and FaceBook/Twitter pages. These decisions are made by 3pm weekdays. U6 to U9s train once per week and U10s up train up to twice per week. The Dolphins expects that registered players will attend all training sessions and follow the directions of the Coach. If your child cannot attend training, please let the Coach or Team Manager know before training commences. Team photos Photography will be scheduled over two nights mid-season. Your team manager will confirm your team s date and time. Players are required to be in full playing uniform. One team photo and one individual photo is included as part of your registration fees. If a child is not present at their team s photo night, a team photo only will be ordered for them. Additional images can be ordered directly with the photographer.

8 Games and Ground Locations Training and home Games are played at the Dick Tosser Turner Complex on Klingner Road. Car park entry is via Klingner Rd only. Games are mostly played on a Sunday. There will be some Friday night and Saturday games depending on the draw. Games are generally played from March to August, with a Finals series for competition age groups finished by mid- September. SPECTATORS BE POSITIVE OR BE QUIET! The weekly draw is published on the Dolphins website. The locations of grounds for away games can be found on the Dolphins website. MAP OF DICK TOSSER TURNER COMPLEX We support the policy of the Queensland State Government along with the four football codes: soccer, rugby union, AFL and Rugby League in relation to the behavior of spectators at junior sport. We must be POSITIVE or it s POINTLESS. The Dolphins aim to be known as a family oriented club and have other clubs enjoy their visit to our grounds. Our behavior as a supporter and a volunteer is watched by our children. PLEASE REMEMBER These are KIDS. This is a GAME. Coaches, Managers, FAOs and LeagueSafe are VOLUNTEERS. Referees are HUMAN. You are here to SUPPORT the team, not be negative. This is NOT the NRL. Our staff can and will ask you to leave. Adhere to specified smoking areas. Have fun while participating!

9 Dolphins Development The Player Development (PD) program is designed to educate young players about all aspects of Rugby League, both on and off the field. The Club is committed to providing resources to this program to enable it to service all our Senior Development, Junior Academy and Encouragement Squad players, no matter where they reside. structure of the Dolphins. This program has recently been established which now sits alongside our Senior Development Squad which was established in 1991 and since its inception it has produced a large number of players who have played Intrust Super Cup or NRL. The Academy Squad program plays a crucial role in the recruitment Inclusion in the Player Development program is by invitation. Communication with the Club Most communication will be distributed via the Team Manager through email. It is vital the Team Manager distribute and coordinate any information they receive. There are several points of contact, however your first point of contact should always be through your Team Manager. Game times and updates Wet weather information The Junior Draw is published on the Dolphins website each week. It is recommended that you check the website on Friday afternoons in case changes have been made by the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League (GBJRL) during the week. The decision to cancel training due to wet weather is made by 3pm each weekday. Cancellation information is posted on the Wet Weather Notice page on our website and on Facebook/Twitter. Coaches have the ability to cancel due to wet weather independently from the club and will contact their team directly. Complaints management Complaints should always be resolved at the local level, where possible. Raise any issues on game days with the Duty Official at the ground. If you are not satisfied that the complaint has been resolved, you may submit your complaint in writing to the Dolphins Junior Co-ordinator (PO Box 109, Redcliffe 4020). Verbal or anonymous complaints will not be considered. Once received, the complaint will be reviewed by Dolphins staff and the complainant will be advised of the outcome. The GBJRL do not accept direct contact from individual parties (parents, guardians, supporters). They will return any complaint made directly to them and advise the complainant to contact the Club directly to discuss the matter.

10 Social Media Like or follow us on our various social media channels (FaceBook, Instagram, YouTube (Dolphins TV) and Twitter). Search for Redcliffe Dolphins (Official) or @ dolphinsrlfc. We love seeing photos of our Junior Dolphins on our social media. Please share your game day photos to our page, and #WeAreTheDolphins. We encourage our followers to engage with us on social media. We will not however allow offensive, abusive or derogatory comments on our pages. If you have a complaint, our FaceBook page is not the place to register it. Negative comments about other players, members or the club will be deleted and may result in the user being banned from our page. For detailed information on social media usage, please refer to the Dolphins Social Media User Rules on the website.

11 Volunteers Volunteers are a very important part of our Club. The Dolphins is the biggest junior rugby league club in Queensland and we have around 270 volunteers supporting our kids each year. It is only through the support of our volunteers that the Dolphins are so successful. We ask every parent who becomes part of the Dolphins to consider volunteering their time to support their child s team and the Club. In addition to the Coach and Manager, every team needs 4 other parents fill the volunteer roles of Touch Judge, Leaguesafe Officer, Duty Offical and Time Keeper before the team can take the field each week. Volunteer Roles Blue Cards Team Manager Coach (accreditation required) Touch Judge (accreditation required) First Aid Officer (accreditation required) Leaguesafe Officer (accreditation required) Duty Officials (accreditation required) Time Keepers Jersey Washing Friday Night Raffle tickets (on a rostered basis) The Dolphins require that all volunteers who have direct contact with players must apply for a Working with Children- Blue Card (exemptions do not apply). If you have previously been disqualified from having a Blue Card it is an offence to sign a Blue Card Application Form. There is no fee to apply for the card for volunteers. Sponsorship The Dolphins has several sponsorship opportunities available from ground signage through to senior sponsorship. Sponsorship can include financial contributions, or donations of goods and services that we can use for fundraising or to provide equipment for our Juniors. Sponsorship enables the Dolphins to provide our Development program and keep the cost of playing rugby league affordable for families. Businesses choose to partner with Dolphins for many reasons. This includes having the opportunity to partner with the most successful club in Queensland Cup history, expose their business to the largest junior football base in the country, and generate strong brand awareness through affiliation with our Club. One thing all our corporate partners have in common is their passion for rugby league and the development of our Juniors as the future of the game. We welcome your sponsorship enquiries. Please email football@ redcliffeleagues.com.au to find out how you can become a Dolphins sponsor

12 Grading and Team Allocations Under 6 Under 11 These age groups are not graded. Teams are finalised early in the year. Please remember: Players are registering to be a Dolphin, not a member of a particular team. You can choose an available team during the online registration process. If a team you would like to join is not showing, it means that team is full and you will need to make another selection. Sometimes due to operational issues Dolphins staff may need to move players between teams and these decisions are final. Under 12 Under 18 These age groups play in Premiership competitions and are graded, taking into account displayed performance, attitude, behavior, experience and physical abilities. Players who register to play at the Dolphins do so knowing that they may not be able to play with their mates, but rather will be placed into a team reflective of their abilities. Coaches do not make the final decision on the makeup of a team, the Grading Committee does. The Grading Committee is made up of two independent members plus Football Development Staff and is responsible for grading in Under 12 to Under 17. Football Development staff review other grades as required. The Coaching and Grading Policy can be obtained by contacting the Club.

13 Insurance/Medical If your child injures themselves at training or during a game, please advise the Team Manager immediately so the injury can be noted. If you have not been referred to a health specialist for further treatment by your GP, payments due to those specialists are not considered to be Insurance claimable and therefore the cost will be your responsibility. Insurance claims must be completed within 30 days from the date of injury. Once you have your claim form completed, call our office on 3203 4754 and speak with our Staff about what you need to do before making an appointment for forms to be finalised. Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance will send an Acknowledgement of Claim with a claim number directly to the player/parent and advise of any other requirements. Due to privacy requirements, all enquiries regarding insurance must be made directly to Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance on 3367 5006. Government legislation does not allow General Insurers to cover any costs subject to a Medicare rebate. You may also still have other out of pocket expenses applicable due to the schedule fee gap. Visit the Arthur J. Gallagher website for further information and to download a claim form: www.ajg.com.au/ Codes of Conduct and Policies The Dolphins promotes the NRL s National Code of Conduct which provides all participants players, parents, coaches, referees, spectators and officials with some simple rules that assist in delivering a safe and positive environment to everyone involved in the game. Click here to access the NRL National Code of Conduct. The Dolphins adheres to the NRL Rules as far as those provisions relate to the player, including: Schedule Three- NRL Anti-Doping Rules Schedule Three -NRL Anti-Vilification Code; Schedule Four QRL Judiciary Code of Procedure; Schedule Five -NRL Testing Policy (illicit & Hazardous Drugs); Any Guidelines to the NRL Rules; and The Rugby League Brisbane Code of Conduct Intrust Super Cup Games The Dolphins hosts around 11 Intrust Super Cup Games each season at Dolphin Stadium. The best support our ISC Team can have is our home crowd so we encourage our Junior Dolphins to come along to as many games as possible. We permit kids on the field at half time and at the end of games. Our ISC team usually stay on the field following their game to get photos with the kids and sign autographs. We love seeing these photos so please share to our FaceBook page (@rdrlfc) and #WeAreTheDolphins. Presentation Day Presentation Day for all teams will take place at the end of the season (date TBC). Each child under 6-under 12 will receive a trophy, yearbook and photos. Children aged 13 and older will receive a yearbook and photos. Trophies are awarded on performance for these age groups. This is a day to celebrate all our Junior Dolphins so we appreciate your attendance and support of all our Juniors.