Clifton RFC Minis Festival Sunday 6th October 2013 Festival Information I am pleased to confirm your entry for the 2013 Clifton Rugby Festival. We will be playing the new rules in age group u7, u8 and u9 and the Old Continuum for u10, u11 and u12 age groups. The maximum number of players, squad sizes and other information is laid out below. Further information regarding exact fixture timings and pools will be published next week. I would ask you to make all of your coaches aware of the arrangements and that if anyone wishes to make comment or has a concern with any of the arrangements to please contact me. I look forward to welcoming you to the 2013 Festival and wish you all a successful and enjoyable day. Ian Vaughan FESTIVAL COORDINATOR 2013 ianv@talk21.com 07966-331163 Summary of Festival Age Groups u7 u8 u9 no. clubs 10 10 10 9 10 5 11 5 no. teams 21 21 16 12 11 4 10 6 no. pools 4 4 4 2 2 1 2 1 no. pitches 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 playing nos per team 4 6 7 9 12 12* 13 13* max squad size per team 7 8 12 13 18 18 18 18 max playing time (mins) 50 50 60 60 70 70 70 70 Match duration each half 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 pitch size 20x12 45x25 60x30 60x45 60x45 60x45 60x45 60x45 Ball size 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 u10 u11 u11 Dev u12 u12 Dev *Playing numbers for Development competition may be reduced by mutual agreement of coaches the idea of this competition is to give Development squads an opportunity to play competitive rugby.
Teams Confirmed Clubs u7 u8 u9 u10 Avonmouth RFC 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Bath RFC 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 Clifton RFC 3 3 2 2 1 0 1 1 Keynsham RFC 2 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 Lydney RFC 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 Old Bristolians RFC 2 2 3 2 1 0 1 0 South Molton RFC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 St Brendans Old Boys RFC 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 St Marys Old Boys RFC 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 Stow RFC 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 Taunton RFC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Tetbury RFC 3 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 Wellington RFC 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 Winscombe RFC 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total Teams 21 21 16 12 11 4 10 6 u11 u11 Dev u12 u12 Dev
1. Address and Directions Station Road Cribbs Causeway Bristol BS10 7TT Tel: 01179502855 Please note that for SAT NAV users please use the postcode BS10 7TB. Even though it is not our official postcode which is BS10 7TT it provides much better directions! Take junction 17 off the M5 follow signs for A4018 Cribbs Causeway. Follow the A4018 toward Bristol. Go straight over the first roundabout with Harvester on the right. Travel a half-mile downhill (you will see a Shell garage on the right and Dick Lovett on the left). Veer left at the next roundabout following signs for Bristol. A right turn at this roundabout is NOT PERMITTED and you will not be allowed into the club by the Car Park staff. Travel about 3/4 of a mile to the next roundabout (Crow Lane public house is on the right corner), U-turn back onto the dual carriageway you were on. Travel north for about ¼ mile where beyond the railway bridge (roughly half way between the railway bridge and roundabout) there is a slip road (one way) on the left signposted Clifton Rugby Club. If you miss this road go to the next roundabout U turn and retrace your steps. A left turn at the roundabout is NOT PERMITTED. Take this road until it ends, and take a right. Station Road is one way towards the roundabout BUT with a contra flow bus lane. Beware of buses and taxis coming from the right. Clifton RFC is 100m on the left. Please have your admission fee of 3.00 per adult ready. Please park in the Club car park as directed by the marshals. Please respect the aisles which are needed for free circulation, and in case of emergency access. Station Road has parking restrictions so do not park on the road as any cars may be liable to be booked / towed away by the Police. 2. Entrances and Parking ADMISSION TO THE GROUND WILL BE BY PROGRAMME ON SALE AT THE GATE. ADMISSION IS FREE FOR CHILDREN, AND 3 PER ADULT. ADMISSION APPLIES TO ALL MODES OF ARRIVAL. Parking at the ground is always a challenge on festival days and you should advise all managers/ coaches / parents to arrive early. Car sharing is positively encouraged. Clifton RFC does not guarantee any parking at the ground, and parking is solely on a first come first served basis. This applies to Clifton participants and visitors. We have secured additional parking this year and parking Marshalls will direct you to the best entrance and parking place.
Please do not park on the road as any cars may be liable to be booked / towed away by the Police. If you are arriving by Coach please let me know as soon as possible and a coach parking space will be reserved for you. If this is the case pleae use the main club entrance. In the interests of hygiene and safety NO DOGS are permitted on any part of the Club s grounds. Please make parents aware of this rule. Parents are welcome to bring picnics but NO INDEPENDENT BARBECUES, OPEN FIRES OR COOKING APPLIANCES are permitted on any part of the Club s grounds. 3. Registration and Fixtures Timings Registration will take place in the clubhouse using the form provided in this document, and will commence at 9.00am and must be completed by 9.45am (to enable play to start promptly at 10.15am). If for any reason a team has been delayed and is likely to be late in arriving, a representative of that team is responsible for notifying the Festival Coordinator as soon as possible using the contact details below and under no circumstances later than 9.30am otherwise that team may be assumed to have withdrawn and their place will be forfeited. No refunds of festival fees in that case will be made. A registration form is attached. Complete a form for each age group team, and bring these along on the day. Players registration cards must be shown at registration. Any player without one will not be allowed to participate in the Festival. In exceptional circumstances alternative evidence of age and identity MAY be accepted. The decision to allow participation rests with the Festival Coordinator in case of dispute. U7 and U8 coaches should please bring a full set of tags for their teams. Fixture Start Times for all age group competitions (with the exception of u11 and u12 Development Competitions) will kick off at 10.15 am and for these competitions it is recommended that you aim to arrive by 9am. For Development Competitions first matches will be later and we recommend players aim to arrive by 10am. However team registrations for all competitions must still be completed by 9.45am. 4. Further Communication and Bad Weather In the event of bad weather or other last minute communication please see the club website for news and in particular the 2013 Festival page at http://www.cliftonrugby.co.uk/m/team-102091.html
5. Competition Rules A detail of the pitch layout is available in the festival programme together with the times of each game. All supporters must remain behind the ropes at all times. All teams must be registered by 9.45am and report to the correct pitch and be ready to play at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start. If teams are late the pitch marshal has the authority to award the game with a score of 2 points to 0 to the team waiting following a wait of a minimum of 5 minutes from scheduled start. This is in the best interests of all concerned. In line with other clubs within the Gloucester Constituent Body this season we will adopt the RFU new rules in age groups u7, u8 and u9. U10, u11 and u12 will be played under the old set of Continuum Rules that are current on the date of the Festival. A summary is shown within the Programme. 5.1 Under 7 and Under 8 Due to the small team sizes under the new rules all clubs are bringing at least 2 teams. Age groups u7 and u8 will be drawn in four pools of 5 or 6 teams and play a round robin format. Every player at those age groups will receive a medal. Medals will be given to coaches at registration for awarding after the completion of pool matches. Match scores will be noted but do not contribute to the final standing in the pool. After completion of the pool stages the pitches are available for further unscheduled matches by arrangement between coaches if desired. 5.2 Under 9 The U9 competition will comprise an initial round robin stage in which there will be four pools of four teams. The final placing in the group will then determine which competition the teams proceed into:, Plate, Shield or Bowl. There will be semi finals for each competition where each placed team will play the same placed team in the neighbouring pool 1 st v 1 st, 2 nd v 2 nd etc. There will then be four finals to determine the winner of the, Plate, Shield and Bowl. 5.3 Under 10, Under 11 and Under 12 Competition For U10, U11 and U12 the Festival will be played under the old set of Continuum Rules that are current on the date of the Festival; a copy will be available on the day for reference. The competition will comprise an initial round robin stage in which there will be two pools of five or 6 teams per group. The winners of each pool will play one another in the cup final, the winners taking cup and the runners up taking the plate. The second placed team in each pool will play each other in the shield final with the winner taking the shield. Medals will be awarded to the winning players in each of these finals. Under 11 and Under 12 Development Competition We will also be running an additional Development team competition at age groups u11 and u12 which will comprise a single pool of five teams. There will be a Bowl for Winner of the 1 st vs 2 nd place final in the Development competition. Winners of this competition will also receive medals. Festival Play u9 u12 Pool Stages Each team will play against every other team in its pool, 3 points will be awarded for a win and 1 for a draw. In the event of a tie the order of teams will be decided by count back of tries scored. If teams are still equal then a try difference count (tries for minus tries against). If the teams are still level then the result will be decided on the toss of a coin.
The pitch marshals are responsible for the smooth running of the pitches and will ensure that the timetable is adhered to as far as practical. No game will start before the scheduled start. Tied Finals In the event of a tie in any of the finals the Silver Try rule will apply, (the first team to have scored in normal time will be the winners). In the event of a nil, nil draw both teams will receive a trophy*. (* Teams will toss a coin to determine who will take the trophy on the day. And arrangements will be made for a duplicate trophy to be sent to the other team following the festival.) Disputes and Complaints Any Complaints must be made via the match referee to the Festival Coordinator at the time of the incident. Should there be any dispute regarding the refereeing decision then the Festival Coordinator will support and uphold the decision of the referee. Any complaints made by a referee to the Festival Coordinator concerning abuse in any form from players, coaches or spectators could result in disqualification of the team concerned. Referees, Touch Judges and First Aiders Each club shall supply one nominated suitably qualified referee for each age group team entered. There will be a briefing meeting for referees of each age group on the relevant pitches at 10.00 am. Each team is to nominate a touch judge for each game in which they play who must make themselves known to the referee officiating that game. The referee will be the sole judge of time and is responsible for reporting the scores to the relevant pitch marshal. The pitch marshal is responsible for filing the scores to the Festival Coordinator, and for ensuring ground control. First Aiders will be available at the first Aid point. On the day In addition trained pitch side first aiders will be nominated for each age group however we also ask each team to nominate / provide their own trained first aider.
6. Players, Parents, Coaches and Supporter Conduct Lastly I would like to make a plea to all players, parents coaches and supporters attending: please remember the festival is all about giving the players an opportunity to play and enjoy themselves. This is true at all levels of the game but especially true for these Minis age groups. I would ask that when you are watching on the sidelines try to make sure you encourage rather than criticise. The referees will all be doing their utmost to ensure the game is played in the right spirit and please make sure you support them in the right spirit. The festival organisers will always support the decision of the referee and in line with RFU guidance we will encourage any referee to take firm action against undisciplined players, coaches or supporters. I would ask you to refer to the age group guidance and festival rules
CLIFTON RFC MINIS FESTIVAL SUNDAY 6th OCTOBER 2013 REGISTRATION FORM One form per team entered NAME OF CLUB: AGE GROUP: UNDER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Name RFU No. Date of Birth I confirm that the players listed above are the only players that will play in the Clifton RFC festival and that any player without RFU card or RFU No. above is already an RFU member Signed : NAME :