USA Rugby Youth Committee

 

Official Statement Regarding the National High School Championships and New Eligibility Ruling

 

USA Rugby is issuing the following statement to clarify information that has been circulated regarding the status of the National High School Championships event and associated eligibility rulings.  The key component of this statement is to verify that USA Rugby has made no official announcement or ruling as to the future cancellation of the event.

 

Ongoing changes have taken place regarding a number of factors ranging from the date of the event, eligibility regulations, and competitive format since the 2006 Youth Conference on the Game, which took place in Nashville, Tenn.  Discussions amongst the Youth and High School and Competitions Committees have detailed a transition aimed at strengthening state-based championship events as a viable alternative to the High School National Championship event, thereby increasing the opportunity to present rugby as a mainstream sport at the state level.       

 

At this point, no “cancellation” date has been established with regard to when any possible change-over may take place.  As local state-based championship events will take time to mature and prove themselves as potentially viable alternatives, it is vitally important that USA Rugby’s High School and Under-19 National Championship competition remains in existence for any teams that qualify to compete.   

 

Any programs that wish to take steps to qualify for the national event may do so in coordination with their local governing entity. State-Based Rugby Organizations (SBROs), LAU’s and TU’s are encouraged to cooperate on this issue.  This will encourage inclusion rather than exclusion of players and teams.  During the development of state-level competitions and championships, sanctioned SBROs will be provided with increasing support and guidance and local autonomy over eligibility for state-level competition.

 

Furthermore, we would like to clarify the intent behind the new eligibility rulings for the High School National Championship that were approved by the Youth and High School committee last year and have recently been approved and released by the USA Rugby Board of Directors.

 

The intent of allowing five “special exemption players” on the roster of a Single-High School team competing in the respective division of the national competition is in no way intended to re-create club or all-star teams.  This stance was explicitly stated in the memo circulated via several USA Rugby administrative channels.  All conditions for special exemption players are clearly defined in this documentation, which is also attached above, and prohibit the practice of poaching players from existing teams.  Further, the continued separation of Under-19 and High School divisions will encourage strong competition by allowing more players the opportunity to participate. 

 

Changes to the eligibility regulations are the result of information gathered based on experiences of athletes leading up to and during the 2008 competition.  A number of players throughout the country were reported to be excluded because there was no local team available on which they could compete.  A decision was reached to permit players to play rugby based on what is common practice for many interscholastic sports that lack overall interest, trained staff and overall funding.  For example, if a particular school does not have enough interested student-athletes to form a team, individuals are then permitted to play for a team hosted by a neighboring school.  Interscholastic policies differ from state to state, but the general policy is to allow interested parties to participate.  When enough interest is generated through participation at the non-host school, a team is created and those student-athletes are no longer permitted to play for a school in which they are not enrolled. 

 

The logic behind the reduction of such special exemption players over the next three years is to specifically encourage each LAU, SBRO and TU, as appropriate in each community, to develop High School and Under 19 Teams as required to accommodate participation in the game. Clearly, as recruitment from stronger local administration and positive student experience takes place, the number of high school teams will increase and the sport will be able to move closer towards attaining varsity status.

 

 

Inspiring America to fall in love with Rugby
Sara John | Director of Communications | USA Rugby
2500 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 200 | Boulder CO 80302
W: 303.539.0300 x101 | C: 719.310.2606 | Fax: 303-539-0311