National HS champs on the way out as 'single school' guidelines loosened

Loosened high school eligibility regulations will allow up to one-third of a 2009 'single school' XV to have graduated or be enrolled elsewhere, and the backtracking is part of USA Rugby's plan to discontinue the national scholastic championship after 2011.

Worried that 'many players [have] no access to any form of national [championship] event,' USA Rugby's 2008-09 rules allow teams ostensibly drawn from one student body to field five 'special exemption' players, a category that includes athletes from nearby high schools or who have finished secondary schooling but not turned 19 before September 1. Last year's standard, restricting teams in the single-school category to youngsters actually enrolled at the school, was too strict, the union's Youth committee reported in a December memo.

The change sets rugby apart from from conventional scholastic standards governing students who want to play a sport not offered by their school. If the school you're attending doesn't field a team in a given sport, typically you can play for another school that does. If you're attending private school, then you've already made a choice about schooling and extracurricular activities, and the option of competing for a public school team is generally foreclosed. Graduates are almost never part of the mix.

Not only the decision but also how it came to light are likely to be controversial. In October 2007, USA Rugby recast its secondary school playoffs in two divisions, one for teams comprising players from a single institution, and one for teams of players who are under the age of 19. In announcing the change, it declared that 'The strategic goal for USA Rugby is to have rugby formally recognized and supported by high schools. The new championship structure will support this goal by encouraging the formation of single high school teams, while allowing multi-school club teams to continue to compete.'

The move was well-received for creating 'apples to apples' competitions. But in describing its most recent tack, the union's circular asserted the 2007 decision actually set the union on course for single-school championships to be determined by state authorities (e.g., state-based rugby organizations), while USA Rugby's scholastic event would morph into an Under-19 national championship.

While such a transition has been much discussed, the contemporary press release made no mention of the objective, nor did it surface in conversations with then-youth manager Peter Steinberg. A union official could not immediately produce any 2007 documentation memorializing the decision. The December 2008 memo, which circulated to territorial presidents, state-based rugby organization officials, and sundry other 'youth leaders', does not appear to address discontinuing the high school championship.

USA Rugby did not respond to a query about the estimate of how many high school players are missing out on its national championship competition. ERugbyNews first reported the plan to discontinue the 29-year-old event (subscription required).

The decision sets the union up to adjudicate yet another level of eligibility filings and challenges, as the new standard is something like club-level rules limiting the number of foreign-born players. Historically, compliance has been time consuming, fraught, and even prompted litigation derailing the 2003 Super League final.

Were USA Rugby to follow traditional American practice, it would cede eligibility decisions to local school boards that are intimately connected to state athletic bodies, according to sports administrators with experience in the field. Yet despite Boulder's vision of state-based high school rugby, the December memo makes clear the union's discomfort with all that this entails, asserting organizers of state high school rugby championships ought to 'consider the model that USA Rugby has established for the national high school championship.'

The guidelines, approved by the board of directors and circulated last week, call for special exemption players to decrease to three in 2010 and two in 2011, the final year of the single-school tournament.

Comments

[more of the same]

Everytime Boulder farts out information we get further and further from mainstream US sports.

The varsity model is being thrown under the bus. All we get is Commonwealth bullshit.

[gravel pitch Rugby]

Can't turn it over to a proven American formula, Boulder needs the money to pay for the their hotel rooms and other travel and consulting expenses.

Why would USA Rugby wants the kids protected with good insurance, full use of trainers and weight rooms, medical and playing on plush grass - when they can play on sandlots and in National Guard Unis??

[something is up]

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop in this matter. Mark Griffin... waiting....

[Eric Keys]

hopefully the state orgs will simply defect from all of this and do it themselves. How involved is that other national governing body, the ncaa, in actual running of high school sports?

[get a clue!]

All,

First, there is no such thing in World Rugby anymore as U19 only U18 and U20, so we must consider doing away with this title and have State based orgs with promoting just HS rugby. We need to talk varsity, jv, freshman etc.

Next point, we need the decisions on eligibility and single versus multi to be made at the state level...what USA Rugby failed to do (again) is communicate that based upon the numbers of teams and geography (Western PA vs Eastern PA same for NY) that each subleague in the state may actually be played across state lined.

USA Rugby cannot legislate or run these leagues so their post should have been, "we are getting out of the way by withdrawing our support of the National championships, refocusing our efforts on helping each State based organization build the density of teams, adminstration and rules that will help them grow. Furthermore we will be assigning our new staff to supporting and developing/distributing more best practice and practical tools for this plan. Lastly this plan will be posted on the USA Rugby website where we will tie in the coaching and refereeing courses, as well as the player pathways for the best players."

Come on, we all know we live on a continent and one size fits all does not work, we know we need to work hard locally and get tools and support from the top. USA Rugby has to figure this out...oh that is called a strategic plan with regional understanding...

[USArFuHeadinSand]

Nigel, Mark,

Rugby is a Spring sport which competes directly with lacrosse. Lobby to turn rugby into a High School Varsity sport and the U-19s will beat England at Twickers within a couple of seasons (w/ a non commonwealth coach and system, of course).

[high school rugby coach]

Time for high school rugby to divorce itself from USARugby. They obviously do not understand what high schools need. No surprise as no one on the Youth and High School Committee that made the decision actually to get rid of the High School National Championship actually coaches a single high school team.

[Vote no on Nigel]

This is example 421 that Nigel Melville and this Board are the wrong people to lead US rugby forward.

High school graduates playing in the HS competition, yea right, this would happen with an American in charge.

[USArFuHeadinSand]

This is what you get when a failed commonwealth leadership flounders and wavers, then realizes they are about to lose at least one million in dues very soon.

Just let it go. Let rugby flourish.

[Why?]

It seems like Mark Griffin and Nigel Melville are backtracking because they didn't do their home work. We shouldn't let them off the hook easy.

It bothers me USAR does so little for HS and College rugby, but it now seems like they do regular harm.

Not one dime of dues income should be sent to Boulder. This money should be kept local for the growth of the sport. Sending resources to Boulder is a complete waste.

Why in the hell does any team send these clowns money, which we need to growth the sport.

[Michael]

The goal really is a million US youth players. Don't blame or castigate.

Just coach, volunteer, or demand locally that you want rugby as a high school sport for boys and girls.Go to every school board meeting and advocate.

It's not about money or power it's about creating a game within youth sports that has virtue and value.

[Eric Keys]

Michael, money or power are those things that create games. Right now the state based organizations want the freedom to build the game the best they can. When rules come from on high they cock things up. USAR is trying to hold onto dues for which the dues payers derive little to no benefit. As USAR eliminates national championships, which they should, they will lose dues, which they should. This is the only national team dependent on dues in the United States. Go it alone and make it work.

[two answers]

Eric,

You are correct USAR is shameless in their collection of dues.

I wonder what the Board is spending on themselves? Collect dues from kids and their parents and spend more on useless meeting than on the same kids they tax.

There is only two ways this will work. One, start a new organization for youth and HS, or, sweep clean these jerks and re-seat a Board and national HQ's with men and women with vision and understanding of US sport.

[Red Conference]

This is the issue that will ultimately cause USArFu to bankrupt and consider selling the rights of the Eagles to Korea.

If devaluing USA Rugby in order to profit long term was the goal, these guys achieved success.

The standard short, fleece, sell, to an inside group continues.

Sad.

[ERT]

Red:

Yep, you have it down. Once youth, HS and college create their own org it will be the end of USAR as we have known it.

The IRB and their consultants will be to blame. Arnot and Latham did much damage, but it could have been fixed with the millions in IRB funding which came through the front door of USAR. Problem was the Kevin Roberts led Board and CEO Nigel Melville.

They took every short cut possible in trying for the odd Eagles victory. Sold US rugby short at every opportunity. High priced staff, out of touch Board, lazy Congress, IRB watching idly while this group amazingly made the last USAR group look like superstars.

The level of ignorance and greed is historic, even by USAR standards.

[Michael]

Eric:
What's needed are several youth strategies at multiple levels. My thoughts on their duties and responsibilities.

National Union-(USA Rugby)
*manage branding and promotion of the sport to national youth organizations-BSA, YMCA, and APHERD
*Coach and referee training
*National Teams

States
*State club and school championships through regional competition
*Advocacy with high school and youth sports
organization in each state.
*Fundraising and capital projects for rugby facilities
*Volunteer and PE teacher training

Local(County level)-In California this would be by Section-a regional area sometimes across several counties that governs high school sports.

This would be the CYO in the Catholic schools for middle and elementary school.

*Registrar function (data management)
*Schedule creation
*School and team start-ups

I think the tough question is how do collect and distrubute through the membership the financial resources to handle these tasks as distributed.

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