VIRGINIA RUGBY UNION

Executive Committee Meeting

3 August 1996, Ramada Inn (I-64 exit 124), Charlottesville, Va. (11:00)

Roll Call

Present: President Carl Schmitt; Vice-president Bob Urban; Secretary Bob Underwood; Treasurer David Chapman; MARFU/USARFU Rep. Reyn Kinzey; Disciplinary Chair Jon Stanley; Newsletter editor, Jeffrey Anderson;

Absent: Men's Coord. Darin Darden; College Men's Coord. Kris Kabza; College Women's Coord. Erika Nussen; RSV President, Jim Thompson

Also Attending: College Women's Select Side Coach Bill Lucas

Approval of minutes from Feb. meeting

Agenda

Budget discussion (treasurer's report)

• Budget dated 7/27/96 handed out.
• Biggest item in budget at present are MARFU dues.
• Have lost revenue
  • Not sure of the status of the following teams: ODU Women, SVCC, VCU.
  • No dues received from Johns Hopkins, Navy Women, and UMBC Women since these clubs have returned to the PRU.
  • The merger of Richmond and the RATS means less dues
• Coaching clinic will result in loss of approximately $2000-2500. The president feels some of the USARFU and Rugby Imports fees are exorbitant.
• The VRU will be paying $50 per club to sent one coach to the clinic to help defray cost. The loss will be taken from the Coaching Coordinator budget.

Knit shirt buy (VRU and RSV)

• The VRU is buying navy blue knit shirts with the VRU crest. $300 from the VRU Supplies Fund will be used. The shirts will be sold at cost or a little above cost. Shirts will also be given to Roanoke to sell at the Ed & Sandy Lee Cup with a charge added as to not affect T-shirt sales.
• The RSV is also purchasing knit shirts through the VRU so all referees will have a uniform kit. The shirts will be paid either on a shirt by shirt basis the same as the VRU shirts, or all at once with a check for the total amount from the RSV treasurer.

Communication within the VRU, and between the other MARFU LAUs

• The secretary will contact division coordinators to make sure directory updates are exchanged during the year. The updates will be made to the web version of the VRU directory. Hard copy of the updates will be mailed periodically.
• The secretary wants to encourage everyone to use the on-line directory as it is more up-to-date than the print version. The web address is http://www.runet.edu/~runderwo/rugby/vru/directry and is listed in the mailing David Chapman emails each week. If you are not on this list, you owe it to yourself to contact David and request to be added to the list.
• If a phone number or email address is invalid, please contact the respective coordinator or the secretary to find the correct number or address. Do not fail to contact someone merely because the current directory information may be out of date or incorrect. Requested MARFU/USARFU rep (MARFU president Reyn Kinzey) and MARFU at large rep (MARFU treasurer David Chapman) to ask MARFU officials at their next meeting to do the same if they have trouble contacting someone in the VRU.

Business Cards

• President wants business cards for the VRU officers. Cards will be paid for out of the stationary budget. The secretary brought samples to be reviewed by the committee.
• The committee picked the plain white card with blue and black print. Decided not to print anything on the back.
• 50 cards will be sent to sent to each VRU officer by 1 September.

VRU Handbook

• Motion (Treasurer) to change the eligibility rules for men and women college players on page 14, no. 6 and page 16, no. 6 of the 1996 VRU handbook to must comply with current USARFU eligibility rules. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
• Anyone who wants to make additions and corrections to the VRU handbook for 1997 should submit these to David Chapman before the next VRU executive committee, 10 November in Richmond.

Ed & Sandy Lee Cup 1996

• Status. Everything is set for the tournament. The party will not be held as the same place as the last two years because of damage done to the hotel by rugby players.
• NOTE: Anyone caught doing damage to property during the Ed & Sandy Lee Cup will result in their respective club being cited. A club cited for a player's action risk severe sanctions from the VRU, including suspension.
• President's reception. Looking for reception more like two years ago, reasonable and comfortable. Location not determined yet, but will be shortly.
• Invitation sample and wording was discussed and finalized. The president wants one hundred copies by 1 Oct.
• The president will coordinate games for women's division and college sides not qualifying for Ed & Sandy Lee.
  • Ask Tournament Director EJ Moses to have slots for these games.
  • Ask RSV to cover matches.
• The president reported his disapproval on how the RSV fees were negotiated between Roanoke and the RSV. This has occurred for the past three years.

Coaching Clinic

• Read letter from Coaching Clinic Coordinator Kris Kabza.
• So far only two people have pre-registered.
• Expect 40-50 coaches at the clinic
• The president requested in the contract Rugby Imports inform him if they were attending the clinic 30 days in advance. If not, the president wants to invite another vendor. Also if Imports said they were attending and didn't, the VRU would hold back 25% ($250) of the speaker's fee. USARFU said Imports didn't have rights of first refusal, they have sole rights. The president informed Rugby Imports owner Bob Hoder the VRU wants a vendor at the clinic and hopes the vendor is Imports, but if not we still want a vendor at the clinic.
• The president has requested all clinic materials be in our hands ten days before the clinic. He wants to avoid the delays the EPRU experienced in receiving materials for their clinic.
• Asked committee member to strongly encourage anyone they know interested in attending the clinic to submit their application as soon as possible.
• President request the treasurer to sent the coaching clinic coordinator a list of clubs who have spent their VRU coaching clinic allowance.
• Coaches also receive the $50 VRU fee to attend level II and level III clinics offered else where this year.

Women's Collegiate Select Side

• Was scheduled for this fall, but scrapped since playoffs were moved from the spring to the fall.
• College women's select side coach Bob Urban wants to send the women collegiate side to tournaments in the spring. Not interested in the ITTs.
• Would like to look into the possibility of hosting a camp in the future.
• There seems to some question as to where the VRU women's game jerseys are.

MARFU Collegiate Playoffs (Man and Women)

The MARFU collegiate playoffs were discussed because there is the real possibility the collegiate playoffs, men and women, will be moved from the fall of 1997 to the spring 1998 next year. This would mean the playoffs have changed dates every season MARFU has been in existence.

• There are two schools of thought of which season to hold the playoffs
  • Spring gives caliber matches leading up to the championships.
  • Fall gives the organized clubs time to setup and raise money. These clubs are more stable and are less affected from one season to another.
• Who's who in this topic
  • PRU wants the playoffs in the spring
  • VRU and EPRU are both split between fall spring, but voted for the fall this past year.
  • All the VRU college men teams want the playoffs in the fall VRU and are quite adamant about it.
• The secretary asked if clubs are adamant about when the playoffs are, why is there any question on how our directors vote at a MARFU director's meeting. The MARFU/USARFU representative responded. Board members can vote with their vote at the AGM. The Board or the Executive Committee can't direct the directors on how to vote, although they will certainly listen to what board member have to say. The MARFU director have to vote in what in the best interest of the members as a whole.
• As a women's collegiate coach, Bob Urban feels strongly that the playoffs should in the fall when asked by the president.
• The president thinks the collegiate women and men championships should travel together
• The collegiate national championships are open for bids.
• MARFU president (MARFU/USARFU rep. Reyn Kinzey) has encouraged Princeton to submit a bid for the national championships next year. Princeton also has submitted a bid for the MARFU championships next year.

Men's Select Side

• Select side coach Brett Burdick reports the VRU select side will play the Atlanta Renegades 2 Nov 1996 in Raleigh. The Vipers will play the Renegade's second XV if available.
• Will be giving Raleigh some money to cover a small social after the game.
• Select side coach EJ Moses is working on a possible game (two sides) with the North Carolina Rugby Union on a Sunday in October.
• Will play PRU and EPRU in November.
• USARFU is not currently using select side as a vehicle for Eagle selection.
• MARFU is one of the few active territories. The Northeast territory has approached MARFU for a possible match.
• MARFU is trying to establish going to Bermuda in November and possibly getting their side to play here in the spring.
• There are MARFU men's, and men's collegiate side. The MARFU collegiate women may have a camp in spring 1997.

Club and collegiate championship dates for 1997

The president asked the VRU rep. to the MARFU competitions committee (David Chapman) to get the dates of the spring 1997 playoffs to the secretary and the newsletter editor. The dates will be placed in the VRU calendar.

The secretary pointed out there is also a copy of the VRU calendar online. The address is: http://www.runet.edu/~runderwo/rugby/vru/calendar/

Club and Collegiate League Systems

• Motion (president) all VRU league matches in all divisions be played in the fall (One match) between Labor Day and Ed & Sandy Lee Cup starting 1 January 1997. Seconded. After discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
• Motion (president) for fall 1997 the college men's league system will have a division I and II. The structure to be determined by the college men's clubs unless not agreed upon by 1 February 1997 by a majority decision in which case the executive committee will decide the format. Seconded. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
• Motion (president) for fall 1996 the fifth place winner in the Ed & Sandy Lee Cup be the VRU college men's division II first seed and the sixth place be the second seed if requested. The consolation game will be called the VRU College Men's Division II championship (40 minute match). Seconded. After some discussion, the motion carried.

7s Tournaments (1996 and 1997)

• There have been a number of complaints with the MARFU 7s structure
  • Number of qualifiers
  • Lack of quality of teams
  • Not allowing teams outside the territory to participate in the qualifiers
  • Jason Maloni (Exiles) tasked with getting input on how to restructure 7s in the territory.
• The treasurer recommends MARFU cuts the number of qualifiers from six to four or five.

Recommendations to RSV on Fees (7s)

Motion (treasurer) to recommend to the RSV to make the following changes in the dues structure in the VRU handbook for 7s tournaments (p. 36 of the 1996 handbook):

• $50 per 16 teams (from 8 teams)
• $50 per referee for the weekend (from $75)
• 5 referees per 2 pitches (from 3 referees per pitch)

Second. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously.

Status of teams

• Motion (MARFU/USARFU rep.) to wave the standard VRU application to VRU clubs in good standing who merge. The merged club will be a full member in good standing and take the status of the team in the higher division. The club still must notify the secretary of the merger. Seconded. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
• United RFC (formerly Richmond RFC and the RATS) will use Richmond's schedule for the fall. Carl Schmitt and Dean Andrews will clean up the schedule.

Admitting clubs to the VRU

There was a lengthy discussion on admitting clubs from other LAUs. The bottom line is VRU members are reminded that before a club can be admitted to the VRU, the club must obtain permission from their current LAU to leave. Without permission, no discussions whatsoever can take place between the club and the VRU.

MARFU has asked the member LAUs not accept clubs outside their geographic region.

CIPP Status

• Club. The following clubs are not registered: Newport News; ODU Women; Radford Men; Rappahanock HS; Univ. of Richmond; Virginia Beach; RSV; William & Mary Men.
• Individual. Most clubs have enough players to field a side. The following teams do NOT have 15 players registered: BRATS 13; Radford Men 1; Rappahanock HS 1; SVCC 1; Univ. of Richmond 1; Virginia Women 13; William & Mary Men 2.
• Insurance. The following clubs don't have insurance: Longwood Women; Mary Washington Men and Women; Radford Women; Tidewater; Virginia Men; Virginia Tech Men
• The treasurer reports the Tidewater women have insurance under the Norfolk City Blues.
• College sides having insurance exemptions through their schools are reminded they still need to submit the exemption to the national office.
• Motion (president) for clubs not CIPP registered and insurance compliant by 1 February of each year are liable for fines equal to the cost of club CIPP registration and club liability insurance premium (regardless of exemption status). These clubs will not be assigned RSV referees at the February scheduling meeting regardless whether they are the host or visiting team. Second. After some discussion, the motion carried unanimously.

Ed & Sandy Lee Cup 1997

• There a was lengthy discussion about how bids for the 1997 Ed & Sandy Lee Cup In 1997 will be handled. The president posted an email in July stating: "... we will insist that a club submitting a bid must have an a letter from the RSV, addressed to the club, agreeing to a dollar amount, submitted with the bid at the bid. No letter, the bid is rejected outright." The secretary expressed concern the current host could not obtain an agreement from the RSV.
• Vice-president brought up a sensible compromise which was, essentially: The clubs would bid on the tournament by the AGM, BUT would leave out of their final cost (the entry fee) the cost of the referees. After the bids are known, the VRU would tell the RSV who the bidders are; the RSV would provide a cost (binding on the RSV) for EACH bidder and the VRU would then examine the whole packages (benefits of each site, cost of tournament + cost of refs, various deltas).
• Since the committee could not reach a consensus on forming a motion, the issue was tabled and will be discussed via email over the next few weeks to formulate a motion. When this motion passes, the vice-president will inform all clubs on the bidding process for the 1997 Ed & Sandy Lee Cup.

High tackling incidents by Radford Women

• A complaint against the Radford Women for high and dangerous tackling has been received by the VRU via the secretary
• The RSV has been notified of the complaint with a copy of the letter submitted to the president by the secretary containing the original posting from the member filing the complaint.
• Suggested the RSV send appropriate referees to Radford matches to see if the complaint is valid. May not be possible because of a shortage of referees.
• The college women's coordinator recommended the secretary speak with them first as their faculty advisor.
• Some committee members recommended other teams not to play Radford. The coordinator didn't agree with this since teams have to play each other for league standings. The college women's coordinator thinks we should let this one stand, alert the refs and see what happens.

Proposal for Collegiate Women's Sportsmanship Award

• The women's college coordinator has made the following proposal for a collegiate women's sportsmanship award. The amount of $100-150 to be taken from Women's Coordinator budget.
• Guidelines: A monetary award shall go to the Collegiate Women's team that exhibits the following qualities over a period of time that includes all matches during fall semester of play.
  1. The team, including coaches, must exhibit an attitude compatible with the sport of rugby. The team must show respect for others, including the referee. The players and coaches must not display any actions of hostility towards each other or the other team.
  2. This team must consistently be organized. Specifically, the team must keep in good standing with the women's coordinator and all other teams. The match secretary must report all match scores promptly. The team must alert all necessary persons, including the referee, of match changes. The team will not be reminded of CIPP and insurance registration an will have all CIPP forms filled out prior to the start of each game. All other business must be taken care of in a timely manner.
  3. The team should strive to exceed their previous levels of play and shall be a model for other teams in and out of the VRU. This team will help other teams improve their play, by scheduling scrimmages even when the other team's level of play may be lower.
  4. It is not necessary that this team have the best match record.
• This honor shall be awarded preceding the collegiate women's final at the Ed and Sandy Lee Tournament in the fall. The winning team shall be chosen by the women's coordinator, a representative of the referee's society, and the select side women's coaches/coordinators at the end of the first day of the tournament.
• Item was tabled while the president consults with the women's coordinator.. The committee approves of the award in principle, but wants to discuss the criteria for the award. Make it a special award tailored to collegiate women but leave out the areas that are already covered under other awards such as fair play and sportsmanship. Seems there is lot of overlap with the RSV Sportsmanship Award and the Ed Lee Sportsmanship Award.