Community Congress 2nd October 2010

Summer RugbyUnder 12s-18s

How a season can look

Jackie Clowes - North West Counties 13-15 & 16-18 Fixtures Secretary

The Main Obstacles

• Holidays

• Exams

• Scholarship & Academy Rugby

• Other commitments

Different Ages – Different Requirements

There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution

• School holidays – (generally) affect 12s-15s

• Exams – (generally) affect 16s-18s

• Scholarship/Academy Rugby – affects 15s-18s

• Other commitments – affects all – but let cricket/athletics worry about losing participants, not us.

A Season For All Leagues

• Standardised start and end dates

• Specific cup and league weekends as far as possible

• A proper finale to the season

The Overall PictureThe dates to note:1st weekend in March – Season startsEnd March/Early April – Easter Sunday1st weekend in May– Magic Weekend/Bank Holiday breakLast Sunday in May – Alternative Bank Holiday break (half

term week)2nd/3rd Sunday in July– League Cup Finals End of part 1 – Festival PeriodEnd August – Wembley Weekend/Bank Holiday1st Sunday in September – Second half of season kicks offLast weekend in October– County Cup Finals1st weekend in November– National Cup Finals

The dates to note:4th March – Season starts8th April – Easter Sunday6th May – Magic Weekend/Bank Holiday.27th May – Alternative Bank Holiday Weekend15th July – League Cup Finals End of part one – Festival Period26th August – Wembley Weekend2nd September – Second half of season kicks off28th October – County Cup Finals4th November – National Cup Finals

The Overall Picture – from 2012

Common to all age groups (1)

• Same start date

• Easter weekend

• One Bank Holiday

• League Cups in 1st half of season.

• League Cup finals on last weekend before summer break

Common to all age groups (2)

• Same 6 week summer break from league fixtures

• County and National Cups to run concurrently in 2nd half of season

• Same season finale

• County Cup Finals – 2nd to last weekend of season

• National Cup Finals – last weekend of season

Under 12s

• No league competition

• League & County Cup to run

Under 13s & 14s

• Division sizes a maximum of 10

• 18 League weekends

Under 15s

• Maximum of 8 teams in top 2 divisions

• Maximum of 10 teams in lower divisions

• Scholarship and Academy Games – 4 week break for top 2 divisions

Or Under 15s (2)

• Maximum of 8 teams in all divisions

• Scholarship and Academy games – 4 week break

Under 16s

• Maximum of 8 teams in all divisions

• Scholarship and Academy Games – 4/6 week break

Under 17s & 18s

• Maximum division sizes of 10

• League Cup games completed by end of April

• No break for Scholarship or Academy. Players to either be contracted or not.

Reasoning

• Break for Scholarship & Academy also runs in tandem with school exam time

• 15s upwards would be encouraged introduce teams to other versions of game in Scholarship break – 7s/9s etc, hold inter-town competitions etc.

• One bank holiday break (originally for Magic Weekend) but can now extend onto May/June half term

• Summer holiday break – to appease parents and groundsmen

• Clubs can still hold summer festivals

Interim Season

• Need to ensure a meaningful transition

• No real distractions

• Adaptable – 8 or 10 team divisions

• Finish at end of November or early December

• Half Term break for all

Spot the Difference

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL 1 JUL 2 AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

SUMMER

SPLIT

For those in favour of a split season

There is no real difference

Any Questions?