Eastern Rockies Rugby Union

Summary of Game Day Eligibility Procedures V4.1

As of  Thursday, February 11, 2010 

Applicability 

Except for the noted exceptions that follow, these procedures apply to ALL matches within the geography of the Eastern Rockies Rugby Union. Matches played within that geography that are organized by CYR, the West RFU, USA Rugby, and/or the iRB use procedures approved by those organizations. The procedures that follow are not intended to replace or supersede the procedures of those organizations. The Master Match schedule on the Eastern Rockies web site notes which organization is the Match Organizers/Match Owner for each match on the schedule.

All Clubs Must: 

- Use an Eastern Rockies Match Roster - available on the ER web site - for every match. Each club keeps a copy for itself, a copy MUST be given to the assigned referee BEFORE the match begins, and a third copy is for use in the Required Verification Process described below. If any selectors or scout are scheduled to be at the match another copy should be provided to them. Note this is the Eastern Rockies Match Roster and is not to be confused with Event Rosters used by the West and USA Rugby for listing players for weekend events or matches or championship competition. 

- Effective as of 29 January 2009, for all college and club matches both teams may name a 23 player match roster before the match begins. Only those players are eligible to play in the match. No more than 23 players may be listed with the proscribed number of front row replacement players noted. See USA Rugby's web site or the Eastern Rockies RFU Match Roster or the chart below for information on the requirements for front row capable players when less than 23 players are listed. Further information on the number of players on a Match Roster maybe found on the iRB web site under Laws of the Game - specifically Law #3.

- Not withstanding the above regulation, a college or club team may by prior agreement with the opposition and referee may utilize an open roster for pre-season or other specified non-competitive matches. However, if this situation is utilized both teams must have sufficient front row capable players to continue to play the match safely. By prior agreement with the opposition and referee, uncontested scrummaging may be allowed in these pre-season or other non-competitive matches. As noted below, without prior agreement, pre-season or other non-competitive matches that start with insufficient front row capable players are subject to a forfeit loss to the offending team. 

- All players on the Match Roster must be currently CIPP enrolled for the club they are representing on the day as of the morning of the match. 

- Each player on the Match Roster must be able to present a government issued photo ID on the request of the opposing team or an assigned match official. See the USA Rugby web site for a list of approved photo IDs.

- As a reminder, all clubs are expected to meet the requirements of having sufficient front row capable players on their Match Roster. Clubs failing to meet these requirements before the match begins may not request to implement uncontested scrummaging during the match. Further, the offending team MAY have a forfeit loss noted as the result of the match. The referee has the sole power and the right to decide to prevent a match from starting if a club has insufficient front row capable players on their Match Roster. If for any reason a team or both teams in a match no longer have enough front row capable players to scrummage safely, the referee may allow the match to continue with uncontested scrums. The referee has the sole power to end the match if he/she feels that even with uncontested scrums the match cannot continue safely.

Men or Women's Club Matches 

- In addition to the above, club's must be prepared to provide the following:

- Men and Women's Clubs - Proof of citizenship or permanent resident status MAY be requested for any player on the day's Match Roster. To prove US citizenship, a player must provide either: a valid USA Passport, or a valid birth certificate from a state or territory of the United States. There are no exceptions. Driver's Licenses and/or Social Security cards are not proof of citizenship. Permanent Resident status may be proven by the presentation of a valid "green card." Persons unable to prove USA citizenship or approved permanent residence will be counted as a non-resident player. Details of these documents may be found on the USA Rugby web site under Eligibility Guidelines. All players on the day's Match Roster must be either USA citizens or permanent residents or non-resident persons. See the above USA Rugby Eligibility Guidelines for regulations about the number of non-resident players who may be on the Match Roster and/or the field during the match. As of this writing, USA Rugby Eligibility Regulations allow a maximum of five non-citizens, non-permanent residents on a match roster no matter the size of that roster.

College Clubs 

- In addition to the above requirements, both teams must present a current and complete Collegiate Eligibility form listing all players on the Match Roster. The form must be for the semester in which the match is being played. The ONLY acceptable format is the Collegiate Eligibility form (sometimes referred to as the Registrar's Form). The form is available on the ER, West, and USA Rugby web sites. If a college Registrar cannot, or will not, use the Collegiate Eligibility form alternate formats may be acceptable if all the required information on the Collegiate Eligibility form is provided. An alternate format must be provided to Eastern Rockies RFU at least three weeks prior to any competitive match. Players not on the Collegiate Eligibility form and noted as full time undergraduate students may not play in a competitive (i.e. League) match. A collegiate team may use non-collegiate eligible players in non-league or friendly or pre season matches. However, ALL players in these matches must meet other eligibility requirements. A collegiate club unable to present a completed Collegiate Eligibility form MAY have a forfeit loss recorded as the result of the match. The decision to declare the match a forfeit is solely made by the league administrator after reviewing the situation. The Registrar of the college or University must initial any changes on the form. Note that USA Rugby and the West RFU have regulations about the date range that is acceptable for the signature of the Registrar on the completed form when it is used in either West or USA Rugby Competitive Programs. See the documentation for those events on the appropriate website.

- Each player on the Match Roster must be able to present a valid and current college or university, or government issued photo ID. See the USA Rugby web site for a list of acceptable photo IDs. 

- There are no eligibility regulations from Eastern Rockies, the West RFU or USA Rugby regarding the citizenship of collegiate players.

High School Clubs 

- Game day procedures for high school and younger teams are the responsibility of Colorado Youth Rugby (CYR). See their web site for further information.

Required Verification Process 

- This process must be completed for every match played within the geography of the Eastern Rockies RFU except for matches under the control of the West, USA Rugby, and/or the iRB. CYR has their own process for cross checking eligibility.

- A representative of each team must meet well before the scheduled kick off and exchange paperwork as noted above - the Match Roster, Citizenship Verification, Collegiate Eligibility, etc. Each team should download the CIPP Report for their opposition on the morning of match day so that they have a current version of that roster for comparison purposes. It is strongly suggested that the two teams agree on the exact time and place of this process well before game day.  Either representative/team may request a verification check for each player on the other team's Match Roster. This may include photo ID and/or citizenship verification. Any photo or citizenship verification must be completed at least 45 minutes prior to the scheduled kick off. 

- By prior arrangement, any assigned match official may be asked to assist in the above process.

Suggestions 

It is strongly recommended - and may become a requirement - that each club create and maintain a three ring binder with at least the following information contained therein:

- Current Club CIPP membership report.

- Copies of the CIPP application for each player

- Copies of the injury insurance policy maintained for each player

- Copies of the citizenship documentation for each player

- Copies of photo IDs for each player

- Copies of previous Match Rosters for all current competitive cycle matches

- Blank copies of Match Rosters

- For College clubs only. The current and complete Collegiate Eligibility form

- A completed medical/emergency form for each player. The form will be available on the ER web site.

Web Sites for Further Information

USA Rugby  www.usarugby.org

West RFU  www.wrfu.org

International Rugby Board  www.irb.com

Colorado Youth Rugby  www.coloradoyouthrugby.com 

Documents Referenced Above 

Eastern Rockies Match Roster

Collegiate Eligibility Form

USA Rugby Eligibility Regulations

iRB Law #3

USA Rugby Directive on Law #3

Eastern Rockies Rugby Union

Sideline Code of Conduct

Statement of Policy

All Eastern Rockies Rugby Union (ERRFU) clubs, players, coaches, match officials, administrators, and supporters are considered to be ambassadors of the sport of rugby. As such, every club, player, coach, match official, administrator, and supporter in ERRFU is expected to behave with dignity at all rugby events. Rugby prides itself in following the spirit as well as the letter of the laws and of not tolerating any unsporting behavior of any kind. Clubs, players, coaches, match officials, administrators, and supporters should not tolerate antisocial or irresponsible behavior of any sort which would reflect negatively on the image of their club, Eastern Rockies RFU, USA Rugby, or the sport of Rugby in general.

Prohibited Conduct

Examples of conduct that would be considered in breach of the Code of Conduct are: use of rude, vulgar or obscene language or gestures, throwing objects onto the field of play or otherwise interfering with the progress of the match, destruction of property, refusing to remain behind five meter barriers surrounding the field of play, or unreasonable verbal harassment of players or officials. These types of conduct are not acceptable before, during, or after a match. Each club is responsible for the conduct of its supporters and may be penalized for the actions of those supporters.

Discipline Process

The referee(s) assigned to the match, any official of the participating clubs, or any official of the Eastern Rockies RFU may cite a club or specific individuals for violations of the Code of Conduct.
The violation must be reported to the Chair of the Eastern Rockies RFU Disciplinary Committee within 24 hours of the incident. The report must contain a description of the incident(s) or circumstances and include the date, venue, and the names of the individuals involved.

Penalties

The Eastern Rockies Discipline Committee will review the submitted report, gather additional information as necessary and will issue its findings with a reasonable time frame. Penalties resulting from a violation of the Code of Conduct  by a player and/or club may be financial and/or probationary. The range of penalties varies on the conduct involved and the number of times each has been involved in violations of this Code of Conduct. Penalties may also involve civil authorities, if appropriate. Appeals of decisions reached by the Discipline Committee will follow those procedures detailed in existing Discipline Procedures and Regulations.