COVID-19 Statement from USAR

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From USAR, “All sanctioned competition and rugby activities are suspended for the foreseeable future, effective March 20, 2020. Members and clubs are asked to refrain from match play, training or team gatherings during this period. Accident and Liability insurance will not be valid during the above window of time. Information on when rugby activities will be able to resume will be communicated by USA Rugby.”

https://www.usa.rugby/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-status-and-updates-usa-rugby/

RefUp!

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Virginia RRSV Clubs and Referees:

In the next month, we will be conducting a trial with RefUp, a replacement to Who’s the Ref.

Our goal is to establish an objective way to assign referees to matches. RefUp will provide benefits to both Clubs we serve and Referees we foster by automating the matching of available and qualified referees to with an appropriate game for their skill set. Matches are assigned a level based on the amount of game management required to oversee the match and general pace of play. 

Clubs: Please stay tuned: Information on account creation and some webinar training sessions are forthcoming. We are hopeful that adopting RefUp will help us better serve everyone.

Referees: Please go to https://www.refup.io/signup/RRSV and create an account. This is the first step involved. We will process the user requests. We expect to have a training call later in February to show everyone how to sign up for matches and confirm assignments. 

Refs Clinic in January

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HOT OFF THE PRESS: L1 Course in Virginia Beach!
To go along with the Capital Rugby Union Education Weekend, we’re working to put together Level 1 Match Official Courses. We have a class in Virginia Beach Jan 26th (Sunday).

https://webpoint.usarugby.org/wp15/Events2/ViewEvt.wp?EventID=3197&fbclid=IwAR1wImXuPe-P-GwU0H005zC842lVVN42MS6iZxQWTFiD8fznlYQLGL4jlLo

We all know of the issues with getting enough referees out to cover all our matches so please consider the course to pay back, get smarter on the game, and talk shop before the season is in full swing!

“But last week’s referee said…”

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Here are a few “But last week’s referee” stuff that I encountered in ONE game last week. [Yes, I do get hyped up about “last weekend’s referee” because of past incidents.]

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1. Before the match started, I saw that one of the players had goggles on. I called the player over and asked, “are they World Rugby approved?” (I knew the answer was no, but I asked). The answer? “I don’t know, but I’ve been allowed to play with these”. Sorry, but no.

Dear Last Weekend’s Referee: See https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/goggles and https://assets.usa.rugby/docs/refereeing/protective-equipment-clothing-guidelines.pdf  (needs to be updated but is correct).

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2. Scrum outside the 22m and ball passed back inside the 22m. Player kicks it out down field and I bring it back to where she kicked it and asked why. Player was dumbfounded and said, “I’ve been playing for four years and we’ve always been able to do that.” HAHAHAHAHAHA. FOUR YEARS! Young lady, you learn something new every day.

Dear Last Weekend’s Referee: Law 18.8.d. NO GAIN IN GROUND. The defending team took the ball into their 22, no tackle, ruck or maul took place and no opponent touched the ball within the 22. If a player, who is inside their own 22, picks up the ball when it is outside the 22, or catches the ball before it reaches the plane of the 22-metre line, and kicks it directly to touch from within the 22, then that player has taken the ball back into the 22.

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3. Player leaves the game due to a knock in the head and is subbed. Player’s coach asked at half if she could come back on. Nope… no HIA in domestic rugby.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ejj2a3l78cx7an/USARR-GMG-2018-2019.pdf

Dear Last Weekend’s Referee: 13.1 Medical. Concussion. The World Rugby Head Injury Assessment (HIA) protocol does not apply to USA Rugby domestic Competitions

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4. We are all running to the left and a team has a possible try on. Lots of player noises to my back from the opposing side about “PLAYER DOWN, PLAYER DOWN”. This kept on coming but we never swing back. Attacking team scores try far away from the injured player and THEN we stop before the conversion.

Dear Last Weekend’s Referee: Here’s a rule of Thumb: if we are running away from the injured player, there is no harm and we’d certainly allow a medic or caregiver to run on the field. Stop a try? No no no! We’d have flopping all of the time, like they do in the game with the round ball.