Community Congress 2 nd October 2010 Summer Rugby Under 12s-18s How a season can look Jackie Clowes - North West Counties & 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 Picture The dates to note: 1 st weekend in March – Season starts End March/Early April – Easter Sunday 1 st weekend in May– Magic Weekend/Bank Holiday break Last Sunday in May – Alternative Bank Holiday break (half term week) 2 nd /3 rd Sunday in July– League Cup Finals End of part 1 – Festival Period End August – Wembley Weekend/Bank Holiday 1 st Sunday in September – Second half of season kicks off Last weekend in October– County Cup Finals 1 st weekend in November– National Cup Finals

The dates to note: 4 th March – Season starts 8 th April – Easter Sunday 6 th May – Magic Weekend/Bank Holiday. 27 th May – Alternative Bank Holiday Weekend 15 th July – League Cup Finals End of part one – Festival Period 26 th August – Wembley Weekend 2 nd September – Second half of season kicks off 28 th October – County Cup Finals 4 th 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 1 st 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 2 nd half of season Same season finale County Cup Finals – 2 nd 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 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 JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJUL 1JUL 2AUGSEPOCTNOVDEC SUMMER SPLIT For those in favour of a split season There is no real difference

Any Questions?