June 7,
2003
Florida Rugby
Union Semi-Annual Meeting
Agenda
Roll Call
Approval of December 2002 Minutes
Special thanks to Ray Campion of Brevard for his help
securing meeting & social locations!
1. President's Welcome and Report-Mark Etue 5 minutes
2. How to bid for a USARugby South Event-Ken Simmons
3. Financial Update-Gerrard-10 minutes
4. NAWIRA Follow Up Report-Corkey and/or Toby 5 minutes
5. New Logo & Merchandising-Kerri 5 minutes
6. Coaching Clinic Information Distribution-Kerri 5 minutes
Reminder-All USARugbySouth Member Clubs required to have a certified coach.
Liability issue reminder from Mark Etue
7. Update on Youth Program- Moe Levesque-15 minutes
8. Questions on previously distributed Officers/Executive Committee Reports
a. Tours & Tournaments Report-Ken Simmons 5 minutes
b. Distribution of Fall Schedule-Ken Simmons-10 minutes
c. Disciplinary Report-Corkey Newman 5 minutes
d. Select Side Report-Toby Overdorf 5 minutes
e. USARugby South Report-Mark Etue 5 minutes
f. Collegiate Report-Jason Heffelmire 5 minutes
g. Women's Rugby Report-Raelyn Barlow 5 minutes
9. Spring South Schedule Issues & Standings Explained-Martin Gardner (5 minutes)
10. Player Eligibility & Citizenship Documentation for Florida Cup-Kerri O'Malley (10 minutes)
Springtime-3 weeks prior to championship games-all teams that can qualify must produce
all necessary documentation to FRU Secretary
11. South Sevens Qualifiers-attendance at three? -Mark Etue will address (5 minutes)
12. Bid to bring USARugby National Office to Florida-Kevin Kitto (5 minutes)
13. Field Size Issues-Jim Millar from Orlando Men - (5 minutes)
14. Division 2 Men's Final Four Report about Boca Raton-Mark Patterson (5 minutes)
June 7,
2003
Florida Rugby
Union Semi-Annual Meeting
Agenda-Page
2
15. Factors to consider for expansion of FRU club membership-Dave Winiecki (Ponda) from Sarasota Men (5 minutes) Attached spreadsheet document
16. Application for new member clubs-each club has 5 minutes to speak and 5 minutes for questions:
a. Gainesville Men's Rugby Club
b. Ocala Men's Rugby Club
c. Exiles Sport and Social Club
d. South Florida RFC
17. Stuart Roth Memorial Cup-Mark Etue 5 minutes
The
Roath Cup is to be awarded each year to the club exhibiting the greatest
improvement on and off the playing field. Given in memory of Dr. Stuart Roath,
Florida Rugby Union Treasurer, who died of a heart attack while refereeing a
match in 1997. This award was given for the first time in January 1998, and will
is a continuing Florida Rugby Union tradition. Nominations are accepted each
year by the FRU Secretary on or before the Florida Cup Championship Weekend.
This will be awarded each year at the winter FRU Meeting.
Check out the best rugby
websites:
Florida Rugby Union
http://www.floridarugbyunion.com
USARugby South
http://www.usarugbysouth.com
USARugby
http://www.usarugby.org
Directions to the
social:
FRU
AGM Meeting Minutes December 2002
1. Ken Simmons Presidents
Report:
Sum
up last three years-CIPP increase 945 members in Florida
Growth of Div 3 clubs,
colleges getting started
Florida Cup helped-schedule,
gave d3 games to develop, reduce travel,
All
Florida Day-Success-money for charity raised each time
Youth-Moe kicks butt-last
three years
NAWIRA-great opportunity for
FRU
USF
to finish 5th in nation
Naples finished
5th in nation in Div 3 men’s
Boca-two years ago-missed
finish
Ft.
Lauderdale 26th Tournament-50+ teams involved-Premier
Division
NASC-USA wanted to
host in Orlando –Made agreement with Orlando Sports Commission
Fields did not have
permit
Went to Pelicans on short
notice-put on great NASC once again, especially TPRC
Work On-Referrees in
Florida
Major problem is referee
abuse-make a commitment to talk to referees and perhaps come up with a a fomal
evaluation form-we need to understand what the ref’s are calling and
why
Commitment next
year-improvement-get more referees, competition for games
Terry will talk on referee
evaluation
2. Mark Etue VP
Report:
Still do not have $100
tournament fee from UCF
See
report from Mark on tours and tournaments-handed out at
meeting
Handbook Reference-For teams
traveling into state
Select Side Report-Very
successful season-see report handed out by Mark
Provide the opportunity to
play at a higher level-
Shane Stuart invited to play
South Select Side (started as a developmental player)
Camps-for Select Side
Players
3. Toby Overdorf VP
Report:
Fall season went well, some complaints
about scheduling
FRU
Cup helps make Union Stonger
For
upcoming fall-start thinking of dates NOW that you will be unable to
compete
Something for the FRU Cup
Champion-Put Champion on the Road to play a higher level team
Summer Tournaments-tell Toby
Dates for next Summer-7s and 10s tournaments-$100 tournament application
fee
4. Kerri O'Malley Secretary
Report:
E-groups will be moderated
for Florida relevant content
Website will be updated
monthly unless there is a special request
Please update officer
changes
Need reports, etc. for
meeting 2 weeks in advance
5. Gerrard
Ferraris-Treasurer Report:
All
Dues paid except for 3 colleges
CIPP $25 per player-must be
registered for liability issue
Invoices for clubs with
growth
$10
for mid-year
Invoice is part of
e-mail-need officers to be listed correctly-Treasurer’s job to contact
him
Need lists of
clubs
$6000 surplus on
budget-financially very strong
$400 per full membership
club, $200 associate, $150 for additional sides goes to South
Collegiate Director-Kudos to
Jason Heffelmire, Outstanding person
outstanding-how well the
players/students did, need to tell players themselves what a good job they
did
FRU
AGM Meeting Minutes December 2002
6. South Report-Mark
Etue-Nov 22-24-see report for more details
South passed-sevens
qualifiers-south is going to a point system-Make a point system-qualifiers in
different locations-need to play in a few qualifiers-will not be put in open
division but will be put in competitive division-supported point system. Will
improve sevens competition. Corkey-how does the point system work? How the point
system works-win a tournament, qualify. How many qualifiers in Florida? Two
teams put in for it-Todd Miller and Tampa Krewe? Dates for 2003
needed
Perhaps give points to teams
that go to other tournaments in the state-Jim Millar-that aren’t qualifiers-earn
points going to various other tournaments****
Competition
issue-Florida-South teams win early June-but later in the season-Issue that
Money may be a problem for poorer teams
For
this year dues remain the same-2004 south will raise dues probably
$50/club-
New
CIPP Compliance-Mandatory for the South-Lawsuits-
Removal of Jeff Goode as
Competition Chairman-thought Jeff Goode was ineffective-situation was handled
improperly-Mike Foust appointed himself
Issue with Tampa Challenge-
to be addressed later with Orlando by Mark
Dues increase-keep paying
more dues, but what does the South do for them as a Club?
Problem-minimum requirements
by USA-do not have a better way currently to help pay for select
sides
Copy of South Budget on
south website-vast majority of money goes to Select Side Programs that are
mandated
Affects your club mostly at
individual player level-participate in Select Side Program
IRB-did some support of
youth rugby? Question
Schedule for the South-South
Matrix Schedule-need to talk to Martin with questions
South competition is not a
mandatory thing, but is an option -2 games?
7. Moe Levesque-Youth
Update
and NAWIRA-Corkey Newman
Currently have 40 youth
registered players in Florida
2002 saw first Ever Youth
tournament-in conjunction with PSL/Treasure Coast Tournament
Everything handed out by Moe
is on the website-Best way to get this going-Every Team should have a YDC-Goal
to have twice as many coordinator-need to have every club have a
coordinator-Pelicans…hope they can get involved, Orlando, Resources-Youth
development tool kit-alternative-usarugbywesbite-downloadable-unlimited
resources
Upcoming events-see
website-25th and 26th-U19 all-star camp, non-contact 8-12
camp
Can
register with CIPP, included in venue-have colleges get together to
play-Colleges to bring U-19 players-
Need colleges to talk to
U-19 group-manager for U-19-Ray Campion-Ask Jason and Gerrard to coach. Reason
on 25th and 26th-trying to get as many children and U-19
to take part in NAWIRA Youth Festival-at Festival-separate non-contact
mini-tournament
Moe’s role is to get the
players there to represent the Union-Corkey is liason to NAWIRA-
Letter out to each club to
get word out to Union-Men’s Clubs that have U-19s-need to CIPP register
youth-don’t get assessed Per player charge
Corkey-Proposal- Beach BBQ,
etc.
Would coaching clinic at
NAWIRA be free? Message in Union-how many people would want to come to
clinic?
Restaurant franchise-Could
we get an additional sponsor? Jim Millar-Will get Corkey names of people?
UCF
to host Canadian side
Hedley has gotten commitment
for next year from Scotland-
Corkey-Disciplinary Report
–Handed out-
8. Terry Day-Referees
Report-
Understands there have been
complaints-Asked a ref to step down-
In
order to alleviate situation-each club was once required to have two associate
referees-A ref can help along the B game referee-
All
referees graded under FRU system and USA system-all ref’s have to be beep tested
–those who cannot pass the beep test will not officiate level 1 games or league
matches
Bring into tournaments
qualified assessors/coaches-NE has 30 assessors-
At
tournaments work with assessors from out of state-Tournaments-bring in A and B
panel referees to ref final but help to coach our refs’
Two
referee qualifying clinics each year-in association with TJ clinic-perhaps on a
Sunday
Fast-track system-B to
A-shows promise and commitment-to travel outside of Florida
FRU
AGM Meeting Minutes December 2002
Referees
continued
We
have people in Florida that can aspire to be on A-panel
Needs money$$$ Proposal
during budget-
Penalty-any game that leads
to National Championship-needs CIPP, registration, needs compliance or he
doesn’t refereee. Can referee games that are local, club games.
Referees in Florida-40 on
the books-30 on a regular basis
Can
you assess them without them knowing? Coaching?
Interested in
refereeing without having a clinic in the near future? Can get coached the same
as in a clinic without the clinic-earlier
Suggestions-have teams send
a player to the clinic-
Ref’s-invite to a
practice-officials are helpful-can get them to come and cover
by-laws
Mark-support that referees
are out to help people
9. Mark Etue-Liability
Discussion
DO
NOT PLAY PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT CIPP REGISTERED!
Certified Coaches-Need to
get a certified coach
Look at IRB vs. USA with
regards to coaching certification
If
someone acts as coach and is not certified can be subject to law
suit
Prop on field-another prop
broke his neck-Referee was found liable
Emphasis-liability policy
has defense and limit for those certified
Be
Proactive-Pitches that don’t allow alcohol
Leave beer in car at
fields-don’t bring to fields
Options for players without
insurance-SAFETY PAGE ON WEBSITE
10. Florida Cup
Discussion
Proposal-Naples
Second-Palm Beach
Passed-keep Cup two day
event
Proposal-USF Men
Second-Treasure Coast
Call to question-6 in favor,
2 against, abstain 13
Passed- make the Florida Cup
Championship one-day event for Collegiates Only
Toby- FRU Chairman will
decide length of halves for Collegiates at Florida Cup
11. Kerri O'Malley-future
meeting dates for AGM
June 7, 2003, December 13
2003, June 5 2004, December 11 2004
12. Current Poposals to
FRU
UF second the motion
Favor 21 favor, none
opposed, none abstained
Proposed Martin Gardner of
Ft. Lauderdale, Second by UF
DiscussionAgree with CIPP
registered
Opposition-do not have a to
be part of a member club-look at USA Requirements
Motion was
rescinded
Iron Horse Proposed change
of the Amendment, Miami second-
21 favor, 0 opposed, none
abstain
FRU AGM Meeting Minutes
December 2002
Motion-by Iron Horse
Second-Pelicans
Table discussion to
budget-Jim Millar-
Gerard-Clubs still need to
put forth $150.
Tabled until next
meeting
USF Women-Tiffany
Valentine
Have a lot of interest
generated-25 players at practice
Fundraising-registered at
USF as a club-have 3 or 4 men’s club players helping
Sponsor Club-Miami- Second
by Brevard Question-Unanimous at 21 votes
13.
Nominations
Proposal-Palm Beach, second
Naples, Unanimous at 21 votes
14. Budget
Discussion
Budget Discussion-Names off
Record
Increase in Referee
Budget-Discussion
About $300 for a referee to
get started
$75 Certification, $75 CIPP
stuff, to go to South $
In order for a ref to be
promoted,must travel outside of the Union-Cup Weekend and Championship
Weekend-Regular Games keep geographic location, $1200 paid out in hotel and
travel expenses.
Fee dependent upon
grade-$25/game-paid on their grade, incentive to move up
Union currently $20 per game
at 240 games; since then, 2002 331 games, 2001 349 games, 2000 321
games
334 per season paid $12. 40
a game
$20 a game, 334 games,
6800
Least expensive ref society
$30 games, 10020 per season
$10000 per annum to broaden
and enhance the quality of referees
Last year has been
$4800
Spent the money on.
FRRA-charge $20 per game to
each team.
Previous agreement that
penny by penny break-down would not be necessary
Could charge every game plus
$30 more-can bill the teams-
Toby-reason it was set up
for select side and other teams-accounting-no service provided-we are asking for
a service provided-Convenience for the Union and its clubs-to have the money
just provided.
Jim Millar Orlando-Proposed
increase in budget, move on down the line.
Naples-Quick questions-do
the referees see the money? If the ref’s all sent their expenses, it would not
be able to cover all of the expenses.
Improve referees not just
now but forever.
If it wasn’t for the fact
that they don’t ask for travel-5 years ago-was set on 240 games.
Now the games have increased
so they need more money.
Tolls and gas, etc. with
inflation, in 8 years, asking about 5% inflation.
Will affect the youth and
womens colleges the most-will affect us in the next three years-retain and
recruit more referees
Meeting Closed at 3 PM
PRESIDENT REPORT-June 7, 2003-Mark Etue
Florida Ruggers,
The last six months have been extremely monumental for the Florida Rugby Union. It all started in February with the NAWIRA Youth Festival in Cocoa Beach. Next we had the USA Eagles defeat Spain in Ft. Lauderdale. We also had our first women’s club side make the playoff. The Naples Women’s team won their first playoff game and came up short in the next round. Finally, we had Boca Raton RFC become the first team in any division in Florida make it to the Final Four. What an exciting six months our union has had. I want to take a few moments to update everyone on other happenings in our Union.
Women’s
Rugby:
We currently have two club teams up and running. Our goal is to have to four playing next year. I happy to see Gainesville will have a club this fall. Raelyn Barlow is our Women’s Rugby Coordinator. She has done an outstanding job. Please seek her advice when planning a women’s team.
Referees:
At our last meeting the Florida Referee Society rolled out a new training program. I am happy to say that this program is working. We have seen a marked improvement in the quality of our referees. The fitness level has increased as well. I encourage every team to continue to supply the league with new referees.
CIPP:
Currently we have 863 registered members. I want to see that number exceed 1400. Please continue to recruit and make sure all of your members are registered.
Disciplinary:
The number of on field incidents has dropped sharply. I am pleased with that, however we need to keep working in this.
Select Side:
We had our first ever under 19 men’s & U-23 women’s teams this year. We have more members involved in our select side program than ever before. The next six months we will see how these teams do. Good Luck!
Youth Rugby:
Mo Levesque has done an outstanding job with our youth programs. We have a record number of teams and players. Six Florida youth teams competed at the NAWIRA Youth Festival. The next six months will see even greater advancements in this area.
The next six months we will continue to grow. Look for the Union to start selling merchandise. Look for fund raising drives to offset Select Side costs. We will have the 501c3 issue resolved.
Finally, I want to thank the following people for helping out this past six months:
FRU
Executive Board
Brevard Redeye- for their
efforts with NAWIRA Youth Festival
Corkey
Newman
Mo
Levesque
Jason
Heffelmire
Kevin
Kitto
Dick
Elliott
Florida Referee
Society
Raelyn Barlow
Mike
Foust
I also want to give a special thanks to Kerri O’Malley. She has done awesome job as Union Secretary, Web Master, Women’s Select Side Manager & anything else that we ask.
Good luck to all teams during your 7’s season and I will see you on the pitch
Mark Etue
President FRU
USA
RugbySOUTH Event Bid Application-Presented
by Ken SImmons
This
form has been shortened for presentation at the FRU Meeting. All requested
information is here, but the entry lines have been shortened. A full application
is available at
http://www.usarugbysouth.com/forms/bidapp.htm
Date Submitted:
________________ Date Received by
USA Rugby-South: ____________
Proposed
Event:
o Men/2nd Division
o
Sevens Qualifier
o
All-Stars
o
College
o
Graduate School
o
Women
o High School
o Other (describe)
_________________________
Date of Event: ______________
Submitting Organization:
_________________________________________________________
Event Coordinator:
______________________________________________________________
Address:
______________________________________________________________________
City:
____________________________________ State: _________ Zip: _______________
Home Phone:
___________________________
Work Phone: __________________________
Event Location:
City and State:
_________________________________________________________________
Field Name:
___________________________________________________________________
Field Location:
________________________________________________________________
Field Length and Width:
__________________________________________________________
Please
provide the following with this form:
1. Map and directions to the field, along with photo of pitch.
2. Attach information on your organization’s past experience hosting events of this type and list specific events your organization has hosted in the past 24 months.
3. Attach a marketing plan explaining how you plan to enhance am maximize media coverage.
Please
check appropriate response:
Yes No
o o Is the pitch covered by natural
grass? (enclose picture)
o o Are there stands for
spectators? Seating capacity: _____________
o o Are rest rooms available?
o o Are changing facilities available
for players?
o o Is it possible to restrict
entrance so admission can be charged?
o o Will another event be run in
conjunction with this event? If so,
what is the name and type of
event?________________________________________________________________
o o Can alcoholic beverages be sold at
this event?
o o Is a scoreboard available for
use?
o o Is a public address system
available for use?
o o Are practice facilities
available?
o o Will water be available for
players?
o o Will there be on-site medical
personnel? If so, please explain
(doctor, nurse, EMT, ambulance, etc.)
________________________________________________________
o o Do any policies exist that would
not allow the use of the field due to inclement weather?
o o Can arrangements be made to have
the matches videotaped if needed?
If yes, please explain:
______________________________________________________________________
Describe any facilities that could be used if the primary
location should not be available:
_____
______________________________________________________________________________
Name of and distance from nearest major airport with regular
service by major carriers:
______________________________________________________________________________
Referees must be provided accommodations by the host. List the name of the hotel and distance
from the pitch:
Hotel Name:
___________________________________________________________________
Address/City/State:
______________________________________________________________
Contact Person/Telephone:
________________________________________________________
Distance from Pitch:
_____________________________________________________________
Cost of rooms:
Single _______
Double _______
Triple ________ Quad
________
Distance of hotel from airport: _____________
Does the hotel provide transportation to and from the
airport? ________________
If yes, is the service free? ______________ If not, what is the one-way cost? ______________
Describe any discounts or considerations the hotel will make
to the Rugby people: ________
______________________________________________________________________________
Medical
Form
Please submit the following information with your bid. Medical coverage for all USA Rugby South
events is required to protect the players and to prevent injuries from worsening
due to player neglect.
Name of Event:
_______________________________________________________________
Date:
______________________
Expected Number of Teams:
________________________
Location:
____________________________________________________________________
Person
Responsible for Medical Coverage:
Name:
_______________________________________________________________________
Home Phone:
___________________________
Work Phone: __________________________
Medical Facility:
Covered:
_____________________________
Uncovered:
_____________________________
Describe:
_____________________________________________________________________
Phone Number (if available) ____________________________
Nearest designated hospital:
_______________________________________________________
Distance from pitch:
____________________ Phone Number: __________________________
Medical
Coverage
On-Call
Yes No
Yes No
Physician
o o
________________
o o ________________
Surgeon
o o
________________
o o ________________
Physician-Asst.
o o
________________
o o ________________
Nurse
o o
________________
o o ________________
EMT
o o
________________
o o ________________
Other
requirements:
Map of fields showing on-field medical facility: o Yes
o No
First Aid Kit: o Yes
o No
Ice, bandages, cleansing solution for scrapes/burns: o Yes o No
Water provided for and between matches: o Yes
o No
Water provided by:
______________________________________________________________
Is suturing available: o Yes
o No
By whom?
__________________________
FRU Secretary Report-June 7,
2003-Kerri O'Malley
Logo-
1.
Was recently revised so that the FRU would be able to use it for merchandising
and advertising purposes.
2.
Currently looking into copyright so that only FRU or approved parties may use
the logo
Merchandising-
1.
We'd like to provide Florida Rugby Union signature items for sale on the FRU
website. We plan on selling polo shirts and hats. These items will be purchased
through an online third party, such as PayPal, so that we can easily collect
funds and accept credit cards.
2.
We will be accepting bids for the manufacture of polos and hats until July 31.
Bid application forms will be available on the FRU as of June 15. Priority will
be given to CIPP registered FRU members, and of course, to
price!
Website-
I
will not automatically post items sent to the FRU list-serve. Please send
website posting requests to kerri@floridarugbyunion.com. Posting will take place
monthly unless of course, you ask nicely. PLEASE send me your officer changes as
they become available, even if your individual club has a website. These
contacts are often need for valuable FRU communications (billing, competition
questions, etc.)
Standings
Page on Website is unofficial and based upon unofficial scores submitted by the
referee. Points are awarded/subtracted for CIPP compliance. For the Florida Cup
standings, we are able to keep track of CIPP compliance and roster submission,
hence why Nigel (kind volunteer from Boca who provided the service) was able to
keep such good records in the Fall. In the Spring, however, CIPP compliance and
roster submission is monitored by USARugby South, not us. Only USARugby South
can provide the official standings. We'll see what they can do about providing a
standings page next Spring (Martin?)
Schedule-again,
for the Spring, this is provided by USARugby South and just posted by the FRU.
Martin will be able to answer questions about this later in the meeting (see
below)
Coaching
Clinic-
USARugby
Coaching Certification Levels 1 and 2 will be available the weekend of September
6th. The clinic is being held at UCF in Orlando and both levels require Saturday
and Sunday participation.
Pre-registration
is discounted and encouraged, available on http://www.usarugby.org. If we do not
have enough pre-registered participants, this event could be cancelled. EACH
CLUB IS REQUIRED TO HAVE A CERTIFIED COACH. Level 1 cost is $160 and Level 2
cost is $170. You receive coaching materials, a polo shirt, lunch, and of course
the final certificate.
Hotel
information will be provided shortly. All information for registration, hotels,
and directions will be available on the FRU website and USARugby Website no
later than July 6.
Referees
Clinic-
Also
held the weekend of September 6 in Orlando. This will be a Saturday only event.
The cost of the course is $75 and you get a law book and whistle. More
information for registration will be available on the FRU website no later than
July 6. If you ever complained about a referee, how about taking the course and
learning what its all about?
Player Eligibility &
Citizenship Documentation-later in the meeting, see
below
Youth Development
Report-June 7, 2003-Maurice "Moe" Levesque