RRRC Competitions Committee Notes – 6/14/21

  1. Roll Call
    1. Young
    2. Dale
    3. Roche
    4. Leming
    5. Fosco
    6. Watson
    7. Kurylas
    8. Dodge
    9. Kolberg
      1. Regrets:
        1. Hughes
        2. Tolar
        3. Keuppens
  2. COVID protocols dropped
    1. Dodge: The TRU held a special call last week and decided to drop the COVID protocols due to the decreasing numbers of cases.
  3. 7s
    1. Results?
      1. Young: Need the results from Lonestar 7s so we can keep the TOLA Standings updated.
      2. Dodge: I sent them to Kat but will send them to you.
      3. Young: Great, thanks!
  4. Elections
    1. Young: I received an email asking when we were going to hold RRRC elections. We were supposed to hold the next round of nominations in Spring 2020 but obviously no rugby was happening then. Remember we moved to 2 year seats and staggered the first round in 2018. So these are the seats that would have been up in 2020:
      1. MD1 – Dale
      2. MD2 – Tolar
      3. MD3 – Kurylas
      4. WD2 – Fosco
      5. At-Large – Watson (Chair appoints)
      6. Chair – Dodge (Chair still elected by members of Committee)
    2. Dodge: I was thinking we open up nominations next week, run that through July 6. Publish the nominations on July 6 and open voting. Close voting after 5 business days, on July 14.
    3. Young: Who do you want to certify? Usually I do it (as long as I’m not up for nomination) and another person.
    4. Dodge: Kolberg, you down?
      1. Kolberg: Yes.
      2. Young: Great!
  5. New Clubs
    1. Round Rock Rage W – All New Club documents turned in
    2. Countdown City Elites (Spartans) M – Have received all of their new club paperwork
    3. Little Rock Rugby M – Have received all of their paperwork (again)
    4. Celina Rugby Club M – No movement
    5. Victoria Rugby Club M – Just received notice on 5/28 that they may be forming again
      1. Young: All of these clubs are in the New Application process with the TRU, we wanted to let the RRRC know about their expression of interest. It’s looking like Round Rock, Countdown and Little Rock will come to fruition. I’ve checked in with Celina and Victoria but haven’t heard back from them.
  6. XVs Schedule
    1. Dodge: I sent the March RTP survey to this group, a few changes to note:
      1. Men
        1. Arrows have asked to add a D4 side; will we have enough clubs for a D4 South competition?
        2. Diablos want to play D4 Men’s but haven’t started training yet to my knowledge
        3. Dallas Reds will likely drop their D4 men’s side
        4. OKC Tribe may want to move down to MD4 due to numbers
        5. Ft Worth looks like they may drop MD4 and move from MD1 down to MD3; they have a new President so we’ll need to check in
        6. Little Rock M are asking to join the TRU, assuming MD2
      2. Women
        1. McAllen Maidens W want to continue in WD2 but haven’t been training
        2. Round Rock Rage wants to join WD2
    2. Dodge: Some of these are a surprise but we know the next few years will be a rebuilding. What else is everyone else hearing about teams?
    3. Young: For the women we’re looking at several hybrid options between Monique, Marie, Kat and I. Most of the teams are struggling and only a few are actually growing. So the idea is to have everyone play each other and then have a playoff to shake out the top teams.
    4. Dodge: Are there still WD3 sides?
    5. Young: Yes, there will be a few and most will be in the North. I’d personally like to make sure all the teams are on the schedule so we can guarantee referees and teams can plan for home matches.
    6. Fosco: Yes, the North teams are really good at helping each other out and I think that will continue.
    7. Dodge: Ok, sounds good for the women. For the men we’re generally keeping the same schedule as before COVID. Any objections to proceeding in that fashion? None. APPROVED.
      1. Kurylas: What if Grand Prairie wants to play up? We want to play against better competition.
      2. Dodge: I think that is all open to discussion as we put this all together. Given what we’ve been through in the last year we’re not bound by the formal promotion and relegation rules at this point. I definitely want to encourage teams that want to strive to play at a higher level to do that, we don’t want to hold anyone back. We also don’t want to push anyone into a level that they aren’t comfortable with. 
        1. Dodge: Ok, so next steps will be to reach out to our constituents and start to build a proposal for review and discussion. That will be done electronically. If we vote on the league structure by our July meeting, is that enough time?
        2. Young: I think that timing makes sense, it’s around the same time as usual.
        3. Dodge: Yes, usually June is promotion and relegation, July is approving structures and then early August is drafting the schedule. Late August is when we share the schedule with the teams and ask for feedback. Any objections? None. APPROVED.
          1. Young: I don’t object but wanted to mention that we’re more than likely partnering with Rugby Texas (youth) this year. We want to get them involved in our scheduling process. 
          2. Dodge: Right, I will reach out to Kirk and confirm that and who we should be working with. Obviously their schedule doesn’t start until the spring but we would want to know any special considerations to take into account.
          3. Young: I will also reach out to Nick and see what the women’s colleges are thinking. Typically they play Fall XVs and Spring 7s but that could be different this year.
  7. New Business
    1. Coaching Education
      1. Watson: The last time we held something for the entire Union was in the early 2000s. We need to make sure our coaches are all on the same page.
      2. Young: Let’s be careful about generalized statements like that. There have been fantastic coaches that have been brought in and it has been offered to all members. 
      3. Leming: I would like to make sure that if we do something that it includes clubs that are actively growing, not just the clubs in the big metros.
  8. Meeting Adjournment (9:03 PM)