Revised TRU COVID Policy

The TRU Board and Red River Competitions Committee want to thank our members for their patience, good faith, and best efforts at compliance as we continue to wade through the COVID pandemic. We know that, like us, you are all volunteers who are passionate about our sport. This and prior COVID Policies reflect our best efforts to balance the need / desire to play rugby with player safety and administrative burdens, based on the best information we have at the time. You may not think we got that balance right in this or prior policies, but we hope you appreciate that we spent a lot of time trying to. Our objective is to play the most rugby possible, as safely as possible, and to advance our best teams forward to beat the teams from other regions and bring home national championships to the TRU.

Because the percentage of the TRU’s Participants (referees, players, coaches, and admins) with immunity (either naturally acquired or through vaccinations / boosters) has increased dramatically since TRU’s last published COVID Policy in October 2021, TRU is repealing all prior COVID Policies.

Effective January 7, 2022, the following COVID Policy applies until further notice:

1. All Clubs must have a Club COVID Officer (“CCO”). If the same person from 2020-21 is your Club’s CCO, then no additional information need be reported to the TRU. If there has been a change in your Club’s CCO, please provide information on your Club’s new CCO by filling out this short form. CCO duties are detailed in Section 7 of this Policy. Those duties are not materially different from prior TRU COVID Policies.
2. Ban on Participants experiencing COVID-like symptoms from participating in rugby. Consistent with prior policy and common sense, anyone experiencing COVID-like symptoms should not participate in matches, trainings, or social events until 5 days after their symptoms subside, or they can document a negative test for active COVID to the Club CCO.
3. Hospital occupancy percentages no longer need to be consulted; local government mandates must be followed. These percentages were originally adopted because they were used as a metric in state decision-making processes before vaccines became widely available. Subsequent data has shown that even when COVID new case rates are low, hospital occupancy rates stay high because of (among other reasons) deferred non-COVID medical procedures. As such, TRU is abandoning them as a relevant metric. That having been said, Clubs should comply with all local and state government orders.
4. Rugby Participants with no symptoms, and with “Documented Immunity,” or a negative test 48 hours before a match, are subject to no restrictions on match play. Provided they are not experiencing COVID-like symptoms, any rugby Participant who can document one of the following is eligible to play in a match:
   1. “Documented Immunity” by providing the CCO with a copy of a document showing the Participant has:
      1. “Natural Immunity,” which can be proven through a document that shows either:
         1. A positive antibody test that is less than 6 months old (Note: Antibody tests can be obtained for free in most locations by donating blood, which is a good thing for you to do in any event.); or
         2. A positive test for the active COVID virus that is older than 5 days, but less than 6 months, old (and the player is no longer experiencing symptoms); or
      2. “Full Vaccination,” which means documentation showing either:
      3. A single JNJ shot within the last 3 months;
      4. A second Pfizer or Moderna shot within the last 6 months; or
      5. A booster shot of any COVID vaccine within the last 6 months; or
   2. A negative test for active COVID from less than 48 hours before the day of the match (e.g., a test administered on Friday for a Saturday match).
5. Documentation Requirements. CCOs must maintain the following documentation:
   1. Lists of each person who attends each training and match; and
   2. Documentation showing that rugby Participants meet one of the criteria for play in Section 4 of this Policy.
      Effective for matches scheduled to be played on Feb. 5, 2022 and after, this documentation must be provided upon the request of any opposing team if there is a known or suspected COVID Exposure on one or both of the Clubs scheduled to play a match. Such documentation must be provided within 24 hours, and opposing Clubs are allowed to request this information as early as 72 hours before any match. Failure to timely provide such documentation for each rugby Participant who will be at a match will result in forfeiture of the match by the noncompliant team, if the requesting team refuses to play the match in the absence of such documentation and makes such a request to the Competitions Committee. Such matches may not be “played under protest.” The TRU and any match official may request this documentation at any time. Clubs are advised to collect and keep such documentation with their Eligibility Books.
6. Training Protocols.
   1. All attendees at training must be tracked by the CCO or his/her designee. The CCO remains personally responsible for this function, even if delegated.
   2. Absent a known COVID exposure or existing COVID-like symptoms of a Participant, Clubs are free to determine who may / may not attend their trainings, regardless of Documented Immunity.
   3. All rugby Participants are obligated to promptly report positive COVID tests to their Club CCO, who must then take the steps set forth in Section 7.
   4. No rugby Participant experiencing COVID-like symptoms (regardless of immunity status) may attend any rugby-related event until 5 days after symptoms subside, or upon production of a negative COVID test to the Club CCO.
7. CCO Responsibilities.
   1. Maintain all records required by this Policy, and provide the same upon request from the TRU, any match referee assigned to any Club match, or by any opposing Club.
   2. Track all rugby Participants at trainings and matches so that those present can be notified in the event of an exposure, and so that the CCO can identify those who were not exposed and remain eligible to play.
   3. Take action under this Policy upon learning of a “COVID Exposure” (defined as knowledge that any rugby Participant has tested positive for COVID, regardless of symptoms, or is experiencing COVID-like symptoms within 5 days after attending any rugby activity—whether a match, training, social or other event).
   4. If a COVID Exposure is discovered after a match, on behalf of the Club, the CCO will:
      1. Take all reasonable steps to keep the identity of the exposed person confidential.
      2. Immediately notify:
         1. The TRU by sending an email to admin@texasrugbyunion.com, and attaching a list of rugby Participants who attended the match;
         2. The match center referee;
         3. The opposing Club’s CCO; and
         4. The CCO’s Club’s administration and/or coaching staff and ensure that all Participants in the match at which the Participant reporting the COVID Exposure was present are notified of the COVID Exposure; and
         5. Ensure that any rugby Participant who lacks Documented Immunity who was subject to the COVID Exposure is told of the exposure and advised not to participate in any rugby activities until the earlier of:
            1. 5 days from the date of the match or other rugby event at which the COVID Exposure occurred; or
            2. until such player presents the CCO with a negative test for active COVID.
   5. If a COVID Exposure is reported after a training or other rugby event, on behalf of the Club, the CCO will:
      1. Take all reasonable steps to keep the identity of the exposed person confidential;
      2. Immediately notify his/her Club’s administration and/or coaching staff and ensure that all Participants in the training or other rugby event at which the Participant reporting the COVID Exposure was present are notified of the COVID Exposure
      3. Ensure that any rugby Participant who lacks Documented Immunity who was subject to the COVID Exposure is told of the exposure and advised not to participate in any rugby activities until the earlier of:
         1. 5 days from the date of the training or other rugby event at which the COVID Exposure occurred; or
         2. until such player presents the CCO with a negative test for active COVID.
8. COVID Rescheduling Policy. If a Club experiences a COVID Exposure and cannot play a match because it has an insufficient number of players available and eligible to play under this Policy, the Club may request that the match be rescheduled under the following guidelines:
   1. Any COVID-rescheduled match must be played on a Sunday absent the consent of the RRRC, after consultation with the TRRA. (e.g., such consent would likely be granted where both teams were open on Saturday at least 5 days from the original match date, and the TRRA could accommodate a match on that date). E-mail DDodge@TexasRugbyUnion.com and cc admin@texasrugbyunion.com to request such consent.
   2. Absent such approval, COVID-rescheduled matches will be automatically rescheduled in accordance with the following options in this order:
      1. A Sunday no sooner than 5 days after the original match date, but on or before April 10, 2022, that is mutually agreed to by both teams, if such agreement is made and announced to the applicable RRRC Divisional representative by the teams, and a Match Change Form completed, by 9:00AM on the Wednesday following the date originally scheduled for the match; or
      2. The “Next Available Sunday” for both teams 5 days after the original date of the match; or
      3. A mid-week match no sooner than 10 days after the date of the original match.
   3. For the team requesting the COVID reschedule, “Next Available Sunday” is defined as the next Sunday 5 days after the date originally scheduled for the match, regardless of whether that team played on the day before. For the team that did not request the COVID reschedule, “Next Available Sunday” is defined as the Sunday 5 days after the date originally scheduled for the match, provided that that team did not have a league match the day before. Note, these rescheduling rules are “team” or “side” (not Club) specific.
   4. Friendly matches and social functions are not considered “league matches,” and rescheduling of league matches takes precedence over such functions, subject to an aggrieved club’s right to appeal the application of this Policy following the procedure set forth in the TRU/RRRC’s Weather-Related Rescheduling Policy.
   5. A match that remains unplayed by Sunday, April 10, 2022, will go down as a forfeit by the team that sought to reschedule the original match, with a score of 28-0 to the non-forfeiting team in the standings, subject to the Competitions Committee’s right to investigate for shenanigans and tomfoolery if such forfeits affect what Clubs earn playoff spots, with preference in advancement given to Clubs that earned such right on the field, and not through forfeits (including potentially removing the results against the forfeiting team from the standings for all teams in order to determine the advancing team).