TRU Board Meeting Notes – 9/16/24

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At the request of our members the TRU Board will be releasing their monthly board call minutes and notes. View all of the TRU archived minutes or read on for the most recent notes:

  1. Roll Call
    1. McPhail
    2. Tomsak
    3. Davies
    4. Dodge
    5. Hiller
    6. Guitan
    7. Hanson
      1. Regrets:
        1. Young
        2. Ohmann-Wilson (disconnect due to prior commitments)
  2. Condolences
    1. Blake Horn (D2 RRRC / HURT) – Sad news regarding the passing of Blake back at the beginning of September. Our best wishes and thoughts go out to his wife, children, and his club (HURT).
      1. Men’s Division 2 Rep position – Blake recently had won the election (non-contested). Special election will be held over the rest of the month with a call for candidates and a vote held by the MD2 clubs. Note that non-compliant clubs will not be able to vote in the MD2 Special Election.
      2. Goal is to have the process completed by the next meeting (Oct-14th) and have the new person elected and seated.
    2. Condolences – Bob Erwin (TRU Hall of Fame / USA Rugby – Bob Erwin passed away last week. Bob was a Board Member of the USA Rugby Foundation, earning its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. He was a supporter of the Lost Afternoon Rugby Luncheon, the Texas Rugby Hall of Fame, and many other initiatives that celebrated and advanced Rugby.
  3. Elections
    1. We received the below nominations:
      1. RRRC
        1. MD1: Incumbent Michael Norton was the only nominee
        2. MD2: Incumbent Blake Horn was the only nominee – special election nominations have been and open for nominations
        3. MD3: Incumbent Travis Hughes was the only nominee
        4. Womens: Incumbent KC Curl was renominated and April Armstrong was nominated as well.  Results were a tie.  Per Terms of Reference, RRRC Chair (David) has the deciding vote.  Upon being notified of the tie, David called both candidates and had a brief conversation with each.
          1. Discussion with both candidates was held earlier today, with Kiana Curl being named as the Rep with the understanding that top down and bottom up dialogue is expected from all. All elected reps need to be inclusive of the stakeholders and when possible, ensure transparency and engagement across all levels of leadership.
    2. TRU
      1. MD2: Incumbent Zack Hiller was the only nominee
        1. MD3: Nominations were received for Hal Struckman and Louis Gaitan; vote winner is Louis Gaitan. Kurylas is not running again and we thank him for his service on this committee.
        2. Louis has been with CCRFC for 14 years and now is Club President.
  4. Summit and Hall of Fame: Another great event. Wendy has provided a summary of the Summit and HOF event in links below:
    1. Summit
      1. The 2024 TRU Summit was a huge success, offering more courses than ever and turning a profit for the first time since 2016. This year, the event generated $21,705 in revenue against $19,894 in expenses, resulting in a net profit of $1,811. A key contributor to this success was the Rugby Knowledge Pathways (RKP), which drew 30 participants. Despite the success, the Referee Talent Development course was canceled due to low registrations, prompting a review of future offerings with TRRA leadership. The event saw strong participation overall, with 121 total attendees, including 87 in World Rugby certifications.
    2. HOF
      1. The 2024 TRU Hall of Fame event set a record with 301 tickets sold, generating $24,782 in revenue and a net profit of $359. This marks the second time the event has turned a profit, thanks to careful cost management and improved revenue strategies. Progress has been steady since 2021, with significant cost reductions, particularly in AV expenses, laying the groundwork for this year’s success. Moving forward, the TRU will continue finding ways to make the HOF event more efficient while celebrating the rugby community’s achievements.
  5. Registration is Open
    1. Please note that Registration for all players / members is officially open.
    2. Clubs should be aware of the early season Club deadlines (by September 15) that include:
      1. Renewing membership and paying fee.
      2. Minimum number of players by published deadline(s).
      3. Coaches must start the registration process early as the background checks do take a long time and when training / matches do start all Coaches should be registered and cleared in RX.
    3. Reminder: USA fees have increased by $5 from last year. This increase was previously discussed in the Minutes. It is NOT a new expense but one that is no longer subsidized by the Senior Club Council.
    4. Club Compliance and Registration Numbers – Texas Rugby Union
      1. Compliance data has been updated and is now current on the website. Clubs that are not compliant will lose referee assignments and be marked as “Not in good standing” with the Union. This also means non-compliant clubs will not be able to vote in the MD2 Special Election.
  6. RX for 2024
    1. Note: Change of the 7pm Friday deadline being moved to Noon on Friday. 
      1. Young (after call): Notice posted to website and social media as well as pages referencing the policy have been updated.
      2. Discussion on potentially handling MD4 differently. Need more information as it relates to limitations of RX and D4 clubs having players from more than one club on match day.
      3. This will be an action item with David, Wendy, & John K.
      4. Operating Policies – Texas Rugby Union – Competition_Management_System_CMS section needs to be updated. Has some outdated verbiage; also an action item.
        1. Young (after call): Updated! Went ahead and removed the details since they change so often, those can be seen on the original page now and that is the source of truth. Let me know if I missed anything.
    2. Rob Walker (San Antonio) has been added to the admin team on an ad hoc basis and is working with Hansel to get up to speed on current policies and procedures.
      1. Specifically, helping with “Match Day App”.
      2. Training on TRU Oper procedures and scheduling discussions.
      3. Best way to request assistance is via the Admin@TexasRugbyUnion.com account.
  7. RX League Schedule
    1. All clubs need to go to RX and review their schedule. RRRC also updated the XVs Competition page with the RX modules and summaries for each division.
    2. Clubs are responsible to confirm date, location, match time, etc. in RX. 
    3. Match adds/changes/drops need to be worked out with the opposition first and then once mutually agreed upon can be submitted by the Match Change Form (Hansel manages process). Changes sent via email will not be accepted.
    4. We are working with USAR and TRRA to have Match Assignments done solely via RX. Goal is to have one platform and reduce the need to have Who’s The Ref as a secondary platform & added cost.
  8. TRRA 
    1. Welcome to Ross Davies as the new TRRA Chair.
      1. Update on what goal & expectations for the new season?
        1. Transparency is a big item.  Goal is to ensure that Refs and Clubs are on the same page.
        2. Game Management Guidelines is key for all Clubs to review: 2024 Game Management Guidelines
      2. Update on possibility of utilizing RX for sole scheduling platform.
        1. Seemed overly complicated at first pass. Still reviewing the process.
        2. Additional exposure / training would be beneficial.
      3. Webinar was run by Jamie MacGregor with Ozzie in attendance.
      4. Thanks to Ozzie for his service and support.
  9. Law Changes and Clarifications for the 2024-25 Season: Beyond Tackle Height Adjustments
    1. Resources
      1. Additional Law Changes Announcement
      2. Tackle Height 1 Pager
      3. Tackle Height Video 
      4. 2024-25 Game Management Guidelines
  10. Discipline 
    1. Update on existing decisions:
      1. Sevens Eligibility – Huns
        1. Concluded – No misconduct.  Time served.
      2. Choctaw Sevens – Shreveport
        1. DDO investigation complete.  Being set for hearing. 
      3. Riverboat Sevens – Shreveport
        1. Concluded – Six Weeks.  Reduced from 12 based on mitigating circumstances.
    2. Website Procedure Update
      1. Please find a draft copy for the website summarizing updated disciplinary procedures.  This is designed to replace what is currently on this link.  
      2. In looking at what other regions are doing, I liked providing a summary of policy and procedure more than effectively copying and pasting the regulation.  I tried to link to as much reference material as possible so that people who want to take a deeper dive can, but wrote this to provide a basic expectation of what happens “after the card”.
      3. Committee to review and comment accordingly.  Vote to be taken at the next scheduled meeting.
      4. Zack to work on updating the Referee reporting form.  Work with Ross / TRRA to provide input on the form and make it easier for post match reporting.
      5. Action item to “close the email” loop on reporting.  There have been some emails lost for various reasons. Wendy can coordinate Club Contacts list, etc. as required.
      6. Summary Page: https://sites.google.com/texasrugbyunion.com/truclubs/discipline
      7. Young (after call): I propose that once the language is finalized we have a digital meeting with the DC, McPhail and Hansel to go over the process. We need to make sure this part of our Operations is efficient and buttoned up.
  11. Budget
    1. Men’s All Stars
      1. As discussed on the last call, there was an expression of interest in possibly reinstating the Men’s All Star program.  Further discussion has been held about trying to get it on the schedule for Dec-2024; looks difficult at this time. Additional feedback was provided and discussion was held on whether this should be All Stars (D1 focus) or Representative with a focus on D2 / D3 players.
      2. No budget has been submitted but there will need to be a formal budget submission for the next cycle and will plan on including this as a line item.  Thoughts on an amount if this initiative occurs this Fall; not currently in the budget.
      3. Plan to have discussion with the Treasurer on overall format presentations and discuss possible increases may be needed to cover the increase in the Men’s program mentioned above and added medical costs in the future as we support our events. 
    2. Going into the end of the year end expenses, we had taken in ~$106K of revenue and spent the same amount. McPhail will begin working on the 2025 budget and share with the Board soon.
    3. Adjustments since that would be expenses for final grants paid out and the profit reported for the Summit / HOF. What is not in the budget and would be a new line item next year would be the Men’s budget and increased Medical for events.
    4. Mary Graham All-Stars – currently has a $8K budget which includes the “team” component and includes ~$4K of hosting costs. Request to segregate hosting costs from the event. Currently, the hosting cost was covered in full or partially by a SCC grant. Discussion.
    5. New Registrations:  So far we have had 44 Coaches and 381 players register which is ahead of schedule.  Note that there are 73 “first time players”. Note: 45 are female and 27 are male.
  12. USA Senior Club Council 
    1. Positions open on SCC Committee positions. Nominations have been open. Hope to have “weighted average voting” calculations completed this week.
    2. SCC Budget – working on items such as the form TRU Iranz Academy. Goal to support human infrastructure that is more directed than broad based teaching.
    3. Spot on the Referee & Laws committee. Looking for nominations (Oct-1st deadline).
  13. New Business
    1. We received this grant request from Sheena Mallais Elali.  
      1. Sheena, a player for Alliance Rugby since 2021, is requesting a grant to cover $803 in expenses for a coaching certification course on October 13th in California. Her club has struggled with numbers, especially on the women’s side, since their coach retired. She has been asked to step up as coach despite not having formal coaching experience. With a passion for revitalizing the team, Sheena plans to use her rugby experience and support from senior players to help Alliance’s women’s team remain competitive. The costs include airfare, hotel, car rental, and the course fee.
        1. Motion: Approved up to $250 to cover the cost (if out of state) of the course; subject to verification & completion.
          1. Young (after call): Sent a note to Sheena informing her that the TRU Board approved up to $250 to cover the cost of her out-of-state coaching course, pending verification and completion. The response also reiterated the Board’s previous recommendation for Alliance to host a local coaching course.
    2. Gulf Coast Super Regional – Spoke with Nancy from the South, she has sent an email out for signature as of this evening.  Hope to have completed the signature process in a few days and move forward with a call for Host Bids for the 2025 event.
    3. Status on Jackals progress to be documented and satisfactory evidence in line with TRU guidelines; Friday Oct-5th deadline.   
    4. HTX aka “Houston RFC” – Same deadline for formal update as Dallas Jackals above, with the addition of “New Club Application” process completed or show sufficient process; subject to Board approval.
    5. David discussion…Executive Session.
  14. Motion to close: Dodge / Louis at 9:42pm