TRU Board Meeting Notes – 10/21/24

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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
        1. McPhail
        2. Tomsak
        3. Dodge
        4. Hiller
        5. Guitan
        6. Davies
          1. Regrets
            1. Hanson
            2. Young
            3. Ohmann-Wilson
    2. Registration Numbers
      1. Registered: 1,154. Sept total of 788 is the largest Sept registration total in over 5yrs. Prior was 2018 with 694.
        1. Players 995 / 88.5%
        2. Coaches 73 / 6.5%
        3. Admin-Vol 48 / 4.3%
    3. RRRC League updates:
      1. David: MD1 update with respect to Sabercats, GCSR, and Nationals.
      2. Dodge: I have two motions I’d like to make:
        1.  I move that the club formerly known as the SaberCats Academy be allowed to play friendlies this season, if they complete the TRU application process and are formally admitted to the TRU, but that they be excluded from league play for this 15s season. 
          1. Rationale: It’s been over 2 months since the Sabercats pulled funding and it does not appear the new club has made any material progress toward forming a viable club, much less one that can compete at the MD1 level.
          2. Motion: Dodge / Louis. Vote by proclamation to affirm the motion.
        2.  I move that the MD1 Clubs be given until 8pm on Nov-8th, if no agreement is reached, then it will be reviewed by the full RRRC committee, effective the Nov-11th meeting, to come up with an agreed, revised schedule for the remaining 4 Clubs, including contingencies for the TRU / Red River MD1 Champion having to play in the Gulf Coast Super Regional. If an agreement cannot be reached by the MD1 Clubs by that date, then the Competitions Committee would choose from the competing options under discussion by the MD1 Clubs.
          1. Rationale: The MD1 schedule needs to get set. As I understand it, there are currently two options under discussion—the “McAuliffe Plan” and the “Dale Plan”. Both call for each MD1 Club to play each other MD1 Club 3 times during the regular season – Home, Away, and then a third match at a location TBD. Under both plans, the Dallas Clubs would only have to travel to one of the Austin Clubs, and vice versa.  So, if the Reds traveled to play the Blacks in their third match against the Blacks, the Huns would have to play their third match against the Reds in Dallas. Finally, both plans would move the MD1 TRU Championship match from 4/26 to 4/12 to accommodate travel to the GCSR on May 3-4 (if necessary).
          2. The main (if not only) difference between the McAuliffe Plan and the Dale Plan is how you decide where the third match is played. Under the McAuliffe Plan, the determination is made randomly. Under the Dale Plan the determination was as proposed by John Dale (or I suppose, as worked out by agreement among the 4 Clubs).
          3. Motion: Dodge / Louis. Vote by proclamation to affirm the motion.
      3. MD2 no updates.
      4. MD3 North
        1. OKC Crusaders is now the OKC Legion.
        2. The OKC Tribe has withdrawn from competition.
        3. Tulsa will fill the D1C crossover matches previously allocated to the Tribe.
      5. Women’s – no updates.
      6. Mary Graham Allstars
        1. Received approval for two grants: 1) USWRF Grant and 2) USA SCC Grant
        2. Clubs confirmed and schedule will be released soon!
      7. RX roster deadline moved up to Friday Noon each week.
    4. Update on Hosting Bids rec’d to date. Deadline Nov-1st:
      1. Choctaw OK
      2. Dallas RFC (1 of 2)
    5. Update on Club Compliance – Hansel / McPhail
      1. See link: Club Compliance and Registration Numbers – Texas Rugby Union
    6. International Clearances – McPhail
      1. SCC call noted that there is a heightened focus on ensuring that Internationals are approved by 1) Touring Side Union 2) USAR written approval and 3) Confirmation by TRU & TRRA that the sides are properly registered, Union clearances, etc.
    7. Budget – McPhail
      1. Have been provided a template from Dodge and will review it for future use in consultation with David Pfleger.
      2. Based on a report from USAR SCC, CCC and Wendy, overall registrations, specifically new ruggers, are turning up in early registration totals.
      3. Men’s All Star Competition discussion ($8K) to be the same base amount as Women’s program.
    8. Law Changes – Reminder from last month:
      1. Resources below – Ross sent email to the clubs with a reminder regarding the below. Game Mngt guidelines are very good.
        1. Additional Law Changes Announcement
        2. Tackle Height 1 Pager
        3. Tackle Height Video 
        4. 2024-25 Game Management Guidelines
    9. Discipline – Hiller
      1. D2 player with carryover dates from last cycle are still being resolved.
      2. Sevens completed. One last Reg 18 decision that needs to be written up. Needs follow up:
        1. This link for Discipline highlights. Please review and provide feedback to Zack asap.
        2. This link for existing procedures that are being proposed as replacements.
    10. Senior Club Council – Dodge
      1. Governance Committee – Rob Walker nominated. One more slot needs to be filed before submission to full SCC for approval.
      2. Rules & Laws Rep. Dave Chapman (Mid Atlantic Union / Norfolk Blues). This spot has been vacant since Kirk Tate moved away.
      3. Sevens Nationals RFP https://usaclub.rugby/2024/10/18/2025-club-7s-national-championship-rfp/
      4. 2024/25 Budget in review. Vote at Nov. SCC meeting.
    11. TRRA – Davies
      1. RX and Who’s The Ref will still be run as dual platforms for Matches and Assignments. 
      2. Match Change Form – Match Change Form 
      3. Clubs were provided email of TRRA goals for matches and transparency. Ensure that there is a team approach.
    12. Attendance Policy – McPhail
      1. The USA Club Council has a policy to ensure that elected members are attending meetings and providing timely feedback/reports to the committee. 
      2. David: Asking the TRU Board to adopt the below language. The RRRC adopted this policy last week (10/14). 
  • A member is considered to have missed a meeting if they have not joined a meeting at the time of roll call. Members who are late to roll call may be considered to have attended the meeting at the discretion of the Committee Chair. 
  • The Committee Chair shall notify the appointing or electing authorities and the individual committee member by email or mail if three (3) meetings are missed in any given year based on a rolling twelve month basis. 
  • The Chair shall notify the appointing or electing authorities and the individual committee member by email or mail if four (4) meetings are missed in a given year. At the time of missing a third meeting, the committee member will be considered not in good standing. At such time, the member’s inclusion on the committee may go to review (if appointed) or re-election (if elected). 
  • Motion David / Dodge for the Board to formally adopt the attendance policy. Vote by unanimous proclamation to affirm the motion.
      1. Motion Drew / Louis: Board to send an official email to confirm future attendance or request resignation based on prior attendance. Language to be drafted and sent out based on discussion. Vote by unanimous proclamation to affirm the motion.
  2. New Business:
    1. David: New 15s Competitions Chair! – USA Club Rugby ; Wendy will also continue her service on the committee.
  3. Meeting Adjournment 9:11 PM
    1. Motion: Zack / Drew