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USA Rugby Changes High School National Championship

Posted on October 25th, 2007 in High School Rugby, National Championships, USA Rugby by DJLitten

In a release sent out this week, USA Rugby has announced that they will change the structure of boys high school national championship as part of a long term transition to reshape the high school rugby game in America.

The changes for 2008 include the creation of an eight team competition Boys High School Championship for single high school teams (e.g. St. Edward, Gonzaga, Xavier, etc.), and a separate eight team competition championship for Boys’ U19 club teams (e.g. Westerville, Penn, Highland, etc.).

According to USA Rugby, the goal of the reorganization is to support the development of rugby as a mainstream high school sport, conceivably to allow rugby enter the various high school organizations, such as the OHSAA.

“The strategic goal for USA Rugby is to have rugby formally recognized and supported by High Schools,” said Peter Steinberg, Age-Grade Manager for USA Rugby.  “The new championship structure will support this goal by encouraging the formation of single high school teams, while allowing multi-school club teams to continue to compete.  The end of the transition will include separate tracks for high school and club teams so the game can be as inclusive as possible.”

Along with the format change and an addition of a girls U-19 national championship, the dates of the 2008 High School Championships has been changed from May 24-26th, 2008 to June 6 - 8, 2008 at Founders’ Field in suburban Pittsburgh.   The date was changed so teams could prevent traveling on Memorial Day at a premium cost.

You can view a run down of the changes at the Gainline blog.

ORU launches Ohio Youth Rugby Association

Posted on October 2nd, 2007 in High School Rugby, Ohio Rugby by DJLitten

On the heels of USA Rugby’s new youth initiative, the Ohio Rugby Union has separated the U-19 program into the new standalone Ohio Youth Rugby Association (OYRA).

With youth rugby growing significantly at the high school level, and outgrowing both the college and adult game, USA Rugby recently passed an initiative to increase youth rugby significantly by the next Rugby World Cup in 2011.  USA Rugby believes that a commitment to building a network of development staff and volunteers which allows groups to focus their attention locally.

By developing a new strategic plan for youth rugby, USA Rugby has identified varsity recognition as the goal at the high school level, with administrative structures around the state level, similar to the OHSAA.  In full agreement, the ORU found that youth and high school rugby is a unique segment of the game, with specialized needs.

The vision of the OYRA is quite simple, to develop youth rugby in Ohio into the premier rugby organization in America.  The OYRA seeks to both increase participation and improve the standard of play of youth play in the Buckeye state.

The OYRA will have their first meeting Oct. 13 during Collegiate Rugbyfest in Columbus.