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Constitution/Policies and Procedures

Mission

The Upstate Rugby Conference is organized under the authority of USA Rugby and is operated exclusively to promote and foster the growth of high school rugby. The conference will have concurrent jurisdiction over its members in all matters pertaining to the administration of rugby activities to include but not to be restricted to scheduling, discipline, player eligibility, and related matters.

Membership

• Qualification: The membership of the conference shall be composed of high school rugby
clubs within the South Carolina Upstate region.
• Team/Club requirements:

A. Each Team must have an active coach that has attended a SCHSR Coaching Conference their first year and at least every other year thereafter.
B. Each Team must organize a parent booster club to aid in club development
C. Each Team's players and coaches must be enrolled in USA Rugby's
Certified Individual Participation Program (CIPP)
D. Each Team must submit a person to be designated as the club referee.
E. Each Team must submit two persons to be designated as the club touch judges.

General Managers

• Job Duties: Each team will have a General Manager (GM) who will be charged with
organizing all aspects of the club, including scheduling, delegating coaching duties, and
providing communication with both the school and the parent booster club.
• Conference Representative: GMs, or their appointed representative, will attend the general
and special called meetings of the conference and have complete authority to act on behalf of
their club on all matters brought before this assembly.
• Appointment: GMs shall be nominated approved by the teams.

Meetings

• Schedule: Regularly scheduled meetings will be held a minimum of once each year. Special meetings may also be called during initial organization and under extreme circumstances. Notice will be provided to each club either in writing, by receipt confirmed e-mail, or direct telephone contact. Proxy fees may be waived and no Truancy fines will be assessed for any special called meetings.
• Notice of Meetings: An agenda will be sent notifying the topics, time and place of the regular meetings will be made available to all delegates no less than 3 days prior to the meeting.
• Attendance and Quorum: Each club is required to provide a Delegate at each officially called
League meeting. A quorum shall be established when over 50% of all Executive Committee
members are in attendance. All meetings are open to all members of URC, participating club members, officers and interested persons.
• Closed Executive Sessions: may be entered into only by a ¾ majority vote of the Executive Committee present or if noted on the agenda.

Officers

• Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Conference Commissioner, Secretary, Match Secretary, Treasurer and the General Managers from each club/team. This committee shall administer the affairs of the conference. They may make or cause to be made for the conference in its name, any description of contract which the conference may lawfully enter into, and they may generally exercise all such powers which the conference by these by-laws or otherwise, are authorized to exercise, except such powers as are reserved for the officers of the conference or the URC.
• Conference Commissioner: It is the duty of the Conference Commissioner to preside over meetings of the Executive Committee and supervise officers, appoint committees, encourage membership, and to supervise League functions and responsibilities. Create and maintain budget.
• Secretary: It is the duty of the Secretary to maintain the Minutes of Meetings and an Official Contact List of the Union.
• Match Secretary: The Match Secretary shall set the spring matrix. Update and maintain a list of scores and insure those scores are posted on the URC website.
• Treasurer: The Treasurer shall collect dues, pay fees. Create and maintain budget.

Terms/Elections

The Commissioner can assign chairpersons of Committees. Chairpersons will then have the
authority and responsibility to recruit members of their committee.
• Terms: Elections shall be held at the Annual Meeting and serve for a period of one (1) year
and/or shall hold office until their respective successors have been elected.
• Removal from Office / Vacancies: Any Officer may be removed from office at any time by a ¾
majority vote of the Delegates physically present at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Additionally, an Officer may resign at any time with or without cause. If any vacancy shall
occur in any office for any reason, the Delegates shall elect a successor.
• Elections: Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the Annual General Meeting.
Election results will be determined by a popular vote of all eligible voting members of the
Executive Committee present at the meeting. Elected officers may also concurrently perform their official duties and represent a club as a delegate and/or as a proxy delegate. Consequently, each officer will have a vote provided that they have been appointed as a delegate or have received a valid proxy statement from a member club.

Finances

• Dues & Fees: Each participant will pay an annual participation fee to URC as specified by a vote of the Executive Committee. Each participant will pay the annual CIPP and associated fees as specified to USA Rugby. Each club has the right to establish and collect player dues.
• Budget: The Conference Commissioner and Treasurer shall create and maintain the budget. A budget will be proposed and ratified by the executive committee at each Annual Meeting.
• Fines, Fees, and Assessments: The Executive Committee shall have the authority to set and
fines, fees, and assessments as from time to time as may be required.

Safety

• Player Safety and Development: All IRB approved Under 19 law variations will be strictly
adhered to and enforced. Club GM’s will ensure medical personnel are present to monitor all medical issues arising from said competition. All matches will be officiated by USA Rugby or iRB certified Referees. Touch Judges must be experienced and knowledgeable as to the laws of rugby or the designated club touch judges. All participants are required to wear a mouthpiece during competition and during all contact drills in practice.

Discipline/Code of Conduct

Disciplinary Policy: The Conference Commissioner may take disciplinary action from either a referee report or individually against clubs and/or individuals for failing to meet policy and procedures standards of the conference. Appeals may be directed to the SCHSR Commissioner. The SCHSR Commissioner's decisions are final.

No Tolerance Policy: Alcoholic beverages and drugs are strictly prohibited. Clubs
disobeying this rule will face strict disciplinary action and repeated or severe abuses shall be
considered grounds for termination. Clubs are not permitted to display any type of alcohol or obscene related, as determined by the league, advertising (pubs, saloons, bars, etc.) on its official kit or promotional material.

Profanity and Inappropriate Conduct: The conference has a strict no profanity policy.
Disciplinary action will be taken for repeated infringements. This includes inappropriate behavior
that is deemed detrimental to the conference and the sport of rugby. Possible violations include
lewd behavior, taunting, fighting, unsportsmanlike, and cynical conduct.

Kits and Equipment

Each Union club must register its primary colors with the League.

Participation and Eligibility

Multi-Team Clubs
Each club may field more than one team in the conference.
Player Participation Requirements
No athlete will be allowed to participate in any sanctioned conference competition until they have
completed and submitted their USA Rugby CIPP enrollment form.

Match Regulations

Number of Players: To be considered an official match, each team must have at least 13 players from their roster ready and able to play at the scheduled time. At that point, if a team has less than 15, they may borrow players from the opposing team, and the match still be deemed an official conference match. It is the opposing teams discretion, what players, if any, that they provide. If a team has less than 13, they may borrow players from any available team, but the match will be forfeited and played as a friendly scrimmage. If teams do provide players for other teams to aid in filling out a side, they are encouraged to rotate players at half-time so that no player spends the entire match in the opposing team's jersey.
The Officials: No match may begin (friendly or official) until all required officials are present and
ready for play to begin. This includes the match referee, two qualified touch judges, and the
medical support staff.
Sidelines: Spectators and reserve players are not allowed to stand or "walk the rope" in front of
seated spectators. One coach from each team is allowed on each sideline inside the barrier.
The Venue: The venue must be prepared be properly prepared and marked as outlined by the
laws of the game. All goal posts must be padded by padding consistent with iRB and USA Rugby regulations. All Sidelines must have some type of safety barrier that will keep fans, spectators and reserve players at least 10 feet from the touch line.
Match Length and Overtime: 15 a side: The conference will play 4 15-minute periods with five minute breaks for the first two weeks of the season. During the third week, matches will switch to two 30-minute halves. During regular season play, tie games at the end of regulation will be settled with two 5 minute overtime periods (not sudden death). During the regular season, if the tie remains at the end of the overtime period, it will stand.
Match Responsibilities: A home and visiting team shall be designated on the schedule. Each team must provide a cooler of ice to be used by the medical staff and volunteers to treat any injuries. The home team shall be responsible for insuring that the playing field is properly prepared including all lines, pads, and restraining ropes. Either team, at its discretion, may be the host for any after-match social.
Substitution Regulations: IRB substitution rules will be followed with the following amendment:
Should the point differential reach 22, and the match has entered the second half, a team may
substitute more than the allotted 6 players; however, only after a consultation and agreement with
the opposition coaching staff. This agreement must be in the presence of the referee.

Other policies

Association with Schools: It is the desire of the Conference that teams become directly
affiliated with their schools following all requirements of the school district. Each team should
strive to have a school sponsor that is involved with club development.

All-Stars / All-Conference: Each year, the conference may select players to an all-conference
team or all-state team in accordance with established SCHSR procedures and also make them available for the Palmetto Patriot’s U-19 team competitions.