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Letter 1 from RugbyWA
Dear Club Leaders,
As you are aware there has been some discussion about the reversion of the Colts to an U/20 competition and the fact that there will be a three year window down to the next age competition being U/17. The majority of Senior Clubs remain in support the U/20 model, with some reservations about the cohort of players who are in the U/18 age bracket (those lads with a birth year of 2000). While there have been a few responses to my last request about significant concerns on this model, there has been nothing provided to change the current plan. As a result the Colts competition will be running as U/20 in season 2016.
However, as part of the discussion on this the WA Junior Executive are willing to consider running an U/18 age group competition if there are enough teams to make this viable. Note the key aspects of this are:
· All Junior Clubs will be asked to canvass their members and then to express interest in fielding a team in the U/18 age division for 2016.
· A close off date for this expression of interest will be Mon 14 March, with a decision then made straight after.
· If there are sufficient team numbers (minimum 6) then a competition will be administered.
· Any U/18 competition structure will be open to all clubs whether Premiership or Championship aligned.
· The Juniors propose that these matches would finish prior to the start of senior matches.
· Note the U/17 competition will still be run.
· The competition will be conducted under the auspices of the Junior Rugby Union.
· This will be a one off arrangement for season 2016, with future season Junior age structures subject to further review this year.
To that end while this is essentially a Junior Club query, it crosses over and links to Senior Club matters with regard the Colts U/20 competition.
So while I am not asking senior clubs to respond on this I am making you aware of this dialogue and will keep you informed once the JRU gains feedback and makes a decision with regard this matter.
Any queries at senior or junior level can be directed to me. Please note I will be out of office next week so contact can be best made via mobile.
Regards....
Letter 2 From RugbyWA Juniors
Dear Junior Club Presidents and Secretaries,
As you may be aware, the Seniors Structure this year has moved away from the U19's and been replaced with an U20's Competition.
This has left a large gap between the U17's and the U20's - a 3 year window for which the ARU policy does not allow dispensation.
Rather than lose a group of players who may not yet be ready for U20's, however, too old to play U17's, we are proposing we run an U18's Competition under the RWA Juniors banner this year - marketing it as a kind of "Premier Grade" for Juniors.
The U18's would play under the RWA Juniors Competition Rules and Regulations, as the U20's are going to be using the modified U19's rules, threfore it would be a seamless transition for them.
The U18's could play before Senior games rather than at Britannia.
· A close off date for this expression of interest will be Monday 14th March, with a decision to be made thereafter;
· If there are sufficient team numbers (minimum 6), then an U18's Competition will be administered;
· This will be a one-off arrangement for Season 2016, with future season Junior age structures subject to further review this year.
For this season, it is too late for us to consider restructuring the U15's and U17's, however we can consider this for next season. We also do not have enough data about numbers for the U15's and U17's to consider changing the structure this year.
We look forward to your feedback and response by return email.
Thanking you.
Yours in Rugby,...