$400 to play rugby!!??

[The InnFORCEr]

Date February 2, 2015 - 6:01PM 20 reading now

Queensland Rugby Union powerbrokers stand to be in the firing line on Saturday as furious clubs voice concerns at the new fee structure set to slug the hip pockets of players.

The new funding structure, designed to help prop up the ailing Australian Rugby Union, has been met with utter disdain by clubs in NSW and that feeling has been replicated north of the border.

The Reds play a trial against the Crusaders at Ballymore on Friday night but the ferocity in that contest may look tame compared to the following day's AGM, with club bosses set to demand answers from chairman Rod McCall and chief executive Jim Carmichael.

Fairfax Media has spoken to a number of clubs across the state, all of which have been left unimpressed by a lack of consultation about the new charges and the impact they would have on grassroots rugby participation.

From this season, every rugby player in Australia must pay an individual registration and insurance levy, as opposed to levies per team. Players in Queensland also pay an extra fee to the state union, which is then distributed back into the game.

Final costs vary from club to club but at Sunnybank, for example, a new junior from U8-14 would pay $265.50, a price that also includes socks, shorts and training shirt. At Kenmore, registration for the 2015 season now costs $300 for players between under-6s and under-9s.

The ARU has set up an online registration system but many junior clubs in Brisbane are advising players and families not to utilise it, instead registering in person at individual clubs. The angst in club land is set to come to a head at the AGM, in which McCall stands for re-election, as does board member Michael Arnett.

Club bosses are set to consult on the matter before the meeting, with a number suggesting the gloss from Queensland's historic 2011 Super Rugby title had now worn off and a disconnect was forming between the top and bottom levels of the code.

Any move against McCall would be a dramatic development but the growing unrest is substantial. Some clubs believe the QRU has been handed the ARU's problem while others point to Carmichael as one of the architects of the fee structure.

McCall and Carmichael have been a golden management team for the QRU and the Reds since coming into power, transforming the province from a cash-strapped punchline to an elite Super Rugby franchise.

On the field, the signings of Karmichael Hunt and James O'Connor represent another coup while the Union returned a surplus of $954,115 for the 2013-14 financial year.

But rumblings from clubland and into the regions will ensure a tense atmosphere when the parties gather over the weekend.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/re...02-1346k4.html

[The InnFORCEr]

If the Reds made almost $1m profit, why couldn't they pay for K Hunt themselves?

[GIGS20]

If the Reds made almost $1m profit, why couldn't they pay for K Hunt themselves?

it would have interfered too much with their $1M profit

[WF2006]

K Hunt

Never thought of it that way!

[westies man]

Had a yarn tonight with the bro in law in NZ. He's heavily involved in his local rugby club affairs and he told me the annual fee structure for Rippa Rugby which is 6 and 7 year olds was 15 dollars, for any other grade up to leaving high school it is 25 dollars. Full senior fees are 80 dollars.
Not sure why there is such a bloody big difference between here and there.

[brokendown gunfighter]

numbers

[AndyS]

Not sure why there is such a bloody big difference between here and there.

This would probably have some contribution...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acciden...on_Corporation