Q: How do I register? What’s the cost?
A: You may register online or in person at the SYC office during business hours. The usual cost per player is $100 (plus any club fees), which entitles the player to a team shirt & socks, USA Rugby registration, and a rugby ball they can keep. The fee is discounted by $10 for additional players from the same family. After May 31, late fees kick in for returning players who should have signed up earlier!
Registration is open from about mid-April to the end of May.
Q: Do I need to fill out any medical or waiver forms? Any other paperwork?
A: Yes, at the beginning of the season, parents must complete several forms: player info (includes emergency contact and medical information), a USA Rugby registration and waiver forms. They must also provide a photocopy of proof of age, which can be a child ID, passport, or birth certificate. See the Forms to Complete page.
Q: What volunteer opportunities are there? How can we help?
A: Bless you. We can use help with coaching (head coach, assistant), team parent, field crew to line fields and set-up/tear-down, selling spirit wear and merchandise and concessions, promotion/p.r., taking pictures and video, etc. SYC Rugby will host the league tournament in early August, so we’ll need lots of help then.
Q: When is the season, and how long does it last?
A: The Summer season, for kids 6 to 16, runs from mid-June to early August. The Spring season for U-19 boys runs from mid-February to early June.
Q: We have scheduling conflicts this summer... Is that a problem?
A: Same answer for all these situations...
- my kid has a spring sport that doesn’t end until after rugby begins...
- my kid has a fall sport that starts before rugby ends...
- we have a summer vacation planned sometime during the rugby season...
- my kid will be away at a camp during the rugby season...
And the answer is: No problem. We realize there are a lot of demands on your time, that summer rugby overlaps with spring and fall sports, that families have vacations, that kids go to camps. So don’t worry about it. Just let your kid’s coach know in advance when they’ll miss practice or games. We want to make rugby as fun and relaxed as possible, and figure you won’t want to miss any more than you have to.
Q: Isn’t it too hot to play during the Summer?
A: Sure, it’s hot, but we are mindful of the temperature and take plenty of water breaks. Why a summer season? Simply put, fewer conflicts for kids and field space with other sports.
Q: What equipment is needed?
A: Players need only rubber-molded cleats, shorts & shirt for athletic activity, and a mouthpiece (recommended for touch, required for tackle). The club provides a team jersey and colored socks for games.
Q: When do practices start? When/where are they held?
A: Summer practices are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6:30-8:00pm at Hooes Road Park in Springfield. Tackle practices will begin June 10, and touch practices will begin June 17.
Spring season U-19 practices are held Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 4:00-5:30pm, with location to be determined each season. In 2008, we practiced mainly at Hooes Road Park.
Q: Do parents need to stay at practice?
A: No, but please respect the coach and club by returning on time to pick up your child, especially in the event of inclement weather. Coaches will stay until all kids are picked up, but in cases of repeated abuse the club won’t hesitate to take action based on SYC’s child pick-up policy.
Q: When/where are games held? The tournament?
A: Summer games are held primarily on Saturdays, as well as Thursday evenings in July. In 2008, the first official games will begin June 21. Home games are held at Hooes Road Park; away games are held at other kids rugby clubs in northern Virginia.
The season ends with the all-day league championship tournament held the first weekend in August. The location in 2008 will be our home pitch at Hooes Road Park. The touch rugby teams will play Saturday August 2, and the tackle teams will play Sunday August 3.
Q: What’s the inclement weather policy?
A: Normally rugby players play rain or shine, unless the field is closed or there is lightning nearby. The Fairfax County Park Authority has a fields hotline (703-324-5264) and web site that updates field closures each weekday by 3:00pm.
If the fields are open, or it’s the weekend, assume that practice or games will go on as scheduled, as any further decision about cancellation will be made at the field based on current conditions. Keep in mind that during the summer, storms move fast and variations exist in different neighborhoods. It may be raining in Arlington but sunny in Springfield.
In the end, the final decision is always yours about bringing your player to a practice or game.
Q: How long are the games?
A: Summer games are 40 minutes, divided into four 10-minute quarters or two 20-minute halves, with a 5-minute halftime. There are no timeouts in rugby.
Spring U-19 games are 70 minutes, divided into two 35-minute halves.
Q: Why rugby?
A: Kids rugby is a fun, fast, high scoring game for girls and boys of all ages. The emphasis is on FUN... running with the ball, running in support, passing, kicking, scoring! No matter their position, all players have a chance to run the ball. They will tag or tackle, and get tagged or tackled. And they will learn about fitness, teamwork, quick decision-making, and sportsmanship.
Kids rugby is also a great way to stay active and fit over the summer and be ready for fall sports. Not to mention an opportunity to make new friends.
Q: Who can play? Girls, too?
A: Anybody! Big or small, girl or boy, there’s a place for you on the rugby pitch (aka the playing field). Touch rugby is coed with girls and boys together. With tackle rugby, teams are segregated by gender... e.g., girls play on girls-only teams.
Q: What are the age groups?
A: The Summer season is for girls and boys ages 6 to 16, and runs from mid-June to early August. Summer touch rugby is coed, with U-9, U-11, and U-15 age groups. Substituting 2-hand touch for tackle, touch rugby allows girls and boys and kids of wider age ranges to play together. Tackle rugby is girls-only and boys-only, with U-13, U-15, and U-17 age groups. See the Age Group Chart for details about age ranges within an age group.
The Spring season is for U-19/high school boys only (ages 14-18), and runs from mid-February to early June.
Q: Is it touch or tackle?
A: Both. Touch rugby is available for kids ages 6 to 14. Tackle rugby is available for kids 11 to 18, depending on the season.
Q: How many players per team? Does everybody play?
A: Touch rugby is played 7 vs 7 on the field, and team rosters usually include between 10 and 14 kids. Summer tackle rugby is played 11 vs 11 on the field, and team rosters usually include between 12 and 20 kids. All kids play at least half the game.
Spring U-19 rugby is played 15 vs 15 on the field, same as the standard game.
Q: May I request that my child be placed on the same team as a friend or neighbor?
A: Sorry, we cannot honor "same team" requests for a variety of reasons. Note, though, that siblings will automatically be placed on the same team, unless otherwise requested.
Q: Touch rugby, what’s the point?
A: Rugby is flowing game of continuous movement, similar in this respect to basketball or soccer. The point is to keep the ball alive, moving it downfield by running and passing. This is a much more important aspect of the game than big hits, at all levels of the game. Touch rugby preserves this flow in a way that allows girls and boys, and kids of wider age ranges, to play together. Many adult teams play touch rugby as part of training.
Q: Isn’t rugby dangerous?
A: Touch rugby substitutes a 2-hand touch for tackle, so there is a minimum amount of contact.
Tackle rugby is a contact sport, and as such there are bumps and bruises, as well as occasional sprains and fractures. But generally, tackle rugby is played under rule modifications designed to promote safety in consideration of the player’s age, size, and physical and mental maturity. Both tacklers and ball carriers are taught how to tackle and be tackled safely. In particular, rugby tackles are quite different from football tackles. Like touch rugby, as paradoxical as it no doubt sounds to those new to the game, tackle rugby is relatively safe, with an overall lower injury rate than other contact sports. Both coaches and referees emphasize safe play during practices and games.
When potentially dangerous play occurs (mainly due to the player forgetting what he’s been taught), players are discouraged from that style of play and appropriately admonished with penalties, temporary suspensions, and, if necessary, disciplinary action. Fortunately, the rugby "spirit" usually prevails and even at the most competitive levels of rugby, foul play is uncommon.
Q: What if my son or daughter gets hurt?
A: Injuries can occur in rugby, same as other sports. A first aid kit and ice packs are always on hand to treat minor injuries (e.g., bumps, bruises and minor cuts and scrapes). Players are responsible for reporting minor injuries to their parents. Injuries that are suspected to be more serious in nature (e.g., fractures, larger cuts, serious sprains, concussions) are reported immediately to the player’s parent or guardian by the coach. A cell phone is present at all practices and matches in the event of an emergency. Appropriate action will of course be taken in the event that an injury requires emergency attention, and a parent cannot be located.
Q: Does the club provide medical insurance?
A: No, players and their families are responsible for their own medical insurance, which must cover accidents incurred while playing sports.
Q: What are the other kids rugby clubs in northern Virginia?
A: SYC Rugby is the oldest local club, founded in 2000. Other clubs include Alexandria (2003), Baileys Crossroads (2006), BRYC (2006), Chantilly (2006), FPYC (2006), Ft. Hunt (2006), SYA/Centreville (2000), Vienna (2006), Warrenton (2008), and Winchester (2004). There are also a bunch of clubs in DC and Maryland.
Q: What is the Challenge Cup?
A: For the past six year, SYA (Centreville) and SYC (Springfield) have played a season-ending game, the Northern Virginia Challenge Cup. The cup trophy is a silver-plated bowl. SYC has successfully defended their hold on the cup for all of these years. There is a set of rules and regulations about how challenges can be made to the cup holder, and a weekend in August after the tournament is usually when the Challenge Cup match is played. Any team that does not hold the cup may challenge the current cup holder.
Q: Does SYC Rugby maintain any rugby traditions?
A: One of rugby’s best traditions is the sense of camaraderie as well as competition with the other team. On the field, we want to win, but after the game we socialize with the other team, showing respect to them as well as the game itself.
With kids rugby, in honor of this tradition, the home team provides a snack and drink after the game for the visiting team. Sometime we’ll even organize a bigger event at a local restaurant to eat, drink, and be merry with our rugby brethren.
Another rugby tradition is that all members of a club--kids of all ages, parents, coaches, fans--are treated like a big family, no matter how many individual teams there are. This is certainly true at SYC Rugby, where we are all "Screaming Eagles."
