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 approximately $100 for touch rugby and $120 for tackle rugby (plus any club fees), which entitles the player to a team shirt & socks, USA Rugby registration, and option of a rugby ball or rugby shorts. The fee is discounted for additional players from the same family. After registration closes, late fees kick in for returning players who should have signed up earlier!
Registration for the Spring U-19 season is open from early January through early April; registration for the Summer season 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: Oh yeah. We can always 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. During the summer season, SYC Rugby often hosts the league tournament in early August, so we 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 boys (grades 8-12) 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, rugby shorts, 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 a park in the Springfield area (actual location to be determined each season). Tackle practices will begin in early June, and touch practices begin in mid-June.
Spring season U-19 practices are held Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 4:00-6:00pm, with location to be determined each season.
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 season games are held primarily on Saturdays in June and July, as well as Thursday evenings in July. Home games are held at a park in Springfield area, location to be determined each season (though we always prefer Hooes Road Park); away games are held at other kids rugby clubs in northern Virginia.
The summer season ends with the all-day league championship tournament held the first weekend in August.
Spring season U-19 games are usually held Fridays or Saturdays, and occasionally during the week. The SYC West End team plays in the Rugby Virginia high school league, which comprises 8 teams in northern Virginia and several teams in other areas of the state. As of the 2009 season, our conference schedule does not require travel outside of northern Virginia. League play leads to playoffs and ultimately the state championship, which in June 2009 will be held at South County Secondary School in Lorton.
Q: What’s the inclement weather policy?
A: We 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.
Spring U-19 games are 70 minutes, divided into two 35-minute halves.
Q: Why rugby?
A: Rugby--whether touch or tackle--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 for boys, and U-16 for girls. See the Age Group Chart for details about age ranges within an age group.
The Spring season is for boys only, in grades 8-12.
Q: Is it touch or tackle?
A: Touch rugby is available for kids ages 6 to 14. Tackle rugby is available for kids 11 to 16 in the summer, and boys 13-18 in the spring.
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 as long as they are making an honest effort to come to practice on a reasonable basis.
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 foul play is uncommon even at the most competitive levels of rugby.
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: Back in 2001, SYA Rugby (Centreville) and SYC Rugby inaugurated a special competition called the Northern Virginia Challenge Cup, which entailed a game between the two clubs. On the line was a cup trophy in the form of 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 the Challenge Cup game has typically been played on a weekend in August after the season-ending tournament. 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--the players, 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" in spite of the fact that the SYC Rugby program usually has 150 kids on 10 different teams.
Q: Are there any college rugby scholarships?
A: College rugby is mostly a club sport so scholarships are relatively scarce, and those that exist are very modest. USA Rugby maintains a list on its web site. Note that among them is a scholarship at Kutztown University endowed in memory of former SYC Rugby coach and West End player Dave Bailey.
An exciting development for collegiate women is that rugby is an NCAA emerging sport, which means that over the next few years the opportunities will greatly expand. For more info, check out the USA Rugby web site.
