Tri-State Rugby Conference
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Saturday January 27th, 2018
Minutes/Summation of discussions
WOMEN
Attendance
Team Representatives signed in (changes were input directly to the web site by Alicia Menard-Livingston) Only teams absent were Bard College Women & Monroe College Women.
Conference 7s Championship (Date & Venue) 2018
TS Winner can possibly get automatic qualification (AQ) to the USA Rugby National 7s Championship (potentially in Denver) on the weekend of May 18-20, 2018. Some, but minimal, financial support from conference will be available.
TS 7s Tournament – Tony Brown – suggestion Sunday April 22,2018
Potential hosts – Vassar; Binghamton – two fields available on April 21; Fairfield requests 7th or 8th of April at their field – conflicts on 21; Marist cannot do this
After discussion April 22 confirmed date & the venue will be Fairfield with 3 fields for use.
Teams should plan on a 10:00 am start
Possibility to bring two teams, goal to get every team represented; One day tournament.
On April 28 & 29 in Pittsburg, PA the NSCRO 7s will take place
Organization: NSCRO 7s and Div II 7s separate tournaments
TS Teams must decide which championship they will compete in
Spring Schedules
Members present had the opportunity to set-up games with other members present at the meeting. Match Secretarys were encouraged to contact school administrators to solidify schedule; In addition team match secretary was asked to contact their respective referee assignment official with a polite e-mail.
Cost of referees per game is $90 for a 15s game – If a team is doing a 7s tournament or a mini-7s event then they need to make sure the referees are aware of the event and be prepared to pay accordingly.
Please submit Schedules in by Feb 15, 2018 at the latest.
Fall 2017 Summary
The hoped for B-side competition did not materialize as most teams did not have a full B-side. Reporting was inconsistent.
The TS Conference wished to convey thanks to the Referee Societies (RRSNY & NYSRRS) for their hard work and help covering the games.
Teams were reminded that they must go through the referee society to book officials
Congratulations were made to the Tri-State Rugby Conference Champions for Fall 2017:
Men – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Women – Vassar College. In addition congratulations were offered to both Marist College Women and the University at Albany Women for their playoff berths. Marist in particular reaching the Elite 8 of the USA Rugby Fall Championship and Vassar College Women finishing Runner-up having defeated US Coast Guard Academy in the semifinal before falling to Winona State 36-38 in the Championship game.
Administration
If anyone would like to help with administration please contact Tony Brown.
Website Help – More dynamic and current – Linked to sports press
Fall 2018 Conference Structure & Schedule
Divisional structure was discussed. The Tri-State Conference (TS) has a Division II & NSCRO make-up with a North and South Division being Division II teams & a Central Division which is a NSCRO division.
Some conferences around the country are hybrid leagues combining Div II and NSCRO but TS has the numbers to separate these teams.
However, teams have the choice to play NSCRO or Div II; NSCRO criteria – 3,500 female students
After considerable discussion and some team requests there was agreement that a similar format for 2018 would be adopted as had been used in 2017.
Division II teams would comprise the North and South Divisions and the Central would be for NSCRO teams.
Siena College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute requested that they move to the South Division. SUNY-Binghamton had already indicated that they would be leaving the Conference and joining the Upstate Conference while the University of New Haven would be joining the TS coming from the NEWCRC. Meanwhile Monroe College Women would be moving from the Central (NSCRO) to either the North or South to play at the Division II level.
The provisional alignment would see both Monroe College and the University of New Haven join the North Division. This means that they are assured a home quarterfinal having completed their regular season games.
Division II
NORTH – Marist, U. at Albany, Vassar, UNH and Monroe.
SOUTH – Siena, RPI, Fairfield, Hofstra, Stony Brook and New Paltz.
CENTRAL – Bard, Drew, Fordham, Montclair and Manhattanville.
Discussion with UNH and Monroe will take place to see if they are prepared to join the North and the Fall Schedule published this spring.
Referees/Officials
Teams were reminded to Respect our Refs 🙂
Uniforms and conduct on and off the field
Teams were asked to have Matching uniforms – shorts and socks have been the issue rather than jerseys. If teams have serious funding issues they can negotiate with the conference for assistance.
Budget Review – A healthy, happy budget!
Accounting for the TS is done by a local Poughkeepsie firm.
if you have any questions please feel free to contact Tony Brown (845) 380-9052 or e-mail tobrown@vassar.edu The firm is called D’Arcangelo & Co., LLP, 510 Haight Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 and the point of contact is Ian Angelone – Staff Accountant.
The Conference has $28,000 in the bank although we still will have to pay fees to the accounting firm (approximately $650) as well as NSCRO fees for those teams that opt for NSCRO status for the 7s this spring and get trophies engraved we are still well in the black.
Teams that need assistance for Coaching qualifications (every team needs level 2 coach)
Can request help from the Conference. The money we have is meant to be spent on development of collegiate rugby and this is certainly money well spent.
The Conference is a registered tax exempt non-profit organization. Taxes are filed by D’Arcangelo & Co., LLP
Medical requirements mandatory at games
Teams were reminded to contact their school administration since it the School that carries the responsibility to have an Emergency Medical Plan (EMP) in place.
Please make sure you have this process in place.
Teams must have an certified Athletic Trainer or EMT, or Paramedic or Physician at every game.
Hosting a Tri-State Championship 15s Championship in Fall 2018
The past 2 years have seen Siena College host the Women’s 15s Championship while Stony Brook has hosted the 7s Championship. In Fall 2018 Vassar College will host the 15s in the event that no other team puts in a bid.
Certified coaches for each program
A team must have at least one level two certified coach.
Atvavus owes TS webinars that were scheduled to follow our coaching clinic, however, we will discuss substituting them coming to do another clinic.
All Conference Team
The Fall All-Conference team nominations have been requested. If you have not done so, please send in your nominees.
Sponsorship & Trophies
Teams were asked to please direct any potential sponsors to the Conference Commissioner.
Conference Trophies are passed on from year to year, from team to team.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm 2/27/18.