HAMPSHIRE RUGBY

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HAMPSHIRE RFU UPDATE JULY 2020

Click here to view a Coronavirus update from Hampshire RFU

 

Contents

- Return to Rugby (RTR)

- Funding

- RFU Staff

COMMUNITY GAME UPDATE 21-7-20

 
 
 
 
Coronavirus (Covid-19) update
Please find below the thirty-second edition of our coronavirus (Covid-19) update.

We have today provided an update on the return to community rugby and funding for the 2020/21 season.

Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here.

Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition.
 
 
RFU headlines
Return to community rugby update
We remain at Stage B on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. However, we hope to have some positive news soon about the potential move to the next stage. Following the government’s publication of a framework for return to recreational team sport, a number of sports, including cricket and football, have now had their action plans agreed and have returned to play. A key element of our action plan is a detailed assessment of exposure risk through face to face contact and with many aspects of our game putting us in a high risk category mitigating this is inevitably taking more time. We hope to be able to relay more news on this soon.
 
 
Season 2020/21 Community Funding
Covid-19 will have a major impact on RFU revenues for 2020/21, as it will on many other organisations. In addition to a significant in year impact (potentially between £70m and £107m dip in revenue) recovery is anticipated to take four to five years, with a forecast revenue reduction of at least £15m-£25m per annum over that period. This is leading to tough, and in some cases, extreme decisions to preserve the RFU, to ensure we are well placed in the future to support the community game, and to give us the best chance of having winning England teams. Initially, these decisions have focused on season 2020/21 where we have had to limit expenditure as much as possible in what is still an uncertain year. The Community Game Board have taken some hard decisions to suspend a number of areas of spend for 2020/21 and key headlines of these can be found below.

We remain totally committed to sustaining and growing our partnership with CBs and clubs throughout what is going to be a challenging year. This will undoubtedly mean working differently and in a more focused way – we look forward to discussing this more over the coming weeks and months.

Key Headlines:

• Club liability and catastrophic injury insurance will continue to be funded and provided centrally.

• The core element of PFR funding will be committed to CBs at an overall rate of circa 30% of what was paid in 2019/20.

• Funding for DPP and Age Grade Representative Rugby (Male U15, U16 & U18 and Female U15 & U18) will continue at the same levels as 2019/20.

• A dedicated Club Support Fund will be established to provide financial support to clubs in greatest need. A working group has been established to determine priorities and eligibility for this and further detail will follow over the next few weeks.

• Match Officials at Levels 3-5 will continue to be managed and funded centrally with a reduced (50%) charge levied on clubs - £1500 at L3, £750 at L4 and £500 at L5.

• Funding for the Senior Men’s & U20 and Women’s County Championships will be suspended for the 2020/21 season and the RFU will also suspend the organisation of these competitions for this season only. A review will be initiated over the course of this season to fully understand the importance and priority of the County Championships to the community game and this will inform its operation from season 2021/22 onwards. CBs are able, should they wish, to continue to operate (and self-fund) representative teams, arranging and funding matches against other CBs.

• Funding and operation of the Aspirational Team programme (England Counties, England Counties U20s, England Counties U18 & Divisional programmes) will be suspended for the 2020/21 season.

• All ring-fenced onshore and offshore travel funding will be suspended for the 2020/21 season. Clubs who suffer financial distress as a result may be eligible for support from Club Support Fund (subject to confirmation of criteria).

• Operational budgets to reflect key areas of ongoing commitment have been reduced significantly from previous years.
 
 
 
Other important updates
Legal & Tax Helpline
We are pleased to be able to continue to offer free advice on any legal or tax related matter. As the official legal partner to England Rugby, Irwin Mitchell will be taking over the Legal and Tax Helpline from Saturday 1 August. The support will also include an online legal document service, including documents such as employment agreements and privacy notices for your club’s website.

The new legal and tax helpline number is 0333 0100337.

We will also be hosting two new webinars delivered in partnership with Irwin Mitchell:

• Employment basics for rugby clubs - Thursday 6 August 7pm - 8pm

This webinar will answer your employment law questions on the basics of employing and engaging people at your club.

• Volunteers and law & zero hour contracts - Thursday 13 August 7pm - 8pm

This webinar will cover the key legal issues in relation to volunteers and those engaged on zero hour contracts at your club.

Register now for one, or both, of the webinars and you will be automatically entered into a competition to win a signed England Rugby shirt.
Thursday 6 August
Thursday 13 August
 
 
Webinars on demand
Feeding your turf - Rugby Groundsmen Connected
This webinar is an introduction to understanding your soil capabilities and nutrient requirements for a healthier more robust rugby pitch. From researching to planning and application, this will guide you on what opportunities are available and how best to feed your turf.
Register
 
 
Catch up on previous webinars
For those who want to catch up on previous webinars, these are available on the England Rugby website. Please click on the links below:
Club Webinars
Referee Webinars
Coach Webinars
 
 
 
Rugby community doing great things
Clubs continue to collect for foodbanks as many in their community experience levels of hardship not previously experienced.

Job losses have driven some families into debt and poverty for the first time, while others who were struggling before coronavirus have found providing enough food while paying bills has become almost impossible. Click here to read about the great work of Veor and Ellingham and Ringwood rugby clubs.
Community Stories
 
 
Rugby is often called a family and the sport can certainly be proud of its younger family members. They are often the best example of using the sport’s values to make a difference. In clubs across the land, young rugby players have been taking on challenges and overtaking targets, proving that even when rugby came to a halt teamwork still triumphed. Click below to read the inspirational stories from young players who are setting the pace at Skipton, Bolton, Chester, Peterborough and Withycombe rugby clubs.
Young Heroes
 
 
Having missed running each week in the coronavirus lockdown, society members and families of the Berkshire Referees Society decided to put their energy to good use for one week in July to walk, run, cycle, swim to raise funds on behalf of the RFU Injured Players Foundation, the charity which supports all players seriously injured training or playing in England. Click below to read their story.
IPF Support
 
 
In addition to clubs helping their communities, we are now highlighting clubs’ self-help initiatives, as well as activities being undertaken to improve diversity and inclusion at clubs, on englandrugby.com.

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK are proud supporters of the rugby volunteers across England who make up an integral part of the game. Help us recognise your work by sharing your club and individual stories and videos with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Click below to find out more about the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme.
Recognition Programme

COMMUNITY GAME UPDATE 17-7-20

 



 
 
Community Game Update – 17 July 2020
Content:
1. Current status of Community Rugby
2. Deadline for Diversity & Inclusion volunteer applications – 20 July
3. Running virtual annual general meetings
4. Club Audit 2020
5. Age grade out of season and holiday activities
6. VAT update
7. Eat Out to Help Out scheme
8. Game Management System update

Welcome to the July 2020 Community Game Update. We have now reintroduced the monthly edition of this communication to separate Covid-19 weekly updates from general rugby club news. We hope you find the update useful, and if you have any feedback, queries or content that you would like to feature, please email Vee Montebello, RFU Senior Communications Manager (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Our communications to you are based on the data that is held in the Game Management System (GMS). To ensure you receive the communications that you want to from the RFU, please check the information held on this system is up to date and active. In addition, if you know of a colleague who should be receiving these updates, but isn’t, please help them to check their details on GMS.

This communication is only sent to the roles highlighted in the distribution list above. Please share this communication with others in your club who need to see it.
1. Current status of Community Rugby
We have received a number of reports of clubs not training within RFU guidance and in breach of government policy. As a reminder to all coaches and club officials, we are currently at Stage B on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap.

Stage B allows players to train in groups up to a maximum of six people. Social distancing guidance should be followed (currently 1 metre plus), there should be no face to face or close contact and equipment sharing should be kept to a minimum. Under no circumstances should there be any contact training. This includes tackling, scrum, ruck, maul and lineout.

It is essential that clubs follows this guidance. Non-compliance puts clubs and coaches in breach of government policy and RFU guidance and could invalidate insurance. Clubs must also follow any local government lockdown restrictions that may be implemented. If a CB or the RFU are made aware of any breaches then charges under Rule 5.12 will be considered against the Coach responsible for the session and/or the Club itself.

Click below for our detailed guide and to access to on demand webinar.
Guidance
Webinar
Following last week’s government announcement regarding the return of recreational team sport, we are in discussions with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about the detail and submission of our action plan, which could accelerate a return to some form of community rugby. This is likely to be a non-contact adaption of the game which could allow larger groups than six to engage in more meaningful rugby activity, as written by Gavin Mairs in the Telegraph.

Pending the restart of rugby within one of the three potential start windows, as indicated on the return to competitive playing plan (see below), we have now announced outline league conferences and fixtures for the Adult Male (English Club Championship Levels 3 -12) for the 2020-21 season – see fixtures below.

We will provide further updates as soon as we receive the green light from the government that it is safe for community rugby to restart.
Fixtures
Competitive Playing
2. Last call for Diversity and Inclusion volunteers – deadline Monday 20 July
Are you passionate about rugby being an inclusive sport? If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you. The RFU Council has a newly formed Diversity and Inclusion Working Group actively recruiting for two volunteer members from the game to be part of an implementation group delivering ten agreed recommendations over the next two years. The focus will be on volunteer leaders and governance at club, Constituent Body and RFU Council level.

The time commitment is expected to be about six meetings a year, at least 50% of which will be virtual, along with some ad hoc calls, etc in between.

The deadline for applications is Monday 20 July with shortlisting by Tuesday 28 July and first interviews currently scheduled for between Saturday 8 and Wednesday 12 August.

Rugby is a sport founded on inclusion. However, there is more that we can do to improve diversity and these roles offer a great opportunity to deliver critical change. Click below to read the job description and apply. Please ensure that you enclose your CV as part of the application.
Job Description
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
3. Running virtual Annual General Meetings
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 has just come into force which will resolve some issues for clubs needing or wishing to hold AGMs. This new legislation will allow clubs and CBs which are companies, registered societies or CIOs to hold virtual AGMs even if their articles of association or rules do not permit it. This is a short-term measure and will apply until 30 September (unless extended by Parliament). It means that an AGM can be held virtually, and those participating do not need to be in the same place.

Click below to watch a webinar hosted by the RFU and Irwin Mitchell with practical tips on holding a virtual AGM. Sport England have also produced some helpful guidance which can be found below.
Webinar
Guidance
4. Club Audit 2020
The annual Club Audit enables the RFU to confirm every club’s membership status by verifying that each has continued to meet the criteria for voting membership during the previous season. It also identifies clubs that are no longer active or have ceased to exist, as well as prompting clubs that have become eligible to apply for voting membership.

As voting members of the Union, you can vote in RFU elections, apply for international tickets and get access to other RFU benefits not available to non-voting members.

The Club Audit for the 2019/20 season will see us contacting each CB to outline the process for this year, when it will be administered slightly differently to previous seasons.

We would appreciate all CB Chairmen and Hon Secs looking out for an email containing instructions and a link to the Club Audit. If you don’t receive this email, if the link within the email to SharePoint doesn’t work, or you have any questions on the process in the email, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
5. Age grade out of season and holiday activities
The Department of Education (DfE) has recently updated information on out-of-school hours and holiday activity. We confirm this enables clubs and other providers who wish to do so, to proceed with holiday activities from the end of the school term for children in the age grade game (under 18 years old).

As with every off-season, the focus should be on broad multi-skill/sport activity and keeping people connected. A ratio of up to 15 players per 1 adult/coach is allowed by DfE. However, it is essential, to maintain social distancing and player welfare and safeguarding requirements, as well as to ensure club insurance remains valid, that:

• Any rugby-specific elements fully align with the guidance (including players per coach) for our current position at Stage B on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap.

• All activity is in line with the requirements of RFU Regulation 15 including 15.8 Out of Season requirements, 15.9 Approvals and the Age Grade Playing Calendar and the recommendations of the RFU Safeguarding Policy

• Facilities and activities are risk assessed and planned in detail using the latest Return to Play tools/templates and checklists in the Age Grade Rugby Code of Practice 6 as a guide.

Clubs need to ensure these points are also applied to any third party providers being hosted at their facilities and that they have their own insurance in place. We will continue to update this guidance alongside our work to confirm our NGB Action Plan with the UK Government shortly.
6. Possible VAT reductions clubs
If your club supplies food and non-alcoholic drinks for consumption on your premises you are currently required to charge VAT at the standard rate of 20%. However, the Chancellor has recently announced that between the Wednesday 15 July 2020 and Tuesday 12 January 2021, clubs will only need to charge 5% VAT on these products. More information about how these changes apply to your club can be found below.

VAT registered clubs are charging VAT at the 20% rate on such supplies currently so the rate should go down to 5% from 15 July if the conditions in Paragraph 1 of Notice 709/1 are met. Please note that alcoholic drinks will remain subject to the 20% rate so some adjustment to VAT recording is likely to be required to separate the two types of drink.

The RFU has free VAT helpline, please contact Russell Moore via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 07710 329317.
VAT Notice 709/1
7. Eat Out to Help Out scheme (EOHO)
Some clubs may be able to benefit from the Eat Out to Help Out scheme recently announced by the Chancellor, which will be available from Monday 3 to Friday 31 August and potentially offers 50% off the cost of a meal and non-alcoholic drinks up to a maximum of £10 per person on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

You can register if your establishment:

• sells food for immediate consumption on the premises,
• provides its own dining area or shares a dining area with another establishment for eat-in meals,
• was registered as a food business with the relevant local authority on or before Tuesday 7 July.

You cannot register if:

• An establishment that only offers takeaway food or drink.
• Catering services for private functions.
• A hotel that provides room service only.
• Dining services (such as packaged dinner cruises).
• Mobile food vans or trailers.

Detailed guidance on the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and how to register can be found below.
Guidance
Register
8. Game Management System
We are pleased to confirm, as planned and previously communicated, the updated system was switched on successfully on Wednesday 15 July.

The updated GMS Help Portal, found below, is your one-stop shop for information about the improved system. It’s the place to go for user guides, announcements, solutions information, help features and to submit a help request. This new Help Portal will continue to evolve and more supporting information will be added over the coming days and throughout the season.

Age Grade Registrars and Clubs can also submit a request to automatically deregister their age grade players through the Help Portal. This option to lighten the administrative load is available from this season and all requests will be processed on a weekly basis.

Clubs are now able to familiarise themselves with the GMS changes, clean up and prepare their data and work with their members to check they have up-to-date e-mails attached to their profile. This will help you to get cracking with your streamlined registration and membership processes for 2020-21.

Thanks to the 600+ people who either joined our Live Webinar on Thursday 9 July or have registered to watch it on demand. You can still register below to view this useful summary of the changes for the 2020-21 season. Your support is greatly appreciated and we will continue to listen to and act on your feedback.
GMS Help Portal
GMS Webinar

WORLD RUGBY COVID-19 ONLINE COURSES

The link below is a resource developed by World Rugby to help everyone in the rugby community during the COVID-19 pandemic and to guide a safe return to rugby activities.

These courses may be useful to your club members.


The first section provides general information to all of the rugby family and 
the second section provides more specific information for players, coaches and support staff.


At the end of both sections there are simple awareness tests which check for the participants understanding.


Completion of these modules will help individuals to demonstrate that they are ready to return to train and play.

COMMUNITY GAME UPDATE 14-07-20

 
Distribution list: Tuesday 14 July
 
 
Coronavirus (Covid-19) update
Please find below the thirty-first edition of our coronavirus (Covid-19) update.

Our discussions with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England to accelerate a return to community rugby continue. We remain at Stage B on the Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. We will provide further updates when we receive the green light from the government that it is safe for community rugby to restart.

While we do not have a date for when community competitions will restart, we will announce league conferences and fixtures for the Adult Male (English Club Championship) 2020-21 season at 5pm tomorrow.

Please visit our dedicated web portal on the England Rugby website to access coronavirus information and updates here.

Past editions of these weekly updates can be found on this part of the website. Click here if you need to find a previous edition.
 
 
RFU headlines
Adult Male (English Club Championship) 2020/21 season
While a date for restarting RFU Community Competitions is still to be determined, we have prepared league conferences and fixtures for the Adult Male (English Club Championship) 2020-21 season. Full details will go live on the below link from 5pm on Wednesday 15 July.

The latest information is aligned to the competitions infographic we released two weeks ago and designed to support clubs’ preparation for the upcoming season.

It is imperative you read the supporting information provided through the link as it details how the fixture list will be applied to the 2020-21 season in light of the change to how competitions will be delivered.

The Women’s League Structure & Fixtures are currently being worked on and will be released at a later date.
Fixtures
Infographic
 
 
RFU Rugby 365 facilities to open from August 2020 – book now
We are pleased to announce that all Rugby 365 facilities will be open from Saturday 1 August and bookings are being taken for the coming season. Simply follow the link below to select your local Rugby 365 facility and make a booking. Availability maybe be limited so please book early.

Please note that advance notification of booking dates, times and any restrictions that maybe in place due to Covid-19 will be provided.
Rugby 365 Booking
 
 
 
Other important updates
Webinars and podcasts
Sport England Active together - Up to £10,000 match funding available through Crowdfunding - Webinar – Wednesday 15 July 5-5.30pm
Crowdfunder and Sport England have teamed up to make £1 million of match funding available to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Join the next Crowdfund Sport webinar to find out how Gravesend RFC have taken advantage of the Sport England supported Crowdfunding scheme and how your club could also benefit from this activity. Also follow the link below to start setting up a crowdfunding campaign and apply for up to £10,000 match funding.
Register
Crowdfunding
 
 
Webinar: Feeding your turf - Rugby Grounds Connected – Thursday 16 July 7pm
This webinar is an introduction to understanding your soil capabilities and nutrient requirements for a healthier more robust rugby pitch. From researching to planning and application, this will guide you on what opportunities are available and how best to feed your turf.
Register
 
 
Webinars on demand
Game Management System – Personal Profile & Age Grade Registration Improvements
This webinar provides the rationale for and details on changes to GMS. We will outline the new tools and user flows aimed at improving the user experience for 2020-21. We will also cover how feedback from the game informed changes to provide more intuitive user support that will help streamline the time involved for everyone. Register below to watch the webinar on demand.
Register
 
 
Catch up on previous webinars
For those who want to catch up on previous webinars, these are available on the England Rugby website. Please click on the links below:
Club Webinars
Referee Webinars
Coach Webinars
 
 
 
Rugby community doing great things
Rugby clubs throughout England have been preparing to reopen, with clubhouses spruced up and fundraising a priority. Click below to read some of the activities that are taking place.
Club Updates
 
 
Rugby clubs continue to support their communities, including Richmond who teamed up with England legend and current British & Irish Lions President, Jason Leonard, and his charity The Atlas Foundation to apply for funding via the London Community Response Fund to feed children who need it through the summer.
Richmond
 
 
In addition to clubs helping their communities, we are now highlighting clubs’ self-help initiatives, as well as activities being undertaken to improve diversity and inclusion at clubs, on englandrugby.com.

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK are proud supporters of the rugby volunteers across England who make up an integral part of the game. Help us recognise your work by sharing your club and individual stories and videos with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Click below to find out more about the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme.
Recognition Programme
 
 

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