Winter Indoor Touch Rugby - updated
The inaugural winter indoor touch rugby league will commence this Tuesday, 14th October from 7.30pm until 8.30pm in the indoor sports hall at The Thomas Aveling School.
For directions please go to http://www.thomasaveling.co.uk/contact/find/
The first two weeks we will work on fitness and the modified rules for this indoor, 4 a side version of the game and also start to put competitive teams together. We will then start a 7 week league running from 4th November and finishing on 16th December.
The cost for the 9 week sessions is £20 per person in advance or £3 per night.
Touch goes to Hollywood... well, Rochester anyway...
Medway kicked off the Cultural Olympiad in style with a fireworks fiesta and film screening on the walls of Rochester Castle, which included a segment featuring the intrepid Touch Rugby Section of Medway RFC!
More from the Medway Council site.
Winter Indoor Touch Rugby
Well as promised it’s finally here. We have a provisional start date of Tuesday 7th October 7.30pm-8.30pm at Chatham South School
The cost will be £25 per person and the season will run for 10 weeks, so that equates to just £2.50 per person per night. As I’m sure you appreciate the costs of running indoor events are quite high. To make this work we need a minimum of 10 players, ideally we will have 30 which will give us 5 or 6 teams to compete. The first 3 weeks will be fitness and drills, we then have a gap for half term and then we will go onto a league starting on 4th November and running until 16th December. Depending on its success we may look to run another league in January/February
Match times and duration will depend on the numbers involved, for indoor touch we are looking at squads of 5/6 with 4 on the court at any time.
New players are always welcome; our insurance for this event will be covered by the ETA however we would encourage new players to become full members of Medway RFC which will cover their insurance and membership for the 2009 touch rugby season. We will continue to use the white and blue shirts; new players can purchase these for £10 for the set. Players who wish to just turn up on an adhoc basis will be allowed to do so however the cost will be £3 per head per evening however ideally to make this work and drive the costs down upfront payments ensures a level of commitment.
If you are interested in taking part in the league and can commit to playing every Tuesday and to paying £25 up front then can you please email touchrugby@mrfc.net
Finally a reminder that we still have teams planning to come down to us for some friendly fixtures on Saturday 18th October, it would be great to have as many of you there as possible and also turning up for the end of season awards night also on the 18th. £5 per head, tickets will be available shortly either from myself or behind the bar. All profits are going towards the new clubhouse.
Regards
Trevor JefferiesSeptember 2008
Thank you to everyone who supported us over our first Spring and Summer and whilst now many of our players and parents return to union (best of luck to all our Medway teams this season) we will still be running scaled down touch rugby with an indoor Winter league and also we still have a few other friendlies in the pipeline the first of which takes place at Medway on Saturday 18th October.
We achieved our goals for the season of firstly getting off the ground, secondly recruiting over 50 players (we currently have just over 100 registered players), thirdly establishing our name and presence in the touch rugby circuit and finally taking part in an NTS event.
On top of our goals we have achieved so much more, Medway RFC as a whole has benefited significantly both financially and socially from the establishment of our section. We now have 12 Level 1 referees, 6 Level 2’s (3 pending assessment) and have also two of our referees have been on international duty. In addition to taking part in the NTS series the Medway Griffins, our mixed team ended up in joint 21st place (out of 43 teams) in the overall national standings. Our Open festival, whilst not as well supported as we had hoped still took place and players from Cambridge, London, Hampshire and all over Kent came along to take part so we must be doing something right.
We have big plans for 2009 so watch this space. If anyone is interested in being kept up to date with any touch rugby developments then please email touchrugby@mrfc.net or keep an eye on the clubs message board.
A special mention needs to go out to the clubhouse volunteers who turned up every week to open the clubhouse, kitchen and bar for the players Mandi, Sheila and Ren. To Gerald and Mel for keeping on top of the jungle that can be Pitch 19 and the Middle pitch and of course to the Executive Committee who supported this initiative. Also a very special mention to Alan who has maintained the webpage for us and turned up to take photograph of our fixtures and even traveled to Tonbridge to support us and photograph our teams at the NTS event, the results of which can be seen on our gallery and will form part of our history.
Finally my thanks to Phil and Neil in particular for their coaching and general support over the course of the season and last but not least to Julie for supporting me in my touch rugby crusade!
Trevor Jefferies
General Manager
Pictures from the International Friendly between England and New Zealand where Trevor and Phil refereed.
12 June update - Referee Crib Sheet
At the restart following a touchdown there should be a minimum of 4 defenders onside before play should be allowed to continue. If the defenders are delaying getting back on side they can either be penalised or advantage played to the attacking side ready to play at the mark.
In the case of a penalty or turnover the referee should always award the mark before play can continue, players wanting to take a quick ball must ask for the mark first and ask to be allowed to play on.
Play starts and ends on the hooter, however at the half time and full time hooter play should be allowed to continue until the ball goes dead i.e. goes into the sideline or a roll ball situation occurs. Penalties are permitted after the hooter.
When the attacking players are within the 5m zone and the defenders are defending on the touch down line the defenders must advance if the attackers move out of the 5m zone. Defenders must be warned to move and if they fail to do so they can be penalised and the referee can ask for a player to be removed. Mexican Stand Off Situation
The referee who awards the touchdown must interchange immediately with the off field referee and mark the scorecard.
A record must be kept of any players who are sent to the sin bin or removed from play for the rest of the evening. All referees must submit details to TJ following the evening’s matches , this information may be passed in to the ETA.
The off field referee should keep up with play and will be used to judge forward passes and touch claims close to the touch down zone. The Off field referee should also monitor team substitutions.
Substitutions must be made within the subs box, players cannot just run on/off the field of play at the same time.
A referee should not award a touchdown until he/she has received the all clear signal from the off field referee.
For the Medway league mixed social teams can consist of up to a maximum of 4 men playing at the same time. For our leagues we will accept a minimum of 2 female players on the pitch.
For fixtures against other touch rugby clubs the player ratio for mixed social teams is 3:3 with a maximum of 3 men on the field at any time but also a minimum of 1 male player at all times.
At any time there should no be fewer than 4 players on the pitch, any less than three players and the team forfeits the game. Also teams who fail to field the minimum number of female players will forfeit the game.
Offside players should be identified by name number or some distinguishing feature (i.e. colour of socks) and the referee may point to that player. If an offside play attempts to make a touch the referee should play advantage and advise the attacking players to “play on”
If a defending player has not been identified or singled out by the referee then a penalty should be awarded and advantage cannot be given.
Sequence for awarding penalty
Hand signal in the direction of the team you are awarding the penalty, allow possible advantage to non offending team
Move forward
Blow whistle
Hand signal to indicate the nature of the penalty as well as a verbal communication
Point to the mark
Advise the non offending team to go back 10m and advance to the 10m position keeping your eye on the mark The off field referee will position the defenders
The referee alone decides when to allow teams to play on, not the players
The on field referee has sole charge over decisions on the pitch and should only consult the off field referee as they deem necessary. Players who constantly question referees decisions will firstly be given a warning, thereafter the referee can force that player to be substitiuted (Chilli bin) , send the player off for an amount of time (yellow card) or send off that player for the duration of the fixtures (red card)
Players who receive two yellow cards or a red card will be subject to a disciplanry hearing which will be conducted by the event organisers and they along will decide what sanctions are to be taken against that player.
All players are asked to play the game in a sporting manner including shaking the hands of the opposition following the game, teams will be docked any points won in that match points if they leave the without shaking the hands of the opposition.
Remember – Referees are giving up their free time to referee your games – respect them and their decisions
Finally – The event organisers have also given up a significant amount of time to set up this league. Their decisions are final and they will invite any teams, individual players or spectators who fail to adhere to the clubs code of conduct to leave the league. If you are unsure of the codes of conduct please refer to the clubs website.
24 May Update
We have decided that there was too much standing around going on last week and that more games are required. Therefore this week we are changing the format to 20 minute games, (2 x 10 mins) with 1 minute max half time. This will allow us to get in more games and get everyone involved. Every team will play twice.
In order to get this to run to schedule we need everyone to know where they are playing, when and be there on time and ready to go. We also need those people who are reffing to be aware of where they need to be and when. Some people will come straight off and straight on again and some ref's will be playing then reffing straight away afterwards. If we can make it run smoothly then we can get through all the games and finish earlier than last week, with less people standing around.
We'll judge which format is most popular at the end of Wednesdays games and then decide on the best way forward after that.
So, check your team's match times, make sure you arrive on time and be where you need to be when you need to be there. If you aren't playing at any time you are free to join in with one of the other games that is going on (within your own league) and help make up the numbers. This is especially important this week as half term means we may be a little short.
Keep an eye on your emails, the website and the facebook site in case there are any more updates.
Phil
19 May Update
1 - The team sheets: We have take all the teamsheets you gave us, and added in everyone else who has registered. There will still be people who have come down who haven't registered and we'll sort them out on Wednesday night. If we've missed you off or you want to move teams let us know ASAP. Also - if you are down to play in competitive or social leagues and want to play in the other one as well let us know asap
2 - Fixtures: we have decided to play 1 x 40 minute game per team per week in the league (2 x 20 min Halves) as this means we have coverage for refs and no one has to miss a game because they have to ref. Therefore look for your team and your KO time. Some start at 7.40 and others at 8.25. When you are not playing your league matches we will arrange social friendlies or training games. We want you to arrive at 7.30 and stay until 9ish regardless of what time you and your team are playing.
Questions to Phil!
16 May Update Only a few days to go now until the inaugural touch rugby leagues gets up and running. There will be an open touch rugby morning and training session this Sunday from 10am until 11am. Please note that the clubhouse will not be open so please make sure to bring your own refreshments. All players must be registered before the league commences so please use Sunday morning as an opportunity to hand in your paperwork ahead of Wednesday evening.
Due to the substantial player numbers we will be running a competitive and social league (see league rules) and players will be allocated to teams in one of the leagues unless they have come forward to form their own teams.
New players and teams are welcome at any time over the Summer, however please give us one weeks notice so that we can rearrange fixtures.
For the social teams as discussed on Wednesday we will be running themed nights and for this weeks theme all female players must have an item of male clothing with them at all times, all male players must have an item of female clothing on them.
The clubhouse will be open for post match meals for just £1 a head, please inform the kitchen in advance if you require a meal. The club is run by volunteers so please support the kitchen and bar or else it will just not be economically viable for us to keep these facilities open during the Summer.
Looking forward to a great Summer of rugby
TJ, Phil & Neil
Training is now taking place each Wednesday night from 7.30pm until 9pm. Our league matches will start on Wednesday 21st May and players are invited to form their own teams, individual players will be allocated to teams. Matches will take place each Wednesday evenings with each team playing two games per evening.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our touch rugby officials.
For general enquiries please contact Trevor Jefferies 07793 196525 or email touchrugby@mrfc.net
If you would like to get in contact with one of our coaches please contact either
Phil Mathe 07954 164425 or email philmathe@live.co.uk
Or
Neil Wardle email n.wardle1@btinternet.com
In addition we will be entering competitive teams into a number of national competitions this season, details of these fixtures can be obtained from the team officials.
This link is to a video of the national finals in Australia last year and is quite a good showcase for the game and how it’s played.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370868159/bclid1138334421/bctid1213868909
Welcome to a new and exciting opportunity for Medway RFC
The touch rugby section has been set up due to popular demand and given our catchment area we expect it to be a hugh success and will benefit everyone who plays the game by encouraging them to take part in regular exercise over the Spring and Summer months.
We will also be offering players a competitive and social forum to play the game.
Training will commence on Wednesday 16th April with matches starting approximately one month later. We will be looking to host our own leagues as well as taking part in home and away fixtures against other touch rugby clubs. Our success really depends on our numbers, the more players we get the more events we can run and take part in.
Touch rugby is a game for everyone, regardless of experience. Touch rugby opens up our club to individuals who may play other sports over the winter and spring months and are looking for a competitive or social sport over the summer months.
Our coaches Phil Mathe and Neil Wardle will help you improve your fitness levels and technical skills needed to play touch rugby.
Not sure touch rugby is for you, then read the details below and if you have any questions then send me an email at touchrugby@mrfc.net or contact me on 07793 196525 for a chat.
We would be delighted to hear from pubs, social clubs, schools, universities, office teams, football teams , netball team , rugby and all other teams or clubs who would be interested in entering their own team into our leagues.
Please fill out the attached team registration form and bring it along either to our taster session on Sunday 4th May at 12.30pm or to our first training evening on Wednesday 16th April at 7.30pm
Here’s looking forward to a great Summer 2008, hope you can be part of it.
Trevor Jefferies
General Manager – Medway RFC Touch Rugby
Further Information :
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