Age Grade Rugby RFU Update
We are pleased to outline updates on the regulations for 2022-23 and the Summer Activity Framework. Please share the information as far as possible through your Age Grade network.
Age Grade Regulations
Age Grade reguations for the coming season are available under Regulation 15 here with the new regulations starting from 1 August. As all players have now moved up an age group and age band, you can see the headlines outlined in the 2022-23 version of the Age Grade Changes document here. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the regulations and appendices, which are updated, so you and your players/parents can be ready for September.
Please click here for the updated Age Grade Rugby leaflet and progressions.
Included in the regulations is the affiliation process for all age-grade players. Since 1 July, when the 2022/2023 affiliation process started, we have seen nearly 30,000 players affiliate ahead of the new season. Thank you to all parents, players and club volunteers who have made this happen ahead of September.
We look forward to seeing the number rise as we get close to the start of the season.
You can watch the latest webinar, with an example from Farnham RUFC, on age grade affiliation here, with supporting documents, here.
There will be another age-grade affiliation webinar on 31/8/2022. You can register here now.
Summer Activity
SUMMER ACTIVITY has moved to August on the Summer Activity Guide. This now means that age-grade activity can draw from right across the off-season menu. In addition, August includes the Adapted Contact Game On format for U14s upwards, which is also on the webpage. Similar to the post-Covid summer format last year, it allows modifications to help players develop contact techniques and foundations of gameplay. It is designed as a final step to aid players’ return to contact in match situations (up to 3 Fixtures/Festivals in August) before the full game starts in September.
The framework is regulation, so while you can use the May – July conditions, please follow the step-by-step guide for August. Approval for Festivals is still required from your CB as per Regulation 15.9. However, we stress that clubs don’t have to run do summer activities but can allow players to choose to either come and go, have a complete break or gradually return.
