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�December 2007

From all at NSW Rugby we would like to thank you for 2007 and wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas and holiday period. Looking forward to seeing you in 2008 at the SFS to cheer on the Waratahs!

2007 Awards

New Junior Committees

NSW Rugby Development & Training

ELVs

Interesting Websites

SJRU Registration Website

2007 Awards

Congratulations to Dominic Bower who was recently awarded the NSW Junior Rugby Union Player of the Year Award at the NSW Rugby Union’s annual awards night. This award caps off a successful year for Dominic who earlier had won NSW Country Junior Player of the Year after his performances for Central North, Country Under 17’s and NSW Under 17’s.

Congratulations to Phillip Webb and Daniel Alley who were awarded the Justice Sir Leslie Herron Scholarships at the recent Rugby Club Christmas luncheon. The award is based on achievements in the three areas of Rugby, Academic and Community. Each boy receives $2,500 per year for two years to assist with their life expenses.

At the recent NSW Sports Safety Awards night NSW Rugby won the Silver Medal for Outstanding Implementation or Adoption of Safe Sports Practices at the State Level. NSW Rugby won this award for the delivery of the SmartRugby Program and the Student Liaison Officer Program. For further information go to the NSW Sporting Injuries website. Our thanks to all clubs for their support of the programs.

New Junior Committees

Since our last newsletter Country, Sydney and NSW Junior Rugby Unions have all held their Annual General Meetings. At Country Juniors, there have been no changes to the 2007 Committee with Sam Reid retaining the Country Presidency unopposed. At Sydney Juniors, there have been a number of changes, including a new President Paul Taylor. For more details go to the SJRU website. NSWJRU have also had a number of changes which includes the adoption of a new constitution. For all details go to the NSWJRU website.

If your committee has changed over the off season please inform either Michael Bell (for Sydney clubs) or Lachlan McBain (for Country Clubs).

Club News

Insurance

The Australian Rugby Union has finalised renewal terms with QBE Insurance for the ARU Sports Injury and Liability Insurance Policy for the period 1^st March 2008 – 1^st March 2009.

Insurance Levies for Juniors will remain the same as 2007 with the cost per team (inc. Stamp Duty and GST) at $170 for all teams except for Walla Rugby teams. The ARU will again fund insurance levies for all Walla Rugby (non-tackle version of Rugby) teams across Australia in 2008.

Some Information for Incorporated Rugby Clubs
Just a reminder that under the Associations Incorporation Act 1984 all incorporated rugby clubs are required to hold an AGM in each calendar year. In addition to this, clubs are required to lodge an annual statement (Form 12) with the Department of Fair Trading.
Click here for a copy of Form 12.
Best Practice - Sport Administrator Network
The Sport Administrator Network is an organisation whose website provides essential news and information for the people behind Australian grassroots and amateur sports organisations. The Network also provides a free weekly e-newsletter that ensures sport administrators are aware of any important announcements relevant to their sporting organisation, as they happen. Reports are accordingly grouped as:
Sport Development – New initiatives assisting sport clubs & organisations
Funding & Grants – Don’t miss out on new releases and offerings
Grassroots Sponsorship – Ideas to help swell your sponsorship dollars
Education & Training - Courses, resources, training, plus more
Technology – Innovative tools and technology for grassroots sport
Governance – Behind-the-scenes of grassroots sporting organisations
To sign up or for more information go to Grassroots News.

Waratahs

Waratahs Out and About

The Waratahs have been back at training for a number of weeks now with the Wallabies completing the squad last week and not only have they been hitting the training track hard but they have also been hard at it doing player appearances. This includes a number of players making it to Randwick, Easts and Wahroonga for Friday Night Footy Program run by the NSW Rugby Development team.

This week Martin Place in the CBD and Sydney Gameday in the Oxford St Mall was Tah’d!! A number of Waratahs inlcuding Lote Tuqiri, Alastair Baxter, Rocky Elsom, Sam Harris, Brett Sheehan, Beau Robinson and Alfi Mafi spent two hours mingling with the fans. Membership and "Come Play Rugby" brochures were also distributed, along with posters, stickers and a host of products supplied by Waratah partners HSBC & Vodafone.

Waratah Season Draw

The Waratahs assault on the 2008 Super 14 launches early in the New Year with their first official trial match against their arch rivals the Queensland Reds at the Campbelltown Showgrounds on Australia Day (Saturday 26^th January 2008). Entry for children aged 17 and under will be free so come and cheer them on in Campbelltown. The Waratahs have two other trials against the Brumbies and the Crusaders before Super 14 matches against teams such as the Hurricanes and the Blues from New Zealand, the Brumbies and the Sharks and Cheetahs from South Africa. For all information including the full Super 14 draw and how to attend the matches please go to www.nswrugby.com.au.

Memberships

2008 Waratah Season Memberships are now available for as little as $205. For all packages and details go to NSW Rugby Memberships.

Grants

Applications are now open for the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation’s Country Athletes Scheme and Country Coaches and Officials Travel Scheme grants. For more information click the links below.

Country Athletes Scheme - Applications close December 31 2008

This scheme is designed to assist talented young athletes from country areas of NSW to gain access to training, coaching and competitions similar to those enjoyed by athletes from the city.

Country Coaches and Official Travel Scheme - Applications close December 31 2008

The scheme is designed to assist coaches and officials from country areas of NSW access opportunities to participate in educational courses that assist them gain or maintain required accreditation.

Junior Sponsors

We would like to acknowledge the following Junior sponsors and thank them for supporting Junior Rugby.

CJRU

SJRU

Junior March Past

NSW Rugby Union has announced that the Junior March Past will be held on Saturday 5 April 2008 at the Waratahs home game against the Auckland Blues. All clubs are encouraged to support this event. Further details will be announced shortly.

NSW Rugby Development & Training

2008 Course Calendar

The NSW Rugby Union Development & Training Department has announced its 2008 calendar for courses including Smart Rugby, Touch Judge, Foundation (Coach and Referee) and Level 2 (Coach and Referee) courses. For further information on any of the courses and how to register please go to the NSW Rugby Courses page.

Development Corner

Development has continued into the offseason. Click here to see what has been happening near you.

ELVs

As most of you know the SANZAR and the IRB approved for the 2008 Super 14 to play some of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) that were used during this year’s Mazda Australian Rugby Championship. At this stage the ELVs are still experimental and will be used only in the Super 14 and Sydney premiership 1^st and 2^nd grades. The IRB will review the ELVs midyear with a view to adopting or rejecting them for use in domestic competitions in 2009.

Interesting Websites

If you can’t get enough Rugby/sports news go to The Roar for even more news including exclusive articles from respected journalists including Spiro Zavos. Other rugby news websites of interest include:

SJRU Registration Website

The SJRU on line registration system is now up and running and currently has over 10,000 players registered. The system has been dubbed ‘Buddha’. Clubs are now no longer required to use the ARU My Rugby Admin system as Buddha has been created at the request of clubs. It is user friendly and has been designed to ease the burden on the volunteers. The web address for Buddha is http://admin.sjru.com.au . Go to the SJRU website http://www.juniors.rugbynet.com.au/ for a brief instruction manual on getting started with the system.

This newsletter is brought to you by NSW Suburban Rugby Union.
To contact us, email: nswsru@rugby.net.au.