Tournament Guidelines

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  1. The Tournament Committee of the Ivy Rugby shall have the responsibility for sanctioning all tournaments held within the jurisdiction of the Union. A "tournament" shall include all festivals, invitationals and competitions where eight (8) or more teams participate. *Note* Only Full Members of the Ivy Rugby can host tournaments.
  2. Clubs desiring to host a tournament must file a Tournament Approval Form, along with a check for $50 payable to "Ivy Rugby" with the Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 31ST of the previous year in which the tournament will be held. Requests received after October 31st may be rejected. All financial obligations to the Ivy Rugby must be current and hosts MUST be fully enrolled in the current USA Rugby CIPP Program.
  3. All tournaments must carry liability insurance coverage. ALL players and reserves must carry at least $100,000 medical coverage and clubs must have liability coverage for a minimum of $1,000,000. A healthcare professional, approved by the Ivy Rugby Medical Chair, must be present for the duration of the tournament. All players must be enrolled in CIPP prior to the start of the tournament.  Tournament host is responsible for checking the USA Rugby CIPP database and not allowing anyone to play who is not CIPP enrolled. 
  4. The Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman, after sanctioning a tournament, will contact the Referees Society regarding the number of referees requested. The Referees Society will appoint a Head Referee for the tournament. The Head Referee and the Club's Tournament Coordinator will decide on which option to choose for scheduling referees (see Tournament Responsibilities for those options). Clubs CANNOT invite outside referees without contacting the Ivy Rugby Conference first.
  5. Host clubs must arrange (at least 3 weeks prior to the tournament) for a representative of the Ivy Rugby/local referee society to tour the facility. As a result of the inspection, the Ivy Rugby will determine if the tournament will be sanctioned. Sanctions given ahead of time will be "conditional" and depend upon approval of the field. The Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman will notify the host club, in writing, as to the acceptance or denial of sanctioning for the tournament.
  6. The Disciplinary Committee shall have the additional responsibility for taking appropriate action against individuals and/or teams that:
    1. Do not honor tournament commitments
    2. Act in any manner which is detrimental to the tournament or the spirit of rugby
    3. Attempt to play any ineligible players
      *Note* Any player sent off the field during a tournament is ineligible to play for the rest of the tournament,
  7. On receiving acceptance from a team outside the Ivy Rugby jurisdiction, the Club's Tournament Director/Committee MUST notify the Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman promptly. The Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman will then contact the home union of the outside team to determine if any discipline reports have been filed against the team or any of its members. He will also determine if the club is "in good standing" within that Union. If discipline reports have been filed or the club is not in good standing, the Ivy Rugby Disciplinary Committee will make an appropriate recommendation to the Club's Tournament Director or Committee.
    The Ivy Rugby Tournament Director may refuse to sanction a tournament for failure to follow the Disciplinary Committee's recommendation.
  8. It is the responsibility of the Club's Tournament Director or Committee to invite only members in good standing from any Union/League. There will be NO recourse through the Union/League should a club allow non-members to participate in their tournament and an incident, or incidents, occur that would normally warrant disciplinary action.
  9. The list of participating teams in the tournament MUST be sent to the Ivy Rugby Tournament Chairman and the local referee's society Match Secretary NO LATER THAN TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT.
  10. It is recommended that teams try to schedule tournaments early in the playing season, or out of season, in order to secure referees.
  11. Any scheduling conflicts will be decided by the Ivy Rugby Tournament Director.
  12. Teams holding and/or attending any unsanctioned tournaments will be subject to disciplinary action and fines.