Updated Details for 2024 Club Northern Super Regional

The Midwest Rugby Union is pleased to announce additional details related to the 2024 Club Northern Super Regional on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5, 2024. View the Official Event Handbook here.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS:

• Men’s D1 – Park City Haggies (RM1), St. Louis Bombers (MW1)
• Men’s D2 – Denver Barbarians (RM1), Indianapolis Impalas (MW1), Milwaukee Barbarians (MW2), and Kansas City RFC (MA1)
• Women’s D2 – Grand Rapids Growlers (MW2), South Buffalo Women’s Rugby (MW1), St. Louis Sabers (MA1), and Boulder Babes (RM1)
• Men’s D3 – Detroit Tradesmen D3 (MW2). Red River Ruffians (MW1), St. Louis Royal Ramblers (MA1) and Colorado Springs Grizzlies (RM1)

EVENT VENUE:

The 2023-24 Club Rugby Northern Super Regional will be hosted by Midwest Rugby Union and the Chicago Blaze Rugby Club at their facility located at 13011 W Smith Road, Lemont, IL 60439. This facility features four (4) beautiful rugby pitches, a pavilion, a full indoor clubhouse with bar, restrooms, a trainer/ referee room and locker rooms with showers.

• Alcohol – alcoholic beverages will be sold at various locations on site (bar and vendors). Bringing outside alcohol is illegal and will not be permitted. This includes the parking lot.
• Concessions- general concessions will be available in the Clubhouse for purchase including hot food, water, and Gatorade.
• Parking – parking on site is $10. If you plan to park a large vehicle, such as a team bus, you’ll be charged for the number of spaces the vehicle takes up. There is free parking at Bambrick Park about ½ mile away. The Chicago Blaze will be operating a free shuttle from the park to the facility throughout the day or it can be walked in about nine (9) minutes.
• Pets – pets are welcome at the facility so long as they are leased and cleaned up after.
• Restrooms – there are men’s and women’s rooms available in the Clubhouse as well as portable toilets available between the fields.

TEAM CHECK-IN & PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Teams should check in on Friday, May 3, 2024, between the hours of 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM CT at the Chicago Blaze Clubhouse. Teams must schedule their check-in using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4BA4AC2BAAFDC61-49048807-2024 Appointments are made on a first-come, first-serve basis. Any team not able to check-in on Friday must request permission and make arrangements for an alternative time to check in on Saturday morning prior to their matches. All teams have been emailed a roster to complete and send to USA Club Rugby Eligibility (SCC Eligibility) prior to the event. SCC Eligibility will validate that all players included on the submitted roster are eligible to play based upon the 2023-24 Eligibility Regulations and/ or have received an approved waiver. Any player not on the validated roster received from SCC Eligibility will not be permitted to play. With eligibility vetted by SCC Eligibility, Union officials will only be confirming player identity and citizenship at check-in. In order to be efficient, players should line up in the order they are documented on the roster and be present the following documentation to validate their identity and citizenship.

Documentation that validates BOTH identity and citizenship:

• • US Passport
  • Enhanced ID
  • Permanent (Green Card) or Conditional Permanent ID Card (Non-US-citizen)

Documentation that validates identity only:

• • Valid, non-expired Driver’s License or State ID (even with Real ID designation)
  • Official school or university ID with photo

Documentation that validates citizenship only:

• • US Birth Certificate
  • Naturalization Certificate
  • Native American Tribal ID Card

Players that don’t have a US Passport or Real ID will be required to show one document that validates their identity and an additional document that validates their citizenship. For the purposes of check-in, clear photos of these items will be accepted. Anyone whose identity cannot be validated will not be permitted to play. Anyone whose citizenship cannot be validated will be considered a non-resident.

MATCH SCHEDULE:

Saturday, May 4th

• • 10:00 AM CT – Men’s D3 Semifinal A: Red River Ruffians v. St. Louis Royal Ramblers (Field 1)
  • 11:00 AM CT – Men’s D3 Semifinal B: Detroit Tradesmen D3 v. Colorado Springs Grizzlies (Field 2)
  • 12:00 PM CT – Women’s D2 Semifinal A: Grand Rapids Growlers v. St. Louis Sabers (Field 1)
  • 1:00 PM CT – Women’s D2 Semifinal B: South Buffalo Women’s Rugby v. Boulder Babes (Field 2)
  • 2:00 PM CT – Men’s D2 Semifinal A: Indianapolis Impalas v. Kansas City RFC (Field 1)
  • 3:00 PM CT – Men’s D2 Semifinal B: Milwaukee Barbarians v. Denver Barbarians (Field 2)
  • 4:00 PM CT – Men’s D1 Final: Park City Haggis v. St. Louis Bombers

Sunday, May 5th

• • 10:00 AM CT – Men’s D3 Final
  • 12:00 PM CT – Women’s D2 Final
  • 2:00 PM CT – Men’s D2 Final

LOCKER ROOMS:

Locker rooms will be available in one (1) hour increments for players to change after your check-in and immediately preceding your team’s warmup time. This time is not attended for chalk talks, pregame activities, etc. Each team is designated a locker room and a time frame. No player is permitted to enter a locker room outside of their designated time as there will be different genders utilizing the rooms at different times. No one should leave any of their personal belongings in the locker rooms. The Union will work to have signage and a locker room attendant on duty during use of the locker room by female players.

WARMUP:

Each team will be provided ½ of a pitch to warm up for one (1) hour prior to the kickoff of your match. Most teams will warm up on Field 3. Coin toss and captain’s meetings with the match officials will occur during your warmup time.

KITS:

The kit colors will be discussed on the captains call the Wednesday preceding the event to avoid any kit conflicts with opponents and/or referees. All teams should travel with a switch kit if they have one even if the switch kit is not your preferred jersey.

FIELD SETUP & LOGISTICS:

All competition fields will have ropes set up along the perimeter of the field. Only authorized personnel are permitted inside the ropes. This competition will be utilizing and adhering to Technical Zones. Only two (2) registered coaches and two (2) medical personnel may be in the Technical Zone. Water carriers should not be in the technical zone during USA Rugby-sanctioned matches, and coaches should not be water carriers unless no other personnel exist. Coaches may not enter the field during the match at any time unless allowed by the referee. They may not huddle with teams on the field after scores. Players preparing to enter the match may warm up behind the in-goal area of the side they are attacking into, not the defending side, but should not be in the in-goal area. Players entering the match after it’s begun should not warm up with balls, cones, or other equipment. Each team is allowed two (2) water carriers. Substitute players may be water carriers but will need to wear identification. that separates them from players on the field such as pinnies or turning the jersey inside-out. Coaches may not serve as water carriers. Water carriers may not enter the field when the opposition team is kicking at goal during a penalty kick. Players may come to the touchline at any time to get water. Each match will have a 4th Official whose responsibility is to keep the official time and score as well as manage player movement on and off the field. This includes:

• Player Substitutions: Player Movement Cards will be used and must be filled out by coaches prior to player entry.
• Discipline/ Sin Bin: Players will be seated at the Administrative Table. Conversation with coaches and other players is not permitted, however medical care is allowed.
• Injury Monitoring (Blood Bin): The 4th Official will manage the movement of players who are being tended to on the sideline for injury. Please note that head injury assessments (HIA) are not in effect for any Senior Club Rugby-level match.

The 4th Official will also serve as the Match Commissioner. In some cases, the designated Field Manager could serve in lieu of the 4th Official. The Match Commissioner has the final determination in all questions of competition and eligibility issues that arise during the match. In the case that the issue requires further discussion, the Match Commissioner will convene with a three-person panel including the Match Commissioner, the Tournament Director (VP of Competitions – Lou Raymond), and the representatives from either MidAmerica (Sean Cox) and Rocky Mountain (Anthony Fisher). Together a decision will be made that will stand for the duration of the event. Disciplinary issues will be adjudicated by an ad-hoc committee formed by Megan Braun (SCC Disciplinary Chair). All appeals must happen once the event has ended. Information pertaining to the issue must be collected by the Match Commissioner and presented to the respective USA Club Rugby committee no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the conclusion of the event.

MEDICAL SERVICES:

Illinois Bone & Joint will be on staff with athletic trainers and orthopedic doctors to cover all fields of competition. They will be available pre-match for taping and strapping, but please be aware that medical materials are reserved for emergencies. If players require special materials or additional taping for matches, they should come prepared with their own materials to not diminish the supply for the day in case of emergency.

OVERTIME POLICY (for NCS Playoff Matches):

USA Club Rugby shall apply the following Policy for NCS Playoff (Knockout) Matches. If the score is tied at the end of regulation time of an NCS Match, then the tie shall be broken by the following procedures:

1. Two (2) five (5) minute halves of overtime shall be played.
2. If the score remains tied, then the teams shall play a five (5) minute period of overtime with the team scoring first determined as the winner (i.e. sudden death).
3. If the score remains tied, then the teams shall compete in kicks at goal.

Timeline:

1. At the end of regulation time, there shall be a five (5) minute break.
2. At the end of the first five (5) minute half of overtime, there shall be a two (2) minute break.
3. At the end of the second five (5) minute half of overtime, if the score is still tied, there shall be a two (2) minute break.
4. At the end of the five (5) minute sudden death period, if the score is still tied, there shall be a two (2) minute break.

Kicking Format:

1. Five (5) players who were on the field at the completion of the sudden death period will be nominated to take part in the place-kicking competition.
2. They have to kick from three areas on the 22m line – directly in front of the posts, on the 15m line to the left of the posts and on the 15m line to the right of the posts.
3. A player from each team takes it in turns to kick, moving between the different positions, and the winner is the team with the most successful kicks after five (5) attempts.
4. The order and positions of kickers is as follows:
   • Kicker 1 from each team, from position 1
   • Kicker 2 from each team, from position 2
   • Kicker 3 from each team, from position 3
   • Kicker 4 from each team, from position 1
   • Kicker 5 from each team, from position 2
5. If there are an equal number of successful kicks after five attempts, the competition moves into a sudden death basis until one team has more successful kicks than the other from the same number of attempts.

HOTELS:

• D-Lux Budget Inn – 12241 Arher Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439 – $79/ night + tax (9 miles away)
• Hampton Inn & Suites Bolingbrook – 165 Remington Boulevard, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 – $130/ night + tax (8 miles away)

Administrators and Referees are encouraged to stay at the Hilton Chicago/ Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center located at 3500 Midwest Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523. This location is between the facility and the airports. Please contact the Midwest Rugby Union for booking.

EVENT STREAMING:

This event will be professionally streamed by Next Level Rugby and be broadcast live on the Midwest Rugby Union’s YouTube Page.

MERCHADISE:

Merchandise will be provided by Midwest Rugby Union partner Rugbee.co. Team pre-orders will close on Sunday, April 21, 2024. You can complete your team pre-order here. T-shirts ($30), bucket hats ($30) and crew neck sweatshirts ($40) will be available for sale.