Constitution of the Weber State Men’s Rugby Team

2019-2020

UPDATED: Dec. 12, 2019

The Weber State Men’s Rugby team functions as a highly competitive club at Weber State University. We aim to compete nationally at an accelerated level of gameplay.  We function to bring friendship, excitement, and perspective to the student athletes of Weber State University.  Weber State Men’s Rugby will provide its members with the fundamental skills and techniques necessary to compete. Additionally its members will have an opportunity in becoming part of an everlasting brotherhood both on and off the field. 

Article I- Membership Eligibility

Participation in the proposed organization must be without regard to arbitrary consideration of such characteristics as age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Each individual that chooses to take part in and/or participate/volunteer for the Weber State Men’s Rugby Team will be classified under two separate categories, these classifications will display the level of participation that each individual has within the program and are as follows.

Player Driver- A member of the club who has completed all required paperwork, submitted a valid photo of driver’s license and auto insurance card, and has completed the defensive drivers test as required by Campus Recreation (vehicle must provide availability for a minimum of 4 individuals.)

Community Members-

All members of the community that are not students of Weber States are welcome to share their passion and excitement for rugby with the Weber State Men’s rugby club by participating in our non-competitive or non-conference   events/practices with minimal commitment to the club by meeting the requirements enforced by Weber State Campus Rec. staff (Requirements may vary based on personal level of commitment). Weber State Campus Rec only allows 20% of our members to be no-student community players. Community members Must do the following requirements: 

  • Must commit to 10 hours of team community service for the year, refer to Article IA under Service projects (Responsible for entering personal hours).

  • Must attend a minimum of 2/3 of the practices each week during our active season (Unless negotiated with the President and/or Vice President prior to absence).

  • Must complete the required paperwork (Membership/Consent forms, Driver eligibility, and USA Rugby forms).

  • Must be cipped under USA Rugby registration.

Student Members-

Student members are categorized into two groups, “league and team members”, both are students of Weber State who share their passion for rugby and are enrolled at Weber State either for undergrad, masters, or PHD. League Members have stricter requirements held against because they can play in conference match-ups and games. Team Members can only participate in non-conference match-ups and games. All league and student players must do the following:

  • Currently Enrolled at Weber State University (Has obtained a Weber State I.D. & must display at each game/practice to prove identity).

  • Must commit to 10 hours of team community service for the year, refer to Article IA under Service projects (Responsible for entering personal hours).

  • Must attend a minimum of 2/3 of the practices each week during our active season (Unless negotiated with the President and/or Vice President prior to absence).

  • Must complete the required paperwork (Membership/Consent forms, Driver eligibility, and USA Rugby forms)

  • Must be cipped under USA Rugby registration.

  • Anyone that meets the previous requirements, is required to pay the club dues and work hard for the betterment of themselves as well as the team. This will be acknowledged as a “Student-Athlete” of the Weber State Men’s Rugby club.

  • The following requirements are for league players only to play in conference games:

    • Fill out required Extra USA Rugby paperwork for eligibility. 

    • Must be a full-time student (12 Credits or more registered for each semester). special flexibility with this rule if you are a senior.

    • Active Eligibility only last 7 years after high school graduation.

Article IA – Membership Expectations and Termination

Termination-

You will have 3 strikes prior to consideration for membership termination from the club. 

(In the case of strikes, the following privileges: game time, player packs, practice privileges etc. can be removed and/or suspended from a player pending their strike status).

The following violations are not limited to and are as follows...

  • Consistent Unexcused absences from practice and/or game.

  • Inappropriate/unprofessional behavior and/or conduct during ANY Weber State Men’s Rugby/Weber State University affiliated events and/or activities.

  • Disobeying the player expectations posted in both the Weber State Men’s Rugby Constitution and the Rec Club Handbook.

  • Unexcused absence from fundraisers and/or service projects held by the team.

  • Participation in any form of reportable hazing

    • Reasoning for all absences will need to be presented to the President and/or Vice President prior to the scheduled event to avoid a strike

(The amount of strikes that each offense may impose will be at the discretion of the President/Vice President. Each member may request that all strikes against them be disclosed and reviewed prior to receiving their final termination notice. Once an individual receives 2 strikes they will be informed of their offenses and their risk for termination by the presidency. All members at risk of termination may submit an appeal to be reconsidered by the Men’s Rugby leadership, a majority vote will be required by the club leadership to terminate/ renew a terminated membership. Should a member find themselves terminated from the club, they will forfeit the refund of any and all dues/contributions made to the club as well as any items owed to the player from the club, should an individual be forgiven of their termination and reinstated as a member they will reacquire their dues/contributions made and will continue to be held accountable for their previous responsibilities.

Reinstated club members will not be provided courtesy of the “strike system”, should the leadership feel at any point that a club member is behaving inappropriately and/or not conducting themselves appropriately, they will be notified of their offense, asked to leave the program, and removed from any consideration to Weber State Men’s Rugby with a majority vote from the leadership.

Red Cards- Red cards will be taken seriously and can result in a 3 strike offense at the discretion of the leadership, the player will be fully held to the standards of the league. Additionally, the player will be required to write a letter of apology to the referee society, the conference, the school, and the club (4 letters). Until the red card has been addressed, they will lose their game time privileges and can be removed from practices. Red cards can be reviewed by the leadership to determine its degree of punishment. In the case that the leadership deems the red card unnecessary, the player will be dismissed from the team’s consequences of receiving the red card. 

Yellow cards- May result in the suspension of practices and/or games, a letter will be addressed to the club from the offender describing the offense and the players acknowledgement to fix their behavior. (At the discretion of the leadership)

Tryout period-

The official “Tryout” period will be held at the beginning of each semester (Tryouts for fall matches, tryouts for spring matches), this is a period of time that allows players to come, practice, and tryout the game before making a commitment to the team and/or concluding paperwork/ paying dues. 

When a new player is introduced to the program they will be given a two week trial period of practices before they are required to adopt the status of “Practice player” or “Team member”, additionally they will need to submit the necessary paperwork and pay the required dues. Otherwise they will be considered as a “Club Member.”

Games-

Game time will be directly influenced by a player’s attendance with practices/ previous games/ service projects/ club responsibilities including paperwork/dues and will be at the discretion of the leadership/ coaching staff. The number of games that will consist in an official season will be determined each year by the conference in which we compete in.

Tournaments-

IF NESSESARY, the fees for the tournaments will include $5 from each traveling player to be set aside and used to compensate the “player drivers” that provide their own vehicles as a means of transportation to and from the tournaments, additionally, each player driver will be required to fill their gas tanks (to Full) prior to departure and again before arrival to Weber State campus and/or immediately after in order to maintain an accurate record of the fuel used from the time of departure from Weber State campus to the time of arrival back on Weber State Campus. If permitted by the President and Vice president the fuel receipts of ALL player drivers from the traveling event may be submitted to the club for reimbursement. Otherwise there will just be a single reimbursement for miles traveled payed back at the campus recreation cents/mile price.

  • Single day tournament- $15

  • Multiple day tournament- $25

Travel- 

While traveling for tournaments, games, or any official club event players are to act professionally and responsibly, as they represent the school and team. Players are required to maintain the expectations posted in the Rec Club Handbook while traveling to and from a location, as well as while staying overnight. 

In order to use player drivers and vehicles for traveling, each driver will need to have successfully completed the driving test and have submitted their certification along with an up-to-date image of their driver’s license and car insurance to the team manager (instructions found in player packet)

In the case where players provide personal transportation for themselves and others, it is suggested that each individual carpooling provide the driver with an appropriate compensation for gas.

Practices-

Practices will be held a minimum of two times a week during the spring season and at additional times determined by the Men’s Rugby leadership, the hours of practice will be negotiated by the leadership (in consideration of the convenience of the team members) with a minimum of 1-2 hours per practice. Fall season practices will be at the discretion of the leadership and enforced by the leadership.

There will be two mandatory meetings each year for players looking to join the Men’s Rugby Club. The first meeting will be held a minimum of two weeks prior to the first fall season scheduled match. The second meeting will be held a minimum of two weeks prior to the first spring season scheduled match.

Your inability to meet the requirements listed in Article I can directly affect your ability to represent Weber State in any activities correlated to Weber State Rugby, including but not limited to the removal of your participation in both home and away games as well as any rugby sanctioned event (at the discretion of the leadership). 

Service Projects-

Each Team member will be responsible for obtaining and documenting 10 team service hours for a given year. These service hours will be obtained through participating in a variety of service projects that will be organized by the Men’s Rugby leadership. In order to consider the hours for a service project there must be at least 2 team members in attendance for the service project to be initiated as a Men’s Rugby Service project. Once the service is initiated as a Men’s Rugby Service project, players will be able to volunteer no less than 1 hour time blocks for the duration of time that the service project is open. The time blocks in a service project will be rounded to the nearest hour and documented accordingly.

 

Article II- University Compliance

This organization and its members shall comply with ALL Weber State University regulation and local, state, and federal laws. 

Article III- Dues and Budget

All individual looking to join the Men’s Rugby program must pay the required dues listed below:

Community Members:

  • Annual (Yearly): $420

  • Semester: $210

  • Midterm: $105

Student Members:

  • Annual (Yearly): $280

  • Semester: $140

  • Midterm: $70

League dues will be paid with the club dues. Any additional payments required for the Club (i.e. travel expenses, team bonding events, tournaments, etc...) will be the sole responsibility of each individual member. 

The Annual Dues for the entire year are as listed for what your required. If you choose to pay only for a semester, remember if you are only paying for a semester and choose to play for the next semester as well, you must pay again.

These dues will need to be paid at the Campus Recreation office 1 week after your first practice appearance, unless otherwise posted by the leadership, this provides enough time to certify the member as a USA Rugby player and include them on the roster. (as required by the conference in which we compete). 

Club dues will be set by the leadership to help progress the club's development (i.e. assist with travel expenses, equipment, field reservations, referee fees, conference fees, etc.). Should the leadership desire that the Total dues cost be changed (raised/lowered) for the following season, they will be required to file an amendment to Article III through the process listed in Article VII.

If needed players should request personal assistance with club dues, they will address the president and be asked to provide reasonable cause, discretion is required and the club must be able to cover it.

If dues are not paid in full or pre-arranged with the president/ VP the Member can forfeit their game/travel privileges until the financial responsibility is resolved (fulfillment of the members financial responsibility will be managed at the President/ VP’s discretion). 

Should a member find themselves terminated from the club, they will forfeit the refund of any and all dues/contributions made to the club.

Should the leadership decide to contribute a “player pack” as part of the club dues (team shirt, socks, rugby shorts, etc.) then a “player pack” shall be given to the Team Member upon reaching full payment of dues whether it is paid in full, fundraised, sponsored, or negotiated.

The contents of the “player pack” may vary each year and will be disclosed to the members of the club at the beginning of the fall season/ spring season prior to collecting any dues.   m

Article IV - Club Leadership

Nomination of Captain/s- The process of choosing captains for the year will be determined by the team and concluded with a ¾ vote. The nominees for captains will be encouraged to have a professional level of experience and conduct throughout the game.  The captain(s) are the leaders on the field, are the only player allowed to talk to the Sir, and help in directing the team in games, practices, and any other event that their position may be required. 

Selection of Officers- The cabinet will consist of treasurer, Revenue Managers, Recruitment Manager, Media Director, and any other positions that will be determined and selected by the President and Vice President (club members and coaches may provide input). 

In the event that there is no current leadership for the club, a president will be voted in by a majority vote of the current team, the second runner up will be offered the position of Vice President.

In the event that there is currently a President and VP, they will be required to announce the desire for leaders and fill the cabinet positions (minimum of 3).

If a member of the club would like to fill a cabinet position, they will be required to submit a verbal/ written request to the President/VP stating their desired position (if any) and if necessary, reasons why they should be chosen for that position.

 Once the leadership is established, the process for electing new leaders is as follows:

The club President will remain in office until their length of service is met (1 year), once that time comes, the team will vote between the VP and the President for next year’s President (an individual cannot maintain the role of President for more than 2 years ). If the president is out voted by the VP after their first year, they will forfeit their ability to run for president the following year. Should the president choose to resign, or conclude their 2 years in office, the Vice President will be offered the new role of President and the candidates for the new Vice President position will consist of the cabinet members and be put into the office of VP by a team majority vote.

Length of Service- Each member in leadership will serve for 1 full year. Positions will begin at the end of the spring rugby season and will go until the end of the following rugby season.  A person in a leadership position may be removed from the position and replaced if he/she fails to uphold their duties (at the discretion of the President, Vice President, or other leadership members with a majority vote). If the members of the club feel the President and/or Vice President should be removed from office an 80% in favor vote from the Team Members must be collected and documented by a Campus Rec IMRC Staff member for the person/s to be removed from office. 

Leadership Position responsibilities-

  • President

    • Serve as a liaison between the club and the RMRC Coordinator or Manager 

    • Attend conference meetings required by your league

    • Serve as a leader and role model to club members 

    • Assume the role of a Safety Officer

    • Ensure that all participants in club practices and competitions are approved members of the Rec Club and that they have a Membership/Informed Consent Agreement on file with the Rec Clubs Office. This includes coaches and volunteer assistants. 

    • Attend assigned Rec Club Leadership meetings (or assign another club leader)  

    • Check the club mailbox once a week (located in the Campus Recreation office)  

    • Facilitate promotion of the club  

    • Report results of competitions to the Coordinator/Manager  

    • Notify the IMRC Coordinator/Manager immediately of any schedule changes  

    • Ensure that members are up-to-date on Rec Clubs Handbook policies and procedures  

    • Train future president on duties and procedures  

    • Ensure proper p-card usage 

    • Assist with the organization of practices/Men’s Rugby sanctioned events

    • Oversee purchase/travel requests for the Men’s Rugby club

    • Maintain inventory and secure storage of club equipment and supplies (and/or declare an equipment manager)  

    • Submit necessary paperwork, forms and reports by indicated deadlines  

    • Determine which students are eligible for tuition waivers or scholarships and any criteria required to receive waivers/scholarships 

    • Delegate responsibilities to involve other club members

  • Vice President

    • Preside over club meetings and business during the president’s absence  

    • Assist the president as needed

    • Assume the responsibilities of the President in their absence

    • Assume the role of a Safety Officer

    • Assume the role of Equipment Manager

    • Execute the verbal warnings in the strike system

    • Manage Travel, Transportation, and housing arrangements 

    • Create and Maintain relationships with all Men’s Rugby affiliated persons

    • Ensure that the members of the cabinet are on task and provided with the resources needed to accomplish their tasks. 

  • Treasurer

    • Ensure all dues are paid at the Rec Clubs office (obtain a Bi-monthly report from the Rec Clubs office) 

    • Coordinate club budget with IMRC Staff 

      • Review monthly club budget reports 

      • Maintain accurate financial records 

      • Keep copies of all receipts and budget reports to show documentation of expenditures 

      • Obtain and collect Quotes for items to be purchased

      • Make purchase requests as needed by the club 

      • Work with President in annual budget preparation 

    • Maintain relationships with Men’s Rugby affiliated salesmen 

    • Works with Revenue Managers for fundraising

    • Anything else required by the President of the club

  • Revenue Managers (2)

    • Locating revenue sources to assist the club 

    • Managing Donations, Fundraising , Merchandise sales 

    • Managing/organizing service projects

    • Providing club members with knowledge on how to obtain Service Hour credit (Weber Sync)

    • Creating and Organizing sponsorship packages (requiring pre-approval by Campus Rec)

    • Working with Treasurer to produce items carried out through the sponsorship packages

    • Organizing meetings with Sponsors/donors

    • Representing Weber State Men’s Rugby throughout the community in face to face sit downs with sponsors/donors

    • Anything else required by the President of the club

  • Recruitment Manager

    • Recruitment tables in the union building

    • Reserving tables at Weber State Events (Block parties, festivals, swap meets, etc.)

    • Creating and displaying Flyers, banners, and posters 

    • Scheduling events to promote the Men’s Rugby Club (Camps, guest speakers, etc.)

    • Work with local high schools on recruiting 

    • Maintain Record of player attendance at Practices and Games

    • Document and maintain record of players that have strikes against them.

    • Assist players with completing the Player Packet described in Article I under Team Members 

    • Anything else required by the President of the club

  • Media Director

    • Publishing on the Men’s Rugby Club (Signpost, Standard Examiner)

    • Managing the Men’s Rugby Facebook page, twitter, sports NGIN

    • Keeping the Weber.edu/rugby website up to date (reports to Dani)

    • Keeping the Men’s Rugby Weber Sync up to date and informative

    • Keeping the Men’s Rugby Email organized 

    • Monitoring he Men’s Rugby Email and responding to emails accordingly (forwarding emails to the relevant cabinet members)

    • Anything else required by the President of the club

 

Leadership Specific Roles-

Equipment Manager

The equipment manager will be responsible for maintaining an accurate and updated list of each item that the Rugby Club has stored in the Campus Recreation closet and each item the club has in its possession (checked out)

In the event that an item is checked into the campus recreation closet, the equipment manager will ensure that campus recreation has physical documentation of that check-in

 

-Retiring old, unused, excess equipment

If there is an item that is either old, unused, or in excess the president and VP will have the option to make arrangements for its removal from the Men’s Rugby inventory. These arrangements can be (but not limited to):

-Gifting it to someone

-selling it to a club/ organization/ vendor

-returning it

-disposing of it

 

Safety Officers

There will be a minimum of 2 safety officers per year, these safety officers must be members of the Rugby Club. It will be the expectation that the President and Vice President will be CPR and First Aid Certified (Recommended that each member of the leadership is safety officer certified). A Safety course will be offered by campus recreation and payed for by club funds. Safety Officers will be responsible for ensuring the safety of each member at a Weber State event and following the proper steps to provide assistance when necessary.

 

Trip Supervisor

The trip supervisor will be a safety officer and member of the leadership. They are responsible for maintaining the safety and integrity of each member during travel. Additionally the Trip Supervisor is responsible for executing each detail of the trip as listed in the Handbook.

 

Article V- How Coach Is Selected

Selecting a Coach- A petition will be put out stating that we are in need of a new volunteer coach. The coach will then apply for the position with a resume stating their previous experience with rugby including years coached/ played. The Men’s Rugby Leadership and head coach volunteering at the time will then consider the applications and vote the volunteers into their positions with a majority vote. 

Dismissal of a Coach- Should a coach/volunteer be found in violation of any rules/ regulations/ expectations by any member of the club, the offenses will be made known to the leadership who will then conduct a vote for the removal of the coach volunteer. The leadership will need a majority vote for the coach to be removed from his/her position.

Expected of Coaches- 

  • Be familiar with the Club Sports Handbook

  • Participate in Coaches training meetings and contacts with Coordinator as needed  

  • Coaches should be part of leadership meetings, and help advise the leaders in good decision making for the betterment of the team.

  • Develop and improve the skills of club members  

  • Assist club officers in scheduling practices and games  

  • Develop and employ safety practices for all participants to include the inspection of sport gear and the reporting of any hazardous facility conditions 

  • Attend games and practices 

  • Advise club leadership on equipment purchases that may be necessary for practices and games

  • Promote good sportsmanship on and off the playing surface 

  • Provide instruction of the team

  • Uphold all university and club sports policies

  • Represent Weber State Men’s Rugby in League/Conference meetings for the betterment of the club

 

Required of Coaches-

  • Informed Consent

  • Membership Form

  • Volunteer Form

(All of which are found on the Campus Recreation website)

  • Background Check

  • RMRC approval 

 

Article VI- Advisor

The club advisor must be a faculty/staff member of Weber State University.

The responsibilities of the Advisor will be to:

  • Advise the leadership

  • Be another Weber State Faculty to use as reference to local businesses or anyone needing an official person of the school.

  • Assist whenever/wherever it is required within the leadership. 

  • Being familiar with the Club Sports Handbook 

  • Keeping the Club Leadership informed of university policies as it pertains to club activities 

  • Serve as a resource for the well-being of the club 

The President and Vice President will choose the advisor. They will be asked to fulfill the position, and will then be expected to volunteer their time.

Article VII- Constitution Approval / Amendments

  1. The constitution will be presented to the Team Members of the Men’s Rugby club towards the end of the spring semester, and will be approved by majority vote of voting team membership. 

  2. If any member of the club feels a change and/or addition needs to be made/added to this constitution, it will be submitted in writing to the President of the club. The club’s Leadership will then vote the amendment/addendum on. If the amendment/addendum receives a majority vote of the club’s Leadership, it shall then be implemented into the constitution.

The club’s Leadership must first approve any additional bylaws, amendments, or addendums to be added to this constitution by majority vote. Policy Amendments/Addendums are effective immediately.
 

Article VIII- Attendance at Club Leadership Meetings

Rugby Meetings-

If a member meeting is needed outside of a scheduled practice, it will be made at least a week advance, and will preside at a time and place decided on by the leadership. 

There will be two mandatory meetings each year for players looking to join the Men’s Rugby Club. The first meeting will be held a minimum of two weeks prior to the first fall season scheduled match. The second meeting will be held a minimum of two weeks prior to the first spring season scheduled match. 

These meetings will be held to the standards listed in Article I

Any meetings scheduled by the Men’s Rugby staff to conduct matters specific to the club and its members will preside at a time and place decided on by the leadership members of the club. Should a leadership member not be of attendance to a meeting that requires the vote of each member, the vote will then be conducted electronically by use of an SMS or a phone conference to include the absent leadership.

Article X-Non-Hazing

Hazing is strictly prohibited. Hazing shall be defined as any conduct which subjects another person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or psychologically, to anything that may engender, abuse, degrade, or intimidate the person as a condition of association with a group or organization, regardless of the person's consent or lack of consent. 

Article XI- Constitution Implied Consent

Should this document be voted in and accepted among the Team Members as the Official governing document of the Weber State Men’s Rugby Club for the posted year, voting members have given their consent, and every new member that participates as a Team Member and/or a Club Member in the following year will provide implied consent to the policies and expectations posted in this document. The Men’s Rugby President/VP retains the right to amend the policies in this constitution without prior notice through Article VII. Policy Amendments/Addendums are effective immediately.

This constitution was presented before the 2019-2020 Club Team membership on (date) _________, with (#) _____of (#) _____ members in attendance. Upon tally of votes (#) ____ voted in favor and (#) ____ voted against. This constitution was thereby (accepted), (rejected) as witnessed by (IMRC Staff name) ______________________ with the leadership position of (position) ___________________________.