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Welcome to the 2011/12 Season at Chester RUFC Minis & Juniors
Season starts Sunday 4th September 2011

 

For those players and parents who are new to youth rugby or to Chester RUFC, the following pages provide a brief guide to the Youth Section set up at Hare Lane.

New players are always welcome. Rugby is one of the most popular and enjoyable team games a youngster can play, with tremendous benefits for promoting personal development, sports skills and fitness.

 

Age Groups

All players are coached and play in teams according to age groups as determined by school year. For example:

Under 7s players will be in Year 2 with their 7th birthday between 1st Sept 2011 & 31st Aug 2012.

Under 16s players will be in Year 11 with their 16th birthday between 1st Sept 2011 & 31st Aug 2012.

The Youth Section has teams at all age groups. Under 7s through to Under 12s are Minis; Under 13s through to Under 16s are Juniors; and Colts teams are Under 17s and Under 19s.

Over the last few years we have introduced an U6s year group where no fixtures are played but there is an introduction to basic rugby skills ready in readiness for next year's Under 7s.

The playing and training programme closely follows the RFU Continuum - a national RFU programme followed by all rugby clubs to ensure young players acquire rugby skills and can enjoy the game in a phased introduction to handling, contact, tackling and kicking. Due regard is given to physical and conceptual development. All U7s and U8s play tag rugby (non-contact with no tackling allowed); tackling and non-contested scrums are introduced at U9s level and limited contested scrums and lineouts at U10s. The number of players and size of pitches increase through the range of age groups.

 

New Players

New players are always encouraged to come along for a couple of weeks to determine whether they enjoy playing rugby before any membership fees are expected or money is spent on rugby kit. All that is required to begin with is a pair of boots and training kit (including warm and wet-weather clothing). The RFU, Chester RUFC and all coaches strongly advise young players to wear mouthguards when playing contact rugby. Your age group coach will be pleased to advise you further. Youth Section membership is £70 per annum (one single payment at the beginning of the season).

 

Club Safeguarding Policy

The Chester RUFC safeguarding policy and Codes of Conduct for parents and players can be found on the noticeboard and is also available on the Club website www.chester-rufc.com
 

Training & Fixtures

Each season commences on the first Sunday in September (Sunday 4th September 2011. All youth rugby is played on a Sunday, although Junior age groups and the older Minis age groups organise mid-week training sessions. On Sundays, all training sessions commence at 10.30 a.m.

A number of fixtures against local and regional clubs also take place during the season. The RFU Continuum lays down the maximum number of competitive games Minis & Junior can play during the season, (more so with Minis ager group players). For Minis, the ratio is in the order of one match to two training sessions. There are no competitive fixtures for Minis during September. Fixture lists can and do vary at short notice. Your age group coach will have details of fixtures, and a provisional fixture list can be found in Club Membership handbook. As with training, all home fixtures start at 10.30 am. Again, your age group coach will give you details of any arrangements for transport to away matches, but the general rule is that parents will either make their own way to the venue, or meet at Hare Lane at an appropriate time to share transport and/or travel in convoy.

As a general rule, all training and matches take place on the training pitches (a short walk to the left out the club and across the dual-carriageway road bridge, or on the ‘Cabbage Patch’ and ‘Rose Garden’ pitches, a short walk to the right out of the club).
Please park your car in the main club car park as leaving your car on Hare Lane can cause an obstruction and will pose a hazard to players and pedestrians. Overflow parking can be found behind the main stand. Under no circumstances should cars be parked on the pitch access road. A pitch and changing room allocation plan should be on the noticeboard in the foyer each Sunday.
Wherever possible, details of fixtures and directions to clubs are posted on the Minis' Page of the club website www.chester-rufc.com
A qualified coach (or coaches) lead each age group. Many teams in the youth section have as many as 40+ young players, so any assistance offered will be gratefully received. Most - if not all - coaches are parents themselves and many started by being interested parents on the touchline.

Unlike many sports where youngsters are dropped off and picked up afterwards, parents of Minis players are expected to stay and watch (or remain in the Clubhouse where hot food and hot and cold drinks are available before during and after training and matches). Many players, parents & spectators choose to stay for hot food & drinks after matches or training sessions. The bar is open from 1200 hrs.
There is a shop within the Clubhouse that caters for all kit and equipment needs.

For any additional information on Minis or Junior rugby, please do not hesitate to speak with your age group coach or Youth section mangers, (details below).

We are always keen to involve parents to assist in the running of the Youth Section. If you would like to help in any way - just ask!

 
Main Contacts

For more detailed age group information, look in the team sections on the right hand menu
 

 

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