Here is a quick recap of the recent EPRU Board meeting. Note that some of the items at the time are added/updated after the fact for the benefit of our membership.
EPRU AGM is 2-5PM on August 21. Nominations for Board of Directors are open. Those interested should submit rugby resume and letter of intent to elections@epru.org by end of the day on Sunday August 14. More info here (Nominations Are Open For EPRU Board Of Directors! – EPRU)
EPRU Contact info spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/196E-CE4ICs14-_AODnXmF69GrnseRgfw-2zn5nWm87Q/edit?usp=sharing) – Recently created spreadsheet that will house contact info for all divisions. Easier to navigate than website and Coordinators will have Editor access so much easier to keep up to date.
EPRU Schedule spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pFH98t7S39JMA-KEfY2iemBJphAS5SUy50b08mk7AbA/edit?usp=sharing) – Recently created spreadsheet that will house schedules (and potentially results) for all divisions. Easy navigation and should help everyone maintain an understanding of scheduled events. Hopefully also makes scheduling friendlies easier.
Roadmap for 2022-2023 – What does a calendar year generally look like in the EPRU:
Regular Season Play begins Sept 2022 for all divisions
Men’s Playoffs approx. Mar 25 and Apr 1, with Apr 15 EPRU Championship event
Women’s Divisions go directly to Apr 15 event due to smaller divisions and spring matches
(Conversations have started to ensure 3rd and 5th place matches take place so that each men’s playoff team gets at least two matches instead of a one and done)
Lentz Cup for non-playoff teams in April
Atlantic Super Region (ASR) April 29 in Richmond VA (Dorrey Park)
May 5 and 12 likely to have Jersey Shore Tournament and other annual events/rivalry matches
Nationals (location TBD) May 19-21
7s to begin on/around June 3 and go into mid-July for most
7s Nationals mid-August
Preseason events in August such as Philly 10s and Atlantic Cup
Lentz Info:
Opt-ins will be required by November and a spreadsheet will be kept to track. Plan is to announce a draft format for comment/review by mid-November to give teams plenty of time to plan
Women’s Lentz Cup likely has 8 sides potentially (2 D2 teams that don’t make playoffs and 6 D3 sides that don’t make ASR) so we believe Apr 22 and Apr 29 is enough time for the women’s event and the teams we spoke to were receptive to doing it again like last year where all of the teams played at the same locations each weekend.
Men’s Lentz Cup likely has 10-11 potential sides (3 D2 teams, 4 D3 teams, and 3 D4 teams) so we will structure the competition based on opt-ins. Schuylkill River is participating in a D1B league with their D3 side so unsure if they’ll be available. Probably the weekends of April 15, 22 and 29 because of the extra sides but may also include April 1 depending on number (this will all be communicated by end of November so we will 4 months ahead of last year)
Women’s World Cup Final:
World Cup championship match is played Nov 12 and the plan is to have an event on that date. There are 11 Women’s Clubs so if each provides 4 players then we can divide East vs West and give each team 22 players (1 club will have players on each side due to odd number) and then find a way to watch the World Cup match together afterwards. The match itself kicks off at 7:30PM New Zealand time and a quick search indicates NZ is 16 hours ahead so that would be 3:30AM our time. We are counting on someone broadcasting the replay or having a streaming option available.
The Men’s Clubs will also be included and with 21 men’s clubs it would probably be 2 players per team.
South Jersey Women have offered to host.
Development Day:
We have the Spooky Nook on December 3 with Rugby PA and the MARC. The Dana Bateman Memorial Grant Program will support EPRU members who attend for certification. In speaking with Dylan, we hope to branch out and have Rugby Admin panels in addition to coaching and officiating
Budget Review – Financials from 2021-2022 and a draft budget for 2022-2023 were reviewed. Board will finalize and present at AGM.
AGM Agenda – AGM draft agenda was discussed. Board will finalize and circulate prior to AGM.
Rugby Xplorer – New registration system. Once up and running Board will work quickly to ensure all clubs are entered, each club has a “initial admin” and the training materials continue to be circulated.
D2M Coordinator – We’ve got 4 candidates and we solicited opinions from the division. The Board vote should be concluded shortly with announcement imminent.
