USQRA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Letter from the Commissioner
2. President’s Message
3. News from the Secretary
4. Paralympic Update
5. Registration Notice
6. Nationals & Postseason Dates
7. Bylaw Changes
8. Top 20
9. National Teams Fund
10. Executive Board Contacts
11. Rugby Schedule

Letter from the Commissioner

Welcome to the start of the 2000-2001 quad rugby season. I hope everyone enjoyed the summer and have been preparing for the upcoming season.  Congratulations to the staff and players selected to Team USA, Good luck in Sydney!

I’m looking forward to an exciting and competitive season.  It was great to see the success of Division I and II last season.  I wish everyone luck and look forward to seeing you on the court.

The organization needs everyone’s help to run smoothly.  Please submit your rosters and dues promptly so that we can plan for the season.  Anyone interested in hosting tournaments should contact John or me so we can post dates and teams can finalize their schedules.

If you know of any active referees, classifiers, or sponsors, please provide me with their current telephone number and address so that we may contact them about the activities of their organization.

President’s Message

The summer’s over and the rugby season is here again.  It should be an exciting year beginning with the Paralympics in Sydney, Australia and ending with Division I and II Nationals in San Diego, California.  I would like to congratulate all the players who made the team.  The tryout process was grueling and the selection committee was faced with a very difficult task.  I think the process showed how deep and talented the pool of players is in the US.  I have no doubt that this team will represent us well and will defend our status as the best rugby country in the world.  I look forward to watching them win the gold in front of a packed house in Sydney. 

The USQRA held a camp at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.  I would like to thank our hosts at Wright State for all their help.  I also want to thank the Paralyzed Veterans of America for their support of this camp and all the clinics that they have sponsored over the years.  Due to budgetary changes at PVA, this was the last clinic PVA will be funding.  We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for helping rugby grow and blossom over the last ten years.  Thanks PVA! 

San Diego will be hosting both 2001 National Tournaments April 6-8.  This should be a great weekend especially after seeing how competitive last season’s Division II Tournament was.  The USQRA Annual Meeting will be held on April 5.  Each team should plan to have a representative at the AGM so that you can have input into the organization.  This is your chance to be heard, don’t waste the opportunity. 

The dates for Regionals and Sectionals are on the calendar.  Several teams have already submitted bids to host them.  Anyone else who is interested in hosting one of these tournaments should contact Bob Jackson so we can finalize the schedule.  This is a great opportunity to showcase rugby in your hometown and raise funds for your team at the same time.

I would like to remind everyone that we need nominations for the USQRA Hall of Fame.  There are some great players and support personnel deserving of recognition.  USQRA’s two annual awards, The Spirit of Achievement and the Athlete of the Year, also should be nominated by the membership.  The appropriate nomination forms can be found on the web page.  I encourage everyone to think of individuals worthy of these distinctions as the season progresses.

The coming season looks like it will be competitive and exciting. I wish everyone luck and look forward to seeing you on the court.

Secretaries Message

I am excited about my second year as Secretary of USQRA.  Last year was dedicated not only to the daily business of the organization, but also to the design of a new operating structure and a computerized database.  The new operating structure divides the organization’s activities into two categories, administrative and operational activities.  It explains how the organization’s business is accomplished, defines the activities of each category, assigns a USQRA representative to monitor each activity, sets forth the duties of each representative within the structure, establishes standing committees, and delineates committee duties and responsibilities.  The database was designed as a management tool to assist USQRA representatives in running the organization.  It explains the operational structure of the organization, describes the duties of each representative and committee of the organization, provides a directory of all players and support personnel, contains pertinent information about our membership and stores all documents needed to run the organization.  Originally, a one-year time frame was established to complete the necessary work.  At the AGM last April, I regretfully announced our goals had not been reached and although much work was completed, there was still much more to be done.  The Board was provided with a preliminary draft of the database that included an outline of the proposed operating structure and many of it’s completed components.

There is much to be accomplished this next year and in the years to come.  Here at home, new teams are forming, more tournaments will be played as mandated by rule changes at the last AGM, clinics are gaining in popularity as players try to improve their game and more likely than not, in the near future, other categories of Rugby will begin to develop to fill the need for people to play at different levels.  Perhaps a Junior League to enhance recruiting or a Retired Players League to get veteran players re-involved and encourage more people to play.  This year, Wheelchair Quad Rugby will be played as a full-blown sport at the Paralympic games in Sydney Australia; some of our top athletes are working hard to capture Olympic Gold.  Teams abroad are improving and will be ready to compete for our first place International standing.  Regardless of the type of Rugby to be played, a strong management structure is going to be required, more people are going to have to get involved to carry the load and additional resources are going to be required to finance our growth.

Over the past year, in conversations at tournaments and on “Rugby Talk”,  I have heard your concerns about numerous issues.  Like many of you, up until the time I became involved as a USQRA board member, I was somewhat critical of how the organization ran and limited involvement to my own team.  In doing so, I completely under-estimated what is required to keep USQRA operating.  I had no idea how much time and effort goes into providing services required to play the game.  Much of this effort, unfortunately, goes unnoticed and unappreciated by many of us.  I’m not just speaking of the effort of board members who struggle to make fair decisions about a sport that is changing dramatically each year.  I’m also talking about the dedicated referees, coaches, classifiers, committee members and volunteers who organize events, serve at tournaments and clinics, and are willing to put their personal lives aside to enhance and improve the game; usually, with no compensation for their time and minimal support for their expenses.  No doubt there is much room for improvement and there are many issues to be resolved to the satisfaction of our membership.  I call on each of you to try and understand the job at hand, know that many skilled and dedicated people are working hard to improve our organization, and realize change does not come easy and not without sacrifices.  It is time to drop any negative thinking and start pulling together to get the job done.  I promise you we will all be better for having done it.  Based on what I have seen and experienced in this past year, the future of Wheelchair Quad Rugby is bright, there are just too many dedicated, hard working players and support people who love the sport for it to be any other way.  Thank you for your continued support.  I look forward to working with you to make USQRA the best it can be.

Bob Jackson
Secretary

Team USA Rugby – Sydney Bound

The USQRA is pleased to announce the selection of its first National team of the millennium.  Members on the team will have the privilege of representing the USA at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia in October, and are competing as the defending Champions.  Congratulations, and good luck to the following athletes and staff.  Bring home the Gold!!

PARALYMPICS ON THE WEB

The 2000 Paralympics will begin on October 18^th, and run through October 29^th.  Much of the games will be broadcast live (10 hours a day) on the Internet at www.wemedia.com.  The Wheelchair Rugby competition will be played the last five days of the games starting on October 25^th.  If you have web access you can read updates from Sydney on Rugby Talk at quadrugby.com or checkout www.wemedia.com for extensive coverage of the Paralympic Games. Go USA Rugby!!

 Team Registrations

 It’s time to register your team for the upcoming rugby season again.  Each team’s representative can expect to receive a USQRA registration packet in the mail from the Secretary’s office during September with everything that you will need.  If your team’s representative or mailing address has changed since last season, please notify Bob Jackson at (630) 960-5588.  You can also send Bob e-mail at rhja@msn.com

As a reminder, all registration forms and payment checks are due in by October 31^st.  The registration fee is $300 per team, and $150 for new teams not wanting to participate in post-season play. 

2001 USQRA Nationals date and Locations Set 

San Diego, California will be the location for the 2001 Division I and Division II USQRA National Championships.  Hosted by the City of San Diego Disabled Services Program, this prestigious event will begin on April 5^th with our Annual General Meeting, and continue though April 8^th with 3 days of intense rugby competition.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend now.

Post-Season Tournament Dates 

The preferred dates for holding 2001 Regionals and Sectionals are as follows:

Regionals – February 9-11^th or February 16-18^th
Sectionals – March 2-4^th or March 9-11th 

If you are interested in hosting one of the 2001 post-season tournaments please contact Ed Suhr at
(503) 238-1324 or send e-mail to esuhr@aol.com  

QUADRUGBY.COM

If you have something that you would like listed on the Rugby Calendar please submit it by e-mail to events@quadrugby.com.  Help keep your favorite website current by sending us stories, photos and other information of interest to the rugby world.  Remember, for the hardest hits on the internet its quadrugby.com

Bylaw Changes 

There are several Constitution and Bylaw changes that will impact many players and teams this season.  To help ensure everyone understands, a quick rundown of these changes follows: 

1)      Hosting Requirements
All National Member Teams shall host at least two registered games prior to February 1^st to be eligible for post season play during the 2000-2001 season.  If a team cannot host two games by themselves, they may combine resources and host their games with another team.  Scoresheets should be sent to the Commissioner.  Teams that are hosting post-season tournaments are exempt from this rule.

 2) Player Transfers and the 150-Mile Rule- Particular attention should be paid to the bold sections in d-h as they are significant changes to the rules.

Any player in the USQRA may transfer to another team if they wish. However, if a player chooses to transfer, both the player, and the team they transfer to, must agree to the following guidelines:

a) The proposed transfer must take place prior to October 1st of the upcoming rugby season.

b) The transferring player must notify the Commissioner and Secretary’s office, in writing, of the proposed transfer no later than October 1st.

c) A written resignation letter must be given to the current team’s coach or representative by September 30^th. Copies of that resignation letter must also be sent to the Commissioner and Secretary’s office, and be received no later than October 1^st.

d) A transferring player must take up permanent residence within 150 miles of the city in which the team they are transferring to is located. Furthermore, the transferring player must obtain, and maintain, a valid driver’s license or State ID, if they don’t drive, from the state that they are transferring to. The license must show their new address of record. A copy of the new driver’s license must be provided to the Commissioner and Secretary’s office by December 15th of the year in which the transfer takes place.

e) If a player transfers to a higher-ranked team, the player will not be allowed to play in any USQRA post-season tournaments such as Regionals, Sectionals or Nationals in the first full season of their transfer.  The 2000 post-season Top 20 is included in this newsletter as a reference. 

f) The transferring player can participate in unsanctioned tournaments with his new team in the first year of play if the tournament director allows. Results from tournaments where the transferring player has participated may, or may not, be considered when ranking teams, or seeding tournaments for the USQRA post season.

g) Any player that has transferred to a team in the past must reside within 150 miles of that team, and must also hold a valid driver’s license or ID from the state in which they live. The driver’s license must show their current address of record, and must be shown, upon request by a board member, as proof of compliance. Failure to comply can result in an immediate suspension pending a formal hearing.

h) If no team exists within 150 miles of a player, the player must choose to play for one of the two teams closest to their place of residence.  

i) International players must abide by these same rules with the exception of taking up residence, and obtaining a local driver’s license. If an international player chooses to change teams at the end of a season, and the team they are transferring from has no objections, an exemption allowing post season play the next season may be allowed by the Commissioner’s office. International players must continue to meet dates and specifications currently outlined in the bylaws.

 j) The Commissioner’s office must give all transfers final approval.

USQRA Postseason Top 20

1.      Lakeshore Demolition
2.      APVA Heat I
3.      Texas Stampede
4.      Tampa Generals
5.      Sharp Shadow
6.      Casa Colina Buccaneers
7.      San Diego Bushwackers
8.      TIRR Hurricanes
9.      California Quake
10.  Quebec Impact
11.  Portland Pounders
12.  Denver Harlequins
13.  Sarasota Riptide
14.  Tennessee Titans
15.  Chicago Bears
16.  EPVA Strykers
17.  APVA Heat II
18.  South Florida Rattlers
19.  Team AllNight
20.  NEPVA Pitbulls

HELP SUPPORT YOUR NATIONAL TEAMS

The USQRA has established a new account with Wheelchair Sports, USA to help support the National teams that represent us in international competition.  The account will be funded by individual contributions and ongoing fundraising efforts run by the USQRA. 

If you or someone that you know of would like to help support the team its easy.  Donations are tax-deductible and can be made by clipping out the pledge card below and mailing it with a check to Wheelchair Sports, USA.  Contributions of $25 or more will receive a Team USA souvenir in recognition of your support.  

USQRA Election Terms

Officers are elected to serve the association for a period of 2 years at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) by the membership. Any individual, regardless of race, color, sex or national origin and physical or mental disability may be eligible for office to the United States Quad Rugby Association. Refer to the USQRA Constitution and Bylaws for details.

Positions elected in even years		Positions elected in odd years
President  First Vice President Secretary		Vice President Treasurer Commissioner
Please contact the Secretary's office if you are interested in serving your association.

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