Friday bulletin 25 March

League Restructure Season 2022-23

Many of you will have heard about the league restructure for next season. Here is a brief summary from our Chair, based on what information is available.

The RFU will manage referee appointments to matches down to and including level 4 (National League 2). New cross-regional Federations will be expected to manage level 5 leaving the traditional local federations to manage level 6 and below

In brief:

• There will be 6 level-5 leagues across England (our current local equivalent is Midlands Premier)
• A ‘Midland league’ i.e. the region where the Society has traditionally covered the most territory, will potentially include teams from Gloucester and/or possibly Leicestershire and one from further north. This is dependent on final league standings at level 4 at the end of the current season, and therefore which teams are promoted from and relegated into this new ‘Midland League.’
• If a Society/Federation has a level 5 team in a particular league they are expected to be involved in the organisation of that league from a referee point of view. So if a North Midlands club is placed into a South West league, we or a West Midlands Federation would be expected to be part of that league’s structure
• Because of delays and an extended season, it is expected that the level 4 leagues will not be completed until the last week of May. This means that the most significant planning and allocation work for the Society and West Midlands Federation cannot be completed until early June at the best.
• The Society will be involved in forming the new Midland Federation (name to be confirmed).

In the interest of openness the Society has a 29 page RFU document which gives a global view of what is proposed.  If any member would like a copy of this and/or would like to ask questions or give their views please contact Kelvin by emailing chair@northmidsrefs.co.uk

Rosslyn Park Representation!

Two of our referees represented the Society this week at the Rosslyn Park National 7s tournaments, the largest schools rugby event in the world, refereeing at U18 and U16 boys, and U18 and U15 girls tournaments, as part of a contingent of over 300 referees!

Global Law Variations: have your say!

Now that we’re almost at the end of the season, World rugby are inviting views from the entire rugby community on the Global Law Variations which have been in place since the summer of 2021, and how they have impacted your refereeing at your level. You can take the short survey by clicking here, the form is open for responses until 28th March only

Girls age grade revisions

There have been some revisions and simplifications to the Age Grade boundaries and playing regulations for girls’ rugby ready for the 2022-23 season. The explanation can be viewed here , and the infographic can be viewed here

Community update

The latest RFU Community update can be viewed here