Welcome to a new season of mini and youth rugby at NOVOCASTRIANS Rugby Football Club, where we are rightly proud of the achievements and the excellent attitude of our young players.

The club aims to ensure that players, coaches, parents, spectators and volunteers uphold the Core Values of rugby union, Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship. These values will stand our young people in good stead both on and off the rugby pitch and are reflected in the RFU’s Code of Rugby. Novocastrians RFC supports its aims that we:

· Play to win - but not at all cost
· Win with dignity, lose with grace
· Observe the Laws and regulations of the game
· Respect opponents, referees and participants
· Reject cheating, racism, violence and drugs
· Value volunteers and paid officials alike
· Enjoy the game

Novocastrians RFC is a local club at the heart of our community, with links with local schools. We are delighted by the number of players who progress up the age levels and into our senior teams. Keeping players involved throughout their schooldays and beyond means that they benefit from being part of the rugby family and from the friendships and health benefits that our sport offers.

The credit for our success as a club is due to the commitment of our young players, the endeavours of the club’s qualified and enthusiastic coaches, our many marvellous volunteers, our players’ parents and supporters and our sponsors. We would like to thank you all and look forward to your continued support.

With a full fixture programme and a full programme of social events coming up, we would be delighted to see our new players and their parents and families fully involved. We are always glad to have help so please talk about volunteer roles with our coaches, managers or anyone on the Mini & Youth Committee.

Registration day is always tremendously busy, so I would ask for your patience and understanding as there are many tasks to perform to ensure that the club lives up to its high standards so that your children are properly registered and cared for in the coming season. I would also ask for subs to be paid within four weeks of registration so that we can handle the finances to everyone’s benefit.

Hopefully, this pack contains all the information you need but do ask questions or log on to the club website at www.novos.co.uk. You can also register with pitchero which gives you access to lots more information about the club and up to date news.

A very warm welcome to the 2010/11 season at Novocastrians RFC and we hope that you all enjoy the rugby.

Yours sincerely,

Novocastrians RFC Minis

OUR SPORT
Novocastrians RFC Mini and Youth section provides rugby for children of all ages and abilities. Our Mini Section caters for children of six years old (under 7s) up to 11 years old (under 12s). The Youth Section provides for children from 12 years old (under 13s) up to 18, at which age they can join the senior section. All age groups adhere to the RFU Age Grade Regulations (rfu.com/Regulations) Regulation 15, a playing and coaching pathway by which clubs and schools introduce rugby in three incremental stages (Mini-Midi Rugby) so that by Under 13 players have the skills and knowledge to participate in the full 15-a-side game.

Each stage has its own rules distinguishing it from the adult game. This progression accommodates the changing developmental abilities of children as they mature, with the emphasis on the improvement of individual skills through purposeful and enjoyable activity. Provision is made for testing these skills in match situations during a limited number of competitive fixtures and festivals/tournaments each season.

The enjoyment and safeguarding of children is of paramount importance at Novocastrians RFC and we are committed to providing opportunities for all children to play rugby in a friendly, fun and safe environment. For a beginner’s guide to rugby’s rules and regulations visit www.rfu.com/beginners.

TRAINING, SELECTION & AVAILABILITY
Mini Rugby training is every Sunday morning, between 10.30am until 12pm. Most mini games throughout the forthcoming season are also played on a Sunday. The times vary according to whether it is at home or away and the distance being travelled by the opposition. This season’s fixture list is on the web site and we rely on parents to transport the children to and from away games. Any alterations will be notified by the team coach or manager. At Novocastrians RFC we want to ensure that all children have opportunities to play, selection for individual matches being the responsibility of team coaches and managers.

Subscriptions are an integral and substantial part of the club income. Without this income the club could not survive. All players must complete the attached registration form and have paid their membership by 1st October 2010.

Our annual subscription is £25. Cheques should be made payable to Novocastrians RFC, and can be handed to any of the coaches. Please pay your subscriptions promptly.

Sometimes in the winter months training at the ground is impossible due to inclement weather conditions. Please speak to your coach who will advise you of alternative arrangements for each individual age group.

Between the 28th November 2010 and the 6th February 2011 the Under 6’s, 7’s and 8’s train indoors in the sports hall at The Northumberland Club, Jesmond on a Sunday morning between 11-12pm. The cost of these sessions is in addition to your annual subscriptions, but is only £1 per session. Payment is made at the start of your session directly to your coach. There is also a licensed bar on the premises, which also serves hot/cold food and tea and coffee.

The address is Northumberland Club, North Jesmond Ave, Jesmond, NE2 3JU, tel 0191 2815858.

There also fixtures scheduled for some dates during the above period, the coaches will provide updates regarding what is happening and where depending on the pitches being playable.

Parents and Guardians remain responsible for their children at training/matches and are encouraged to stay, especially if their children are in the Mini Section.

Punctuality: Children should be in rugby kit ready to start sessions on time, especially on match days. Please let the coach know if your child is unavailable to train or play as they will not want to let team mates down.

Insurance: All children playing rugby for an RFU club are covered by the RFU’s personal accident policy, details of which can be found at rfu.com/insurance. Medical expenses are not covered by the RFU and therefore you may like to consider adding your child to any private medical insurance that you may have.

NECESSARY KIT
At the start of the season shorts and long sleeved tops are fine for training, but as the season progresses please ensure your child is wearing a number of layers. It is better to wear layers that can be removed accordingly. A waterproof jacket is essential. Hooded tops and tops with loose cords or ties should not be worn for rugby sessions.

Novocastrians rugby clothing and assorted training items are available to order. The co-ordinator for the clothing is Shirley Davison. She can be contacted on 07952 675860. Novocastrians rugby shirts, shorts and socks can be ordered from Colin Chater, telephone number 07736 773561.

As it becomes muddier and wetter, boots are required for training. Football boots are okay, but please make sure the studs are aluminium. The studs should be checked regularly for jagged edges as these pose a serious danger to other players. Moulded plastic studs and rubber blades may be used, but boots with “blade” type soles with a metal tip on are not allowed for rugby.

Gum shields are recommended for players in all age groups playing contact rugby, U9’s and above.

The club colours are white shirts with red and black stripes. Team shirts should be worn on match days. Shorts should be black.

· Boots, with safety studs, should be certified to IRB regulations. In warm, dry weather trainers or moulded boots may be acceptable.
· Mouth guards are strongly recommended, and you can obtain custom made mouth guards.
· Any other protective equipment is worn at the discretion of the parent / player but must conform to IRB standards (a reputable sports shop can advise).
· Wearing layers means players can discard items as they warm up. Waterproof tops must not have zips.
· Players will need a set of clean clothes to change into after training or matches.
· Players’ drinks should be provided, especially on hot days, when sun screen may be needed.

COACHING
Young players are coached under the RFU Age Grade Regulations and boys and girls train and play together up to and including the Under 12 age group. Beyond this, boys and girls play separately, for safety reasons.

If you are interested in becoming a rugby coach, please contact Steve Gittens (07503 192 353).

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN & VULNERABLE ADULTS
At Novocastrians RFC we are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. Everyone works in partnership to promote children’s welfare, health and development and all allegations and suspicions of harm will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly, fairly and appropriately

For further information regarding the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults contact the Club Safeguarding Officer: Kim Stewart, email: kim.stewart@blueyonder.com, mobile: 07725 621884.

Head of mini rugby
Steve Gittens stepheng1tt1ns@sky.com
07503 192353

Under 6’s
Janet Goodfellow janet.goodfellow@blueyonder.co.uk
Shirley Davison shirley.davison@hilton.newcastle.sch.uk
07952 675860

Under 7’s
Steve Neill steveandnicolaneill@btinternet.com
07795 238750
Keith Geldart k.k.geldart@talk21.com
07940 544634

Under 8’s
Dave Julien davidjulien@firstcontactclinical.co.uk 07812 982989
Rob Taylor Helen@becomingmum.com
07776 180436

Under 9’s
Andy Chater andrew.chater@newcastle.gov.uk
07816 759360

Under 10’s
Duncan Mckenzie duncan.mackenzie@uk.ibm.com
07872 636096

Under 11’s
Rob White Rob.white64@talktalk.net

Under 12’s
Paul Minto pjminto@hotmail.com
07805 889946