Jed-forest Mini Rugby Club  

Useful Information

Where do we meet? - We meet at the Jed-Forest Rugby Club at Riverside Park on a Sunday. Generally this is at 10:45 for training (on the park at 11:00) and 10.30 on match days but the time changes if we are playing an away game.

Jed-Forest Rugby Club
Riverside Park
Jedburgh

Who can play? - Any child (boy or girl) from Primary 1 upwards who is prepared to run, tackle and generally get completely covered in mud. Primaries 1,2and 3 are welcome and will learn basic handling and passing skills but will not be tackling at this stage. All players are registered at the start of the season to ensure they are covered by insurance when they pay their annual fees.

 What does it cost? - The cost for a season of mini rugby is £10 per child. The SRU have decreed that all Mini rugby players should have insurance cover, which is part of your registration fee. This fee is payable at the beginning of the season.

We also collect £1 a week on training days only which helps cover the cost of food on match days and laundry bills for the tops and also travel costs to away games.

Incidental costs are:-

• Boots (any football boot should do but they must have rugby studs or moulded plastic studs).
• New this Season will be a 'boot bank' where players may deposit any old and unused boots to be sold onto others for a small fee.  Any funds raised in this way will be used directly to benefit the children and not to supplement club funds so please support this wherever possible.
• Regulated rugby studs (kite-marked, these will be available from the club shop)
• Shorts (these are available from the club shop)
• Socks  (again available from the shop)

All players will receive a rugby shirt to wear on match days but will require their own top for training (anything will do as long as you don't mind it getting dirty or ripped)

 Optional

• Gumshield - if your child can play with one in his mouth (they can take a bit of getting used to but are advised.)
• Scrum cap  - any head knock will result in a player being encouraged to leave the field rather than play on. A scrum cap can help reduce the risk of concussion from a head knock
• Body padding - While we understand that parents are concerned that their children should not get hurt and therefore see body padding as a benefit, we would urge them to think before buying this. It is our opinion that children with body padding have a 'Superman' attitude and throw themselves into the game more recklessly, to the detriment and injury of those players without (and inevitably with the cost of padding, many children do not have it). We also believe that when a child with padding gets injured it is more serious than would otherwise have been the case.
  Padding, however, is currently acceptable within the game.
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• Your time - parents are encouraged to come along and support the children. The club generously provides buses for games and while this promotes fun and team spirit, we often find that less parents travel with the team to away matches. Please support your child in his/her rugby, besides, its great fun!

 What happens when the weather is bad? During the Winter months training/games can be disrupted by frost or excessive rain. (Hence the January Shutdown this year) If the weather looks bad, parents should firstly listen to Radio Borders (96.8FM) where details of cancelled training/games are broadcast on a regular basis from around 8am. If there has been no Radio broadcast and you are still unsure, contact one of the coaching staff.
 

What else do I need to know? - Parents of children in P3 or below should not feel that their child has to come along every week. If it is wet or cold it is probably better that they stay at home, rather than be miserable and lose any enthusiasm for the game.

In the event of any child taking ill or being injured during a game or training session then we will contact the parent or guardian by telephone therefore it is of the utmost importance that if you are not there with your child then you must be available at whatever number(s) you have given as your contact number.

All children who train or play are entitled to come along to our mid season Xmas party at the swimming pool.

Every 2 years the P6 + 7 squad have an end of season tour which involves some fundraising to keep costs to a minimum. 

All parents will be expected to take a turn on match days with kitchen duties etc. and to supply 1 plate of both sweet and savoury items for selling on our ‘plate table’ at our tournament held at Riverside on 26^th October in addition to supporting our coffee morning which is held every year in the Royal British Legion, Jedburgh. The date for this season is Saturday 28^th February 2009.  These two days are the main source of income for the minis and as such it is vitally important that they are well supported by the parents of all the children who attend mini rugby. On both these days we hold a large raffle and items for this can be handed in to any committee member at any time. Home baking etc can be brought on the day.

There is a Mini Rugby notice board on the wall in the changing room area where a copy of this information sheet will be available at all times. We will also update the board regularly with anything that we feel that you need to know like change of times, dates etc and ‘dates for your diary’ that will be updated monthly so please ensure that you check this regularly.  Information will be issued by email and newsletter as well as updated on the notice board so it is important to make us aware of any change of contact details throughout the season.

I want to play - who do I contact? - You can contact any of the coaches or committee on any Sunday we are training or, if we have a home match, after the match is finished. Coaches are listed on the fixture lists and committee members are Gillian Brown, Angela Smith, Amelia Solley, Susan Thomson, Craig Douglas, Martin Stainer, Richard Armitage, Liz Cowan, Evelyn Chelley, Shirley Yourston, Jacqueline Henderson, Nicola Beck and Susan Renwick.
 

TIPS

• Wrap up warm for a match on a cold day. It's easier to take layers of clothes off than it is to heat yourself up after you have been freezing. Trousers are allowed (as long as they have no metal studs or buttons - tracksuit trousers preferable)
• Bring a towel, even if the Sun is out, it's going to rain, it always does!
• Don't wear any jewellery (earrings, rings, necklaces). The referee will make you take them off and you will have to find a place to put them safely
• Don't play with money or any sharp items in your pockets. If it doesn't fall out it will surely hurt you when you hit the ground.
• If you do have items of value that you don't want to leave in the locker room (and we would advise you not to leave these items there), give them to a parent for safekeeping, or a coach who should be able to put them in a safe place.
• Please ensure all items are clearly labelled as this makes it easier to return lost items to their rightful owners.