As we progressed through the spring and into the summer of 2021, we were experienced a significant drop in COVID-19 cases outbreak. However, since mid-July, that trend has unfortunately reversed with cases climbing at an exponential rate lately. Given the information available, the MWRFU has made the decision to proceed with a full fall league schedule. It is still the Union’s hope that we will be able to complete the schedule as designed.

The following regulations are designed to assist in keeping our members safe and limit COVID-19 interruptions on our Union’s competitions. There may be some gray area with how these regulations are applied in practice, however no Member Club or player is permitted to advance their interpretation to its advantage and to the detriment of an opponent. Any questions must be brought to the MWRFU Competition Committee for clarification.

The following Competition Policies/ Regulations are to be considered an addendum to the normal Union policies and are effective immediately:

1. All Member Clubs must maintain a diligence of care as required  by federal, state, and local authorities. Member Clubs unsure of current Regional Health Mandates must seek the guidance of their Local Area Union (LAU) Compliance Officer.
2. All Member Clubs must immediately resume the use of the MWRFU World Rugby Symptom Checker. This may help mitigate both the spread of the virus and assist with contact tracing at team events.
3. All match participants must sign the Midwest COVID-19 Waiver of Liability. This document must then be retained by each Member Club’s Compliance Coordinator and made available upon request.
4. All match participants must adhere to the Regional Health Mandates in effect for the location where the match is being held.
5. For a given match, the hosting club/ home side must inform the opposition and the applicable Referee Organization about any requirements imposed by the match by governmental authorities. This disclosure of information must take place three (3) calendar days prior to the match. For Saturday fixtures, the disclosure must occur by end of business on the Wednesday preceding the match.
6. All Member Clubs must inform the opposition club, the applicable Referee Organization and their Competition League Coordinator as soon as possible of any potential COVID-19 outbreaks or exposures leading up to the match. If an outbreak or exposure occurs, the match must not be played if the club can not validate mitigation efforts against the spread of the virus.
7. If a Member Club fields sides in multiple levels competition, that club must demonstrate how they mitigated the spread of the virus that could allow one if their teams to compete while another sides seeks to reschedule or cancel a match due to a COVID-19 outbreak or exposure. Examples of acceptable mitigation strategies include: different sides/ teams training separately, training using a POD System (see USAR RTP), players were not present at exposure event, etc.
8. If a match is cancelled due to a COVID-19 exposure, Member Clubs should endeavor to make up/ reschedule this match.
9. If a make-up date is not possible due to scheduling constraints, the game will be nullified. Neither team will be allotted Standings Points, or will points be deducted. It is the desire of the MWRFU to encourage clubs to be responsible without fear of punitive action. For the purposes of match rescheduling, league competition matches must always supersede a friendly, non-league scheduled match.
10. If it has been determined that a Member Club is not actively following the COVID-19 Safety Protocols, the team may be subjected to disciplinary sanction.

 

For additional information, please visit the COVID-19 Safety Protocols page here.