ONLINE REGISTRATION

1.      Club and Member Registration is done using the USA Rugby online registration system at the USA Rugby website (membership.usarugby.org/ ).  Online registration offers real-time registration processing.  Newly registered members will show on your team's roster the NEXT DAY when the system updates (about midnight each day).  Please note however, that if you are a designated club administrator, it is possible to see your roster in real-time by going to "Manage Club Information" and checking "Roster".  Be aware that the West requires that all players must be on the USA Rugby roster at the time of the match, and failure to be on the roster is grounds for forfeiture of the match.

2.      Club administrators have password-protected access to their club's information and are permitted to enter member registrations. Alternatively, individuals can also enter their own information and affiliate with the club of their choice.

3.      Payment is made by credit card, and once payment is approved, the membership registration will be activated.

4.   Invoice - If you require an invoice, you can request one and an invoice will be sent to you.  However, the memberships for which the invoice applies will be placed in a "holding tank" and will not be activated until payment is  received.  In other words, those players cannot compete until payment is received and they move to active status.

5.      Waiver of Release - Each registered member must sign a waiver of release (the waiver form is also on the USA Rugby website) and an original copy must be retained by a club official (preferably in a loose-leaf notebook.  The members' waivers must be available at every match.  After online registration, the new or renewed member will receive an e-mail (if they provided a valid e-mail address) confirming their registration was successful.  The e-mail will have a waiver form attached, that the member should print, sign and deliver to their club official.

6.      Player Transfers - Player desiring to transfer clubs must complete and submit a Player Transfer Form (available on the USA Rugby website). Transfers are not permitted during the competitive season without the submission of a waiver request for eligibility purposes.  Players may transfer clubs for the summer sevens season.  If a transfer is desired during the regular season (i.e., after October 15th), the player must submit a request for transfer appeal (see form on the USA Rugby website) with appropriate documentation, and file an appeal with USA Rugby.  (Note, this process was implemented due to member concerns about club-hopping during the competitive cycle.)

The Western Rugby Union strongly encourages you to use the 
online membership registration service.

Paper registration

1.      Teams and members may download paper forms (in PDF format) from the USA Rugby website for local printing and completion by hand.  Forms can be submitted by either mail or fax to the USA Rugby National Office (see the top of the forms for address and fax information).  Payment can be either club or personal check or credit card.  An invoice request form should be submitted when an invoice is requested.  However, there is a $1.50 fee for each membership form submitted on paper.  This is to offset the expense of entering the data by hand when received at the National Office.

2.      You should expect processing of paper forms to take at least 3-4 weeks.  The National Office staff will have to enter your data by hand, and it will take time to process handwritten forms.

3.   Members must retain a copy of their signed waiver and provide this to a club official who will maintain a notebook of forms at all matches.

MEMBERSHIP DETAILS

West dues are combined with USA Rugby dues.  All West dues payments will be made with your USA Rugby CIPP dues using the online registration process (or the combined West paper forms).  The USA Rugby CIPP list will be used as the standard for all WRFU club rosters.  In other words, because USA and West dues are combined, everyone member registered with USA Rugby will also be enrolled with the West. 

You must use the CIPP form that is designated for the West - Pacific Coast registration.

LAU Dues.  All local area union (LAU) dues must be handled directly with your LAU to be in fully compliant and eligible.

Coach registration and Background Checks.  USA Rugby has established that all coaches must register using a separate Coach Registration form, AND they must agree to a Coaches Code of Conduct Form that must be submitted with your registration form.  Coaches are expected to be familiar with the Coaching Ethics Code.  Any coaches who may have contact with minor players (18 yrs and under) will be subject to a background check at USA Rugby expense.  Coaches must agree to the waiver acknowledging the performance of a background check.  If for some reason, a matter of concern comes up during the background check, USA Rugby will contact the coach privately to inform them of the finding.  If the results of the background check do not permit a person to serve as a coach, the coach and the team will be notified by USA Rugby that they are not eligible to coach minors.  This will be handled in as private a manner as possible.  Denial of coaching status may be appealed to USA Rugby.

What are the dues amounts?  The competitive level of your club (i.e., senior club, collegiate, high school, youth non-contact, etc.) determines your West and USA Rugby membership dues.  

Because USA Rugby is shifting the membership cycle from the traditional calendar year, to the competition cycle (September 1 to August 31), both USA and West dues have been pro-rated to two-thirds of the annual rate.  All members and clubs will have to -

The following West and USA Rugby dues apply:

The Sustaining Member category is not intended for any member who is actively involved in rugby in any capacity.  There is no West dues assessment for Sustaining Members.  See Notation #4 below.

ADDITIONAL WEST MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

1.     West First-Year Dues Policy.  The West does not assess dues for clubs in the first year of existence.  To qualify, a new club must first register in full with USA Rugby.  It is encouraged that all members register at the same time.  The West will rebate the West portion of the dues paid to the club when the club's LAU president verifies that the club is a first year club, and requests the rebate.  This does not apply to clubs that have existed previously.

2.     All Participants.  Dues are expected for every member – participant – on your club.  This includes your coaches and any administrative members of your club, as well as referees.  Failure to register all members results in loopholes in your club's liability coverage.

3.     Under-15 Player Registration.  USA Rugby distinguishes between Uner-19 and Under-15 (youth non-contact), and the CIPP fee is $20 and $10 per year, respectively (pro-rated to $13.33 and $6.67 for Jan 1 - Aug 31, 2008).  The West charges $10 per U19 member (pro-rated to $6 for Jan 1 - Aug 31, 2008).  The West does not collect dues for U15 non-contact rugby.

4.    Player Transfers.  It is the responsibility of the clubs to properly account for the transfer of players between clubs during the year.  The West does not collect additional dues from members who are transferring between clubs in the West or from another territory of USA Rugby.  If transferring clubs after October 15th, players must also file a transfer waiver appeal.  The eligibility of transferees is defined entirely by the USA Rugby Eligibility Rules, and all determinations will be the sole responsibility of USA Rugby.

6.     Registration Deadlines.  To qualify for any West Championship Competition, players and/or club dues must be paid and processed (i.e., all names on the USA Rugby database roster for your club) before the first match in which they participate.  USA Rugby Eligibility Rules require a member to have played at least two competitive matches during that championship cycle.  The West and USA Rugby will not expedite late payments.  All West competitive events require an Event Roster to be submitted by participating clubs no later than the Monday before the event.  Persons on the roster must be fully dues compliant with USA Rugby and the West at that time.  Persons listed on the roster, whom are not dues compliant, will not be eligible to compete in the event and may not be replaced on the roster.  USA Rugby requires that members must be registered before April 15th to be eligible to compete in any national championship events.

7.     Registered and Certified Coaches.  It is the policy of the Western Rugby Union and USA Rugby that all clubs entering competition leading to a national championship must have a USA Rugby CIPP registered and accredited coach to be eligible to advance.  Failure to document the CIPP registration and/or certification level of your team's coach will result in disqualification.