Length of tournaments

[KingsPE]

Spent 7 hours at a festival for Mini's this weekend!!

I was shattered by the end so can only imagine how the poor kids felt!


I am sure I read that festivals can only last 90mins. While I'm not sure this will ever be possible I do think it is part of the continuum (for U10s).

Did I make this up???

 

[Gareth-Lee Smith]

Without looking, maybe children are only allowed to play 90 mins of rugby per day, but the festival can last ad infinitum.

I did exactly the same as you last Summer. It was June and one of the hottest days of the year. Me and a colleague refereed 15 games EACH, between 5 and 7 minutes in length as it was a Sevens tournament. These were Uni teams too, so it was FAST. I could hardly walk after. I was blistered to hell and the only bit of my body which I had not Slipped, Slapped or Slopped were the backs of my knees and they were burned.

Not doing it again this year unless we get at least twice as many referees.

 

[PaulDG]

Spent 7 hours at a festival for Mini's this weekend!!

I was shattered by the end so can only imagine how the poor kids felt!

Hopefully they weren't on the pitch as much as you..

I am sure I read that festivals can only last 90mins. While I'm not sure this will ever be possible I do think it is part of the continuum (for U10s).

Did I make this up???

No, it was part of the Continuum until about 3 weeks ago when the RFU recognised it wasn't possible to hold a festival within the timing constraints of a normal Sunday morning session.

But the time on the pitch (no more than 5 matches of 6 mins each way) still apply.

IMHO though, festivals are often poorly organised in that organisers don't take "standing around getting really fed up" time into account.

By arranging to play U7s/U9s/U11s in the morning and U8s/U10s/U12s in the afternoon, the standing around time could be hugely reduced as twice as many pitches would be available for each age group but this rather simple idea doesn't seem to have occurred to many organisers.

 

[Phil E]

No, it was part of the Continuum until about 3 weeks ago when the RFU recognised it wasn't possible to hold a festival within the timing constraints of a normal Sunday morning session.

...............and changed the online continuum (and download) without letting anybody know. The RFU Handbook 2008/9 still has the previous version of the continuum, no addendum has been received (by me anyway, who bought a copy from the RFU website). Have Society Chairmen received an addendum to page 444?

 

[KingsPE]

Hopefully they weren't on the pitch as much as you..



By arranging to play U7s/U9s/U11s in the morning and U8s/U10s/U12s in the afternoon, the standing around time could be hugely reduced as twice as many pitches would be available for each age group but this rather simple idea doesn't seem to have occurred to many organisers.

COMPLETELY agree!!!

This isn't rocket science is it!

 

[AlanT]

And twice as much parking!!!

 

[PaulDG]

And twice as much parking!!!

Why? The same number of players and their parents will be present in total - just not all at the same time. So the parking at the changeover will be no worse than the parking all day at a "conventional" tournament.

 

[Dixie]

Why? The same number of players and their parents will be present in total - just not all at the same time. So the parking at the changeover will be no worse than the parking all day at a "conventional" tournament.

And for those of us whose clubs are on public land, and the car parks are pay & display, each parent will pay half the charge they otherwise would, being there for only half the time.

 

[Phil E]

...............and changed the online continuum (and download) without letting anybody know. The RFU Handbook 2008/9 still has the previous version of the continuum, no addendum has been received (by me anyway, who bought a copy from the RFU website). Have Society Chairmen received an addendum to page 444?

I emailed 3 departments in the contacts page of the RFU website about the lack of information that the continuum had been changed.

Guess what, 2 bounced back as not in existence, the other failed to reply. No flipping surprise there then :wait:

Ed still says he is back in February.