We want to thank the many people that made the Northern California Invitational Tournament (NCIT) and the NCYRA Championships a great success.  The NCYRA High School Committee and the NCIT Tournament Committee, led by Mateo Medrano, and the NCYRA Referee Committee, chaired by Dave Williamson, did a fantastic job.  Thanks to all the volunteers that assisted in that massive endeavor.  It was a great end-of-the-season event.
 
The results of the NCYRA Championships and the NCIT Tournament are below.  Congratulations to all the teams on their successful season.
 
NCYRA Champions and Runners-Up
·         Boys Varsity Gold:                    Granite Bay 1st Place, Islanders 2nd Place
·         Boys Varsity Single School:      Jesuit 1st Place, Dixon 2nd Place
·         Girls Varsity Gold:                     Amazons 1st Place, Danville 2nd Place
·         Boys Varsity Silver:                   Rio Linda 1st Place, Alameda 2nd Place
·         Girls Varsity Silver:                    Lancers 1st Place, Sierra 2nd Place
·         Boys Junior Varsity Gold:          Granite Bay 1st Place, Danville 2nd Place
·         Boys JV Single School:             Jesuit 1st Place, Dixon 2nd Place
·         Boys Junior Varsity Silver:         Pleasanton 1st Place, Sac Eagles 2nd Place
 
NCIT Open Divisions
·         Boys Varsity Gold:                    Sierra 1st Place, Penn Green 2nd Place
·         Boys Varsity Silver:                   Christian Brothers 1st Place, Hurricanes 2nd Place
·         Boys Junior Varsity Gold:          Penn Green 1st Place, Sierra 2nd Place
 

The NCYRA High School Playoffs and Championships and the Northern California Invitational Tournament (NCIT) are at Cherry Island Soccer Complex in Rio Linda on May 3 - 5, 2013.   With more than 45 teams competing in 10 separate Divisions, it is one of the largest youth tournaments in the country.   The winners of the NCYRA Championships will then go on to play in the California State Cup, which is being held in conjunction with the Pacific Coast All-Star Tournament (PCAT) on May 25/26, 2013, at the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club fields on beautiful Treasure Island, San Francisco.  The PCAT is one of seven approved Regional All-Star Tournaments (RAST) sanctioned by USA Rugby and there will be all-star teams from Southern California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.   

The NCYRA is at the mid-season point and things are moving fast.  The NCYRA affiliated referees received their first paychecks for the month of February.  This is a milestone for youth rugby.  Unfortunately, several of the referees have reported that they refereed additional Conference Matches but the NCYRA did not receive the Match Reports from the Home Team, therefore, they did not get paid for those matches.  It is a requirement to receive the Match Report from the Home Team in order to be paid, in addition to being simply a requirement for the Home Team, regardless of the referee issue.  Not sending in the Match Report could result in forfeitures, per the NCYRA Policies.  On another subject, the NCYRA Junior Youth End-of-the-Year Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, March 30th, in Orinda.  More than 18 Clubs and 60 Teams are registered for this event, which is under new management.  The event is sure to be a well organized venue this year.

The 2013 Season is underway and the majority of the Clubs are in compliance with the NCYRA Registration requirements.  However, there are still many Clubs that have not properly registered their players and coaches.  It is imperative that the players and coaches be properly registered.  Club Admnistrators must pay the NCYRA and USAR Annual Dues through the NCYRA Competition Management System (CMS) in order for the players to be insured under the USAR insurance policy.  The player's Photo ID and School ID must also be uploaded and then requested to be "verified".  Both the dues registration and ID verification process take several days to complete, but they are necessary in order to be properly registered.  The Home Team is then required to print the Rosters, Pictures and Match Reports, and then send/email the Rosters and Match Reports to the NCYRA within 72 hours of the match in order for the match results to be considered "official".   We look forward to a great season.

The NCYRA Club Information Forms (CIF) are on the Contract Administrator > Forms / Templates page.  This form is required annually from all Clubs as it is the only means by which the NCYRA can determine which Teams each Club has so that they will be included in the Conference Schedules, and who is the affiliated NCYRA Licensed Coach and Certified Level 1 Referee for each Team.  Without this information the NCYRA cannot properly administrate the program.  The schedules are being donwloaded on to the site over the next couple of weeks and this information is critical. Have a safe and Happy Holidays.

The NCYRA Board of Directors had their quarterly meeting on Wednesday, November 7th, in Dixon.  Many items were discussed and voted on, including, the approval of the 2013 Annual Budget and approval of all the Committee Reports.  Items to note were the Inter-Conference (Playoff) Committee report which included three important items related to the NCYRA Playoffs and certain requirements (see that Committee page on this site, under About NCYRA > Committees), the new Junior Youth Regulations, the NCYRA tournament schedule and summer planned NCYRA Golf Fundraiser, and various other items.  One important request is that all Clubs fill-out the Club Information Form immediately so that the Season Schedules can be put together.  This form can be found under Club Administrators > Forms / Templates.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the NCYRA was held on August 15th at the Lafayette Public Library.  There was a tremendous turnout, with more than 60 attendees representing more than 2/3 of the NCYRA Clubs.  The biggest issue on the agenda was the proposed player/coach annual dues increase to cover paying referees for high school and middle school matches, as well as increased administration costs and setting-a-side funds for a future Executive Director.  The debate was spirited but civil and in the end the "ayes" prevailed by a tally of 101 to 59 (each vote representing one Team) and the dues increase passed.  The related item was that the NCYRA is going to start paying Certified Referees: $50/varsity match, $40/junior varsity match and $30/middle school match.  This is an excellent incentive and will start the process of building a strong referee program and referee pool, which in turn will help improve the quality of rugby and move us closer to becoming a main stream American sport.   The Referee Certification courses will be posted on the 2013 Season Master Schedule in the next few weeks.  Thank you to all the attendees of the AGM.

The NCYRA All-Star Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity travelled to Meridian, Idaho, last weekend to play in the Great Northwest Challenge.  They proved again that NorCal Rugby is still leading the nation for both the boys and girls, as the Varsity Team were Tournament Champions, going 4 - 0, and the Junior Varsity went 3 - 1.  The NCYRA Boys Varsity and Junior Varsity All-Stars returned on Friday after their five day tour to British Columbia, Canada, where the Junior Varsity handily beat the British Columbia U-15/16 Privinicial All-Star Teams in Vancouver and Victoria.  The Varsity Team only narrowly lost 34 - 36 in their first match in Vancouver, but then came back with a vengance and played some brilliant team rugby against a strong British Columbia U-17 Provincial All-Star Team in Victoria, winning the match 46 - 36.  The tour marks the inaugural season of the Northern California / British Columbia (NC/BC) Cup Challenge, which both Associations hope to make an annual event.  The BC U-17 Team will be touring NorCal and play the Varsity squad again on July 27, and the head to the NCYRA Summer Sevens Championship Tournament on July 29. 

The NCYRA Summer Sevens Series is well under way and it has been an amazing success story.  Last summer the Series ended with 18 Teams competing in 4 Divisions.  This past weekend in Dixon there were 50 Teams competing in 11 Divisions, ranging from U-10 through Boys and Girls Varsity Gold and Silver.  We have even included a U-23 Division this year that saw four teams competing.  Sevens (Olympic) Rugby is taking off like a rocket.  You can still register for the two remaining weekends on July 8 and July 29 (Championship Weekend).  Go to the Event Registration on left side of this Home Page and register today.