Operational Procedures
Eligibility
Club Eligibility
Member Clubs must comply with the following criteria to be a member in good standing and remain eligible to play in a FRU League match, FRU Championship, (see Appendix B for FRU definitions), or a USA Rugby Playoff or Championship.
1. FRU Club Application: a club must apply and be formally approved as a member club by the FRU Board. (Form to be completed)
2. USA Rugby Club Registration: Complete annually after September 1 in order to be eligible for matches and referee assignments
3. Player Registration: Encourage club members to register as a player after USA Rugby Club Registration has been completed.
4. Good Standing: a Club must be in good standing with the FRU, and USA Rugby. Good standing implies that the club has registered with USA Rugby, has no outstanding disciplinary actions, dues, fines, assessments, and/or other debts to the FRU, and USA Rugby.
- Other Standards: a Club must meet all other standards currently required or that may be imposed by the FRU, and USA Rugby.
- In addition to being ineligible for FRU League and Championship matches, an ineligible club may not participate in any official FRU Meeting.
- It is a violation of the FRU Disciplinary Code for a club to knowingly violate any of the above listed eligibility criteria. Such violations may result in fines and /or sanctions for the offending club.
Player Eligibility
As the National Governing Body, USA Rugby has the sole right to establish minimum rules under which the game is played in the United States. The rules for the players and club eligibility, use of logos, uniforms and equipment as contained in the “USA Rugby Eligibility Rules” (published on the USA Rugby website: http://usarugby.org/club-eligibility) apply to any match in which in any way leads to any USA Rugby Championship. These are the minimum guidelines, which must be applied by all Geographic Unions.
All Players must be in good standing with applicable governing bodies including their Club, the FRU, and USA Rugby in order to participate in National Championships and all events leading up to the Championships.
Challenges to Eligibility
The FRU handles eligibility and any challenges shall be sent to: admin@floridarugby.org
Competitions
Master Schedule
Scheduling for the FRU and FCC XVs season generally begins in late summer after Senior 7s competition has been completed. Each divisional league match schedule should be completed at least 90 days prior to the beginning of league play. Teams within the respective divisions will be allowed to review the schedule and recommend changes for a period of two weeks. After the two week review period the schedule will be considered final. Any schedule changes requested by a team after the schedule has been finalized will be made at the discretion of the FRU. Division VPs are encouraged to reach out to the member teams prior to producing the schedule to incorporate any potential requested block out dates. However, there are no guarantees that these requests will be honored. The club match secretary should work closely with their respective FRU Division VP to ensure the league scheduling process goes smoothly.
Makeup Weekends
Generally makeup weekends are included in the schedule and may include holiday weekends and the two weekends before playoffs. We urge clubs to leave these weekends open as long as possible to use for matches that needed to be rescheduled due to inclement weather or other issues.
Who’s the Ref (WTR)
The union utilizes Who’s the Ref (WTR) software to manage the referee master schedule.
- Register new account – Use of the software requires registration by email address. Upon registration, an administrator will verify your account details and associate your account with a club if desired.
- Verify Team Contacts – Recommend all club officers are included, but at a minimum must have a primary contact. Make sure this is up to date as this is how other teams and referees will contact you.
- FRU Calendar – Public master schedule; we do recommend club officers logon to WTR to see pending referee assignments.
Match Add/Changes
If changes to the master schedule need to be made, use the match change form to request match changes. Likewise, if a friendly or new match needs to be added, use the same form. Do note that changes/adds under 14 days will have a $50 fee assessed as this puts a strain on referee schedules and resources.
The union is also happy to place your tournament on the master calendar, use the Event Form. If requesting referee services, we ask that you request your event be added at least 30 days in advance.
Match Confirmation
Clubs are required to confirm match details with the referee team and their opponents by Wednesday at 10pm. If such notification doesn’t occur, referees and clubs are instructed to NOT attend the match on the weekend and the match will need to be rescheduled.
Competition Management System
All matches will be tracked using the USA Rugby Competition Management System (USARCMS) in Rugby Xplorer (RX) or the Rugby Match Day App (available for free in Apple or Google stores). Along with verifying players are registered, the software also tabulates standings that help finalize Championships.
1. Pre Roster – By 7pm on Friday night before the match, clubs must enter their preliminary match roster on the CMS website. Before kickoff of the match, both teams must provide a copy of that roster to an opposition representative. Any changes to the actual game-day roster, including potential reserves, must be indicated on the preliminary roster submitted to the opposition. The preliminary roster will indicate name, Registration #, position, jersey number, front-row eligibility, and citizenship/eligibility.
2. CMS Administrator – Establish a CMS administrator for each competitive season.
3. Post Match – After the match both clubs shall edit (if needed) the preliminary match roster on the CMS website. Teams shall enter all appropriate match information for their club in the post-match report before Monday at 5pm. Matches will be locked after 5pm each Monday. CMS must include:
1. Final match roster
2. Scores: type, time, and player
3. Substitutions: type, time, and player 4. Disciplinary action: yellow or red cards
CMS entries will be locked on Mondays at 5pm. Teams can request matches to be unlocked for a $25 fee. CMS data is the cornerstone of our competitions and helps determine overall standings and representatives at playoffs and Championships. Further, the locking of matches prevents teams from altering match data after the fact, and is a built-in safeguard to the system.
Fines
Failure to comply with any or all of the above requirements or refusal to provide the required information is sufficient grounds for sanctions for the offending club including match forfeiture, disqualification, and/or monetary fines. Recommended fines shall be as follows:
- First offense is written warning
- Second offense is $50 fine
- Third offense is $100 fine
Further infractions shall be sent to FRU Disciplinary Committee as appropriate.
Overtime Policy
The FRU adheres to the updated USA Rugby Overtime Policy; it is also referred to as Extra Time in some cases.
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams within a given league are tied based on league points after the completion of league play, the following tiebreaker system will prevail. If there are three or more teams tied based on league points as each team is eliminated by the tiebreaker rules, the remaining teams will restart the tiebreaker at #1 until there is only one team left.
1. League Match Forfeit: If a tied team based on league points has forfeited a game that team is eliminated.
2. Head to Head competition between the tied teams
3. Point Differential
a. When a league plays a home and away schedule, total points scored minus total points allowed using only the games between teams still tied in the calculation b. When a league doesn’t play a home and away schedule, total points scored minus total points allowed using all the games played in pool play, not just games between the tied teams. If any team forfeited to any of the tied teams during league play, the matches involving that team (the team that forfeited) are not included in calculating the point differential for any of the still tied teams.
4. Most points scored for the still tied teams
a. If a still tied team has won a game by forfeit during the season, that game will not be used in the calculation of total points.
Field Policies
The below safety guidelines are for teams and tournaments and are supplied to ensure player and participant welfare in and around sanctioned events.
Technical Zones
Technical zones will be used at ALL matches or tournament events. These are in addition to all other normal field policies. All coaches, players, medics, etc., will remain behind the ropes and in their technical zone. Effectively the entire technical zone will now be behind ropes where the “team bench” was previously. Individuals (including coaches) are no longer permitted to stand in front of the ropes.
The Technical zone (TZ) is defined as space in front of the rope/barrier between the 10m line and 22m line. The technical zone will consist of three separate areas: a Team 1 box, an administrative area and a Team 2 box. These technical zones will be painted/roped/coned on the field along with the field of play markings by the home team.
Please see the updated technical diagram below for further clarification:
Abuse Occurrence
Abuse from a Club
Should any Referee Abuse occur, the Match Official witnessing the Referee Abuse will notify the offending coach, player or administrator that they are under warning. If the warning is not heeded and Referee Abuse persists, the Match Official will recommend to the center referee that the offending party be told to remove themselves from the venue.
If the offending party doesn’t leave as requested by the Center Referee, further escalation could include the center referee recommending a Sanction.
Abuse from Spectators
Should any spectator engage in Referee Abuse, the Match Official witnessing the Referee Abuse will recommend the center referee stop the match, notify both teams, and request their coaches address the situation with their spectators. If the warning is not heeded and Referee Abuse persists, the offending spectator(s) will be asked by the Match Official who witnessed the Referee Abuse to remove themselves from the venue.
If the offending spectator doesn’t leave as requested by the Match Official, further escalation could include the center referee recommending a Sanction.
Reporting Abuse
Should any abuse occur, it should immediately be reported to the FRU Disciplinary Committee for review. If the DC finds the report to be accurate, a Sanction will be imposed.
Sanctions
Fines
Upon a report of Referee Abuse from the center referee, the FRU DC may assess fines and suspensions on coaches, players, clubs and administrators. The baseline fine and suspension structure is:
- 1st offense: $200 and suspension minimum of one game
- 2nd offense: $400 and suspension minimum of two games
- 3rd offense: $600 and suspension minimum of three games
The fines and suspensions detailed above are minimums. The FRU DC may also see fit to apply additional sanctions such as a player or coach being suspended from multiple matches, requirements of responsible individuals to take referee certification course, etc. Decisions of the DC are appealable to the FRU Board.
Competitive Sanctions
In addition to the FRU DC reviewing the report, the FRU DC reserves the right to review the report and recommend competitive sanctions, including but not limited to the forfeiture of the match in question, and/or docking of competitive points, if deemed necessary to deter future Referee Abuse. Decisions of the FRU DC are appealable as set forth in USA Rugby Eligibility Rules, and its successor provisions in future Competitive Cycles.
Referee Abandonment of Match
The referee will commence the match only if all safety guidelines are met, and may abandon the match if any of these guidelines are breached.
2. The referee will abandon the match if any match official (referee, touch judge or other assigned official) is threatened verbally or physically.
3. Before abandoning a match, the referee will meet with the team captains to explain why this action is being taken.
4. A team is responsible for the abandonment and will be liable for all match fees.
Definitions
“Match Official” means the center referee, any Assistant Referee (AR), any member of the FRU Board, any #4 appointed by the FRRA, and/or any Field Marshal, charged with policing abuse of the referees.
“Referee Abuse” – For the purpose of this policy, abuse may be any conduct that falls under World Rugby Law 9, subsections 12, 27, and 28, governing verbal and physical abuse, acts contrary to good sportsmanship, and respecting the authority of the referee. However, the scope of this policy expressly extends this standard beyond participating players to include coaches, administrators, player reserves, medics, photographers, or other persons allowed inside the playing enclosure or technical zones. In order for an act to be considered foul play under Law 9 and World Rugby Regulation 17, the action must be intentional/deliberate or reckless.
It also includes, but is not limited to: (A) any intentional, but nonconsensual, contact with any Match Official; (B) verbal and nonverbal communication which contains foul or abusive language or which implies or directly threatens physical harm to any Match Official; (C) any threat or damage to a Match Official’s person or personal property; (D) questioning calls during ongoing match play, whether to the center referee or to an AR, as opposed to the head coach or captain (only) politely posing questions to the center referee (a captain may politely speak to a match official during a match; a coach may only speak to a match official in a polite manner before the match, at half time, and after the match); (E) after being warned as provided in this rule, any failure of any player, coach, administrator, support personnel, or fan to immediately leave the venue on the request of any Match Official; (F) repeated instances of dissent (as defined in the World Rugby Laws); (G) gyrating actions and/or kicking or throwing objects in response to the center referee’s or an AR’s call, non-call, or other action in officiating the match.
Additional Field Policies
1. The home club must provide a properly marked field for all matches in accordance with the Laws of the Game and published guidelines of the FRU. Recommended playing surface should be grass or World Rugby Regulation 22 certified turf. Fields should be free of debris such as glass, protrusions, divots, etc.
2. Sideline barriers or ropes are required a minimum 5m off the touchline on both sides of the field, Try line to Try line; dead ball line to dead ball line.
3. Teams, staff and players of both teams will be on the opposite side of spectators, separated at the 50m and will remain in their respective technical area.
- No more than 2 coaches are allowed in the technical zone
- Coaches, players and reserves may not leave their own TZ
- Team benches should also be between the 10m line and 22m line and can be inside or behind the TZ
- #4 (Fourth Official) or Match Manager (data tracker) occupies the space between the 10m lines (Administrative Area)
1. Chairs may be set up in the Administrative Area for disciplinary/sin bin purposes - If a team has extenuating circumstances that doesn’t allow for teams to be on the opposite side of spectators, they may request a waiver from the FRU. If a waiver is granted it will be specific to the particular playing venue and may need to be updated by the requesting club periodically.
4. Teams may have up to two medical professionals “in front of the rope”
- Medical personnel should always introduce themselves to the match official(s) before the match begins
- Medical professionals may roam either sideline and are not confined to the TZ
- Second medical professional must be across from first medical professional on opposite sideline
- Coaches are not allowed onto the field with medical personnel unless explicitly allowed by the match official.
5. Water carriers must stay “behind the rope” unless the match official signals that they may enter the playing field
- Water carriers should endeavor to wear a top that clashes with players on the field
- Coaches may not serve as water carriers
- Coaches should not huddle with teams on the field after scores
6. All goal posts in the field of play must be padded. All field flags must be break-away.
7. The home club shall provide a sufficient number of properly inflated rugby balls, in good playing condition, so as to carry on the match without substantial delay.
Waiver Request
The FRU understands that not all clubs will be able to comply with these new requirements due to field space or limitations with their facility. Clubs can submit a waiver request to admin@floridarugby.org.
The FRU Board will review each waiver request and let teams know if they are granted. We would recommend including as much detail and supporting documentation as possible.
Fines
Failure to meet the minimum required field policies will be tracked on a rolling twelve (12) month basis with the following sanctions:
- First Offense: $50 fine
- Second Offense $100 fine and issue will be referred to FRU Board for further sanction.
- Third Offense: $150 fine and issue will be referred to FRU Board for further sanction.
Further infractions shall be sent to the FRU Disciplinary Committee or FRU board as appropriate.
The following procedures should be followed on game day and/or in the case of a citing:
- Both coaches should review the assigned team areas at least 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
- If both coaches cannot agree to a suitable resolution, the respective coaches must notify the referee before kickoff.
- Coaches can NOT agree to waive the stated policy requirements by mutual consent.
- Primary reporting of the Field Barrier Policy shall continue to be made via Referee Match Reports.
- The FRU Administrator and Divisional VPs will review all match reports and notify the respective clubs within 48 hours or as is reasonable.
- Appeals shall be submitted to the FRU Board within 48 hours of notification or as is reasonable.
- Fines shall be due and payable within 10 business days of notification by the FRU.
Forfeiture of Matches
The FRU reviews forfeitures of matches and will assess if the below fines should be applied If a team believes they will not be able to fulfill a match they are required to notify the below individuals by Wednesday at 5pm.
- The applicable Divisional VP(s) or FRU Board member(s);
- The FRU Administrator;
- The FRRA referees appointments officer;
- The Referee and any ARs assigned to the match; and
- The opposition club contact and/or match secretary.
If notifications are not sent or don’t include the right individuals the below fees can be assessed:
Non Played Forfeits
- 1st offense: $150 plus referee costs; $150 to club, rest goes to cover referee fees
- 2nd offense: $300 plus referee costs; $200 to opponent, rest goes to cover referee fees
Further infractions will be sent to FRU Disciplinary Committee as appropriate.
Played Forfeits
For a match to be considered a played forfeit it must include at least 12 players a side and at least 60 minutes of rugby. This could include guest players from other teams but they must be of age for senior rugby and registered.
The above notification policy is required for a played forfeit as well, notifications must be sent by Wednesday at 5pm. Upon notification of a played forfeit, referees will be provided as available:
- 1st offense is written warning
- 2nd offense team President must be present at next FRU board call to explain how their team will remedy situation
- 3rd offense is $150 plus referee costs; $150 to club, rest goes to cover referee fees
Further infractions shall be sent to FRU Disciplinary Committee as appropriate. Failure to comply with any of the above requirements or refusal to provide the required information is grounds for sanctions for the offending club.
Note that cancellations due to weather also require the above notification or sanctions may be levied as well.
Risk & Safety
Please review our Risk & Safety Policy which includes measures for early notification of matches postponed due to severe weather, ‘Match Played’ & Weather Cancellation Policy, Safety Guidelines and our lightning policy.
Uniform & Equipment Guidelines
The FRU, following USA Rugby guidelines, shall conform to World Rugby Law 4 on uniforms and equipment. The FRU reserves the right to apply any further restrictions at any time.
Advertising & Logo Guidelines
The FRU, following USA Rugby guidelines, shall conform to World Rugby regulations on advertisers and manufacturer’s logos, and further restrictions implemented by the FRU or USA Rugby may apply.
Select Side Guidelines
The Division VPs shall coordinate the provision of coaching, managing, training, selection, and match scheduling for representative sides for the Union.
Each participating player must be a member of a FRU sanctioned club and be in good standing with their Club, FRU, and USA Rugby.
Disciplinary Regulations & Procedures
When a player receives a red card or two yellow cards in a match, the referee will submit a report by 5pm on the Monday following the match (or 5pm on the day two days after the match). A player who receives a red card is entitled to have a hearing (which are conducted by Zoom/Google Meets, or similar technology). A player is suspended from any further play until a hearing can be held, or a ruling is submitted. If your player has gotten a red card that they CANNOT play until you are able to secure a hearing and/or ruling with the discipline committee.
The player is provided 2 options for a hearing:
1. A one person hearing with a trained Community Judicial Officer (CJO) that is scheduled with the offending player, the CJO, and interested parties such as club coach or club president
2. A panel of 3 members from the disciplinary committee (DC), these hearings are held starting around 6:30 PM on Wednesdays and the offending player is encouraged to attend and may bring a representative if desired.
Prior to the hearing, the player is provided with a copy of the referee report and any other evidence that is being reviewed (e.g. video, additional statements). The player should provide any evidence they may wish to submit (including other video of the incident) at least an hour prior to the hearing.
Items for clubs to consider when preparing for the hearing include the standard sanctions which are applied to all levels of play by world rugby so they may understand potential sanctions for the red card. World Rugby Regulation 17 can be found at this link. This includes information on mitigating and aggravating factors that are considered by the committee. Unless determined by the CJO/DC otherwise, the entry point for consideration of most red cards issued is a mid-range offense.
The hearing is composed of 2 parts. The first is for the CJO/DC to determine if the incident was a red card offense. If it is deemed to have met the red card test, the second step is to determine the appropriate sanction. Players should be ready to discuss their disciplinary history (if any) and provide their upcoming schedule.
If we receive no response from the club in terms of how to get in touch with the player OR the club does not respond to us in order to set up the hearing:
● The CJO (or committee) will rule on the matter usually within 1 day of the hearing. The rulings and all communications from the CJO/DC will be sent the President or Coach whose information is on file and published with the FRU on the contact page of the website.
● World Rugby Head Contact Protocol can be found at this link, as may be updated from time to time.
● Teams who believe that an act of foul play that warranted a red card occurred during a match and was given a red card by the referee may seek a team citing. The team citing MUST be submitted by 5pm on the Monday following the match (or 5pm two days after the match date) and MUST include the following:
- A description of the incident, including the player’s numbers for each player involved, the foul play law violated, the result of the foul play and other relevant details.
- Match video of the incident, which must include at least 1 minute prior to the incident and 1 minute after the incident and should not exceed three (3) minutes in total length, absent good reason. The full match video is sufficient, provided a specific time stamp of the incident is provided.
Failure to follow the above procedure by the time required is grounds for dismissal of the team citing. A team citing that is properly and timely received will be reviewed by a trained citing commissioner or trained community judicial officer (which will not be the same CJO if the matter proceeds).
A player subject to a team citing is NOT provisionally suspended unless such citing is then issued as a citing complaint by a certified citing commissioner after the initial review.
The FRU may, at any time, institute a fee, not to exceed $100, that will be required to submit a team citing and will be refunded if the citing was found to have been made in good faith, even if such citing is not upheld.
Actions other than by players on the field of play that are subject to a sending off (red card or citing) may be considered misconduct, and may be reported by the referee, other coach/players,
or other interested persons and such actions will be investigated following Regulation 18. All clubs, players, administrators or others involved in the game are required to cooperate with any investigation of misconduct and failure to provide cooperation may itself be grounds for a misconduct complaint.
This is an overview of the discipline process and does not supersede any of the core principles that are outlined by the by-laws or World Rugby. The following was written to simplify and summarize World Rugby Regulations 17, 18 and 20 and the FRU proceedings and likely relevant timelines.
However, Procedures or proceedings under Regulation 17 and/or Regulation 18 or any decision of a Disciplinary Committee, Judicial Officer, Appeal Committee or Appeal Officer shall not be quashed or held invalid by reason only of any defect, irregularity, omission or other technicality unless such defect, irregularity, omission or technicality raises a material doubt as to the reliability of the findings or decisions of a Disciplinary Committee, Judicial Officer, Appeal Committee or Appeal Officer or results in a miscarriage of justice. (17.30.2). This means if the referee is late to file a report or the information is not processed within certain timelines, this is not grounds for dismissal or appeal.
Discipline section of by-laws adopted November 2018:
No later than fifteen (15) days after the Annual General Meeting, the President shall nominate the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee (“D/C Chair”), who is subject to confirmation by a simple majority of the Executive Committee. (Pending the approval of any nominee, the incumbent D/C Chair shall continue to serve.) It is preferred that the D/C Chair be a currently licensed attorney.
No later than fifteen (15) days after her confirmation, the D/C Chair shall nominate a panel of at least five (5), but no more than ten (10) people to serve on the “D/C Panel,’ which is the group of individuals from which the members of a particular “Disciplinary Committee” that will consider particular disciplinary matters shall be drawn. Nominees to the D/C Panel are subject to confirmation by a simple majority of the Executive Committee, which may confirm or reject any or all of the nominees. If member clubs are playing matches at any point in time when there are not five (5) members of the D/C Panel, including the D/C Chair, the President shall appoint a sufficient number of individuals to D/C Panel on a temporary basis so that there are five (5) members of the D/C Panel, including the D/C Chair.
As members of the D/C Panel are nominated and confirmed by the Executive Committee, no later than fifteen (15) days after the Annual General Meeting, the President shall nominate the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee (“D/C Chair”), who is subject to confirmation by a simple majority of the Executive Committee. (Pending the approval of any nominee, the incumbent D/C Chair shall continue to serve.) It is preferred that the D/C Chair be a currently licensed attorney. No later than fifteen (15) days after her confirmation, the D/C Chair shall nominate a panel of at least five (5),
but no more than ten (10) people to serve on the “D/C Panel,’ which is the group of individuals from which the members of a particular “Disciplinary Committee” that will consider particular disciplinary matters shall be drawn.
Nominees to the D/C Panel are subject to confirmation by a simple majority of the Executive Committee, which may confirm or reject any or all of the nominees. If member clubs are playing matches at any point in time when there are not five (5) members of the D/C Panel, including the D/C Chair, the President shall appoint a sufficient number of individuals to D/C Panel on a temporary basis so that there are five (5) members of the D/C Panel, including the D/C Chair.
As members of the D/C Panel are nominated and confirmed by the Executive Committee, the nominated and confirmed members shall replace the temporary members appointed by the President. Individuals appointed to the D/C Panel on a temporary basis by the President may be nominated and confirmed as regular members of the D/C Panel.
There are no particular requirements for membership on the D/C Panel, except (i) the panel members should be experienced rugby people willing to fulfill the duties of membership on the D/C, (ii) in addition to the D/C Chair, one (1) of the other panel members should (but need not) be a licensed attorney so that such person may act as the temporary chair of the D/C when the D/C Chair is not available to serve as chair in accordance with these By-Laws. No person shall serve on the D/C with respect to any match in which such person participated as a player, coach, or match official.
Grants
Member Grants
Member grants need to be applied for and will be reviewed by the FRU Board. These grants are designated for FRU members in good standing who need assistance at camps, clinics, High Performance events or certification courses as players and coaches.
Club Playoff Grants
Clubs that move past league play on to the USA Rugby XVs National Championships, USA Rugby 7s National Championships or equivalent will receive automatic grants. These will only be allocated for out of Union play.
XVs & 7s
$500 will be allocated per team per round of playoff play up to the championship final. $1000 will be allocated per team that participates in the championship game. Maximum grant is the dues paid by the club that season.
Appendix
Appendix A – Appeals
An individual or club may appeal a decision they feel is unjust. This does not apply to suspensions related to players sent off if the initial report was not addressed by the individuals or the clubs. It is recommended that where possible all appeals be accompanied by video evidence of the incident.
A written notice of appeal must be made within seventy-two hours (72) hours of receipt of the notice of suspension. The appeal notice must be sent to the FRU President and the Disciplinary Committee. The FRU President will convene the Board of Directors for review of the appeal. The Board has the power to uphold, overturn, decrease or increase the original sanction as published by the FRU Discipline Committee.
The FRU Disciplinary Committee Chair shall copy and forward all information regarding the case to the FRU President upon request. If a hearing has been requested, then the hearing date, time and place shall be determined by the FRU President and sent to each member of the FRU Board of Directors and to the appellant. Such details of the hearing shall be agreeable to all parties, subject to them not withholding such approval unreasonably. When and where possible, all correspondence may be by email.
Subsequent appeal
If applicable and warranted, the appellant shall have the ability to make subsequent appeal of prior rulings to the USA Rugby Discipline Committee. A copy of the appeal must also be sent to the President of the FRU. The FRU President shall initiate the appeal by contacting the USA Rugby Disciplinary Committee who shall be the Appeals Committee.