How to start a Rugby Team

Introduction:
We are going to cover the basics of what we did to get our team started. While we do cover the process we went through to get our tax-exempt status, This is not tax advice nor legal advice. We are not tax people. We don’t know how to do taxes.

We could have paid an accountant to do this. We just didn’t. We struggled through and did it by reading IRS .pdfs, calling the IRS many many times, and calling accountant friends to walk us through the process. Our accountant friends don’t answer our calls anymore. You should make some accountant friends and annoy them as well.

This document is just what we did (as far as we remember) and it worked.
If there’s anything you find on this document to be wrong, let us know what has changed and why.
This way the next rugby team will have an even smoother ride. Thats what this is all about.

Good luck.
We hope to see you on the pitch.

INITIAL ITEMS TO SECURE FOR CREATING A HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY TEAM

This is what we had to do to start our club at our highschool. Yours may be different but regardless, the place to start is with your schools Athletic Director. Be kind to your Athletic Director. They have a ton on their plate and are being pulled in a thousand directions. You need their help and information so make friends with them early. Some may have never seen or know anything about Rugby. Be ready to inform them quickly, Include them in your plans, and help them as much as you can so they can help you most efficiently.

  1. Talk to the Athletic Director of your school …NOW
    I realize I said this already, but that’s how important this is. They have the keys that you need to get this started and the road map to make it official. We are just showing you some shortcuts that we found.

  2. Understanding Rugby -
    and getting parents and potential players to also understand rugby.
    You’re most likely going to start with 7s and we made a little pamphlet called RUGBY 101.
    Its on standard letter-sized paper so you can just print a bunch out on any printer and hand them out. Leave them with people, leave them at stores and wherever.
    The more people that have this, and gain an interest in the sport, the better.

  3. START RAISING MONEY …NOW
    we made a simple shirt and a bunch of stickers - We gave them to potential players and sold them to anyone who would buy them. You are most likely the first rugby team ever in your area and chances are, people will want to support that effort - plus rugby is cool.

    We teamed up with CommonWealth Press - they set up a store for us online and helped spearhead the fundraising part. They are rugby-friendly so reach out to them because they will absolutely help you get this part moving.

  4. Proof of not-for-profit status
    You will most likely need to create a 501c3 non profit for your team. If so, this is a bit involved but don’t sweat it too much. We outlined exactly what we did, step-by-step, so you can do it too. this is our “HOW TO START A 501c3” step-by-step guide for a high school team. click here and have at it.

  5. Articles of organization and bylaws of parental Board of Control
    Again, this is something we had to do and have included a PDF file below for you to use as a template to create your own Organizing Document.

  6. Act 34, 151 and FBI Clearances for all coaches
    This is pretty standard. Most schools will have a link for volunteer and coach clearances.
    Act34 - submit new record check here: https://epatch.pa.gov/TandCRce
    FBI clearance - can be secured via “identigo” - https://uenroll.identogo.com/

  7. All additional rules and regulations for participation / Ask about any other clearances or requirements that your school may require

  8. Register your team/players/coaches with https://www.rugbypa.org/

    This is our Pennsylvania governing body, with incredible resources and information on how to start up, and maintain your program!

All teams must have at least ONE L200 certified coach through USA Rugby | USA Rugby. It’s also not uncommon to have to take some courses on concussion training, cardiac impact, first aid, and CPR.

It sounds like a lot, but most of these are readily available online and locally.

We’ve all had to do them too, so feel free to ask any local coach for some guidance.

This is a template we created as an example of an Organizing Document.

It is a PDF file.

Please download it and create a similar document with your information included.