The Berks County Rugby Club has decided not to run a high school 7s tournament this coming weekend after all.

The decision came after Rugby Pennsylvania sent the club a strongly-worded note saying they didn't want the tournament to be held. Rugby PA also had issues with the tournament's waiver, which tournament director Greg Stelluti changed as a result, but the other issues were too big to overcome. In a statement, Berks County Rugby said:

"Berks County Rugby leadership (8 Level 200 and 2 level 100 coaches with certifications and background checks) has made the difficult decision not to host a tournament on Aug. 9th. We have worked hard to follow the guidelines of reopening as issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this tournament was to provide our athletes with the opportunity to play in front of college scouts, many of which had planned to attend. It is unfortunate that the statement issued by PA Rugby is misleading and has caused unnecessary confusion amongst the players, parents, and other participating teams.  We hope to reschedule at a later date to provide the young athletes with the play time, coaching, competition and access to college scouts that will support their future college endeavors. We look forward to getting back on the pitch soon."

The mention of the coaching level of those involved is a direct response to Rugby PA's public statement today, which stated the organization had no assurances that the coaches involved had any sort of training. This was clearly an attempt by Rugby PA to distance itself from the tournament, but also came off as somewhat mean-spirited as it wouldn't have been that hard to verify who the coaches would be. Rugby PA made a couple of other insinuations (such as saying "Rugby PA cannot say that any adult present for this tournament - including coaches or referees - have been subjected to any form of criminal or child abuse background checks" and saying "There is no disciplinary mechanism in place to enforce sanctions against athletes who commit foul play, or coaches or spectators who commit referee abuse, during the unsanctioned tournament."). Those statements are what Berks County said caused "unnecessary confusion."

In the end, this episode points out some of the difficulties clubs and organizations may face in trying to get back on the field. Everyone, it seems, will have to agree on return to play, and while other sports might be active in a region (in Pennsylvania there are some athletic competitions going on), that doesn't automatically mean the oversight organization in a state or region will agree. At the same time, State Governing Bodies will be under scrutiny to actually follow the protocols they espouse, and if the boxes are checked, then it might be time to start playing again, albeit with correct precautions.