State HS Organizations Under Pressure to be Election Compliant

01.02.2025HS Boys, HS Girls

Look for several Youth & High School State Rugby Organizations (SROs) to undergo some critical changes this January as USA Youth & High School takes a closer look at their governance models.

As GRR outlined in this article from 2022—Comparing HS Rugby Player Dues State-to-State—how different SROs are run can vary by quite a bit. We even saw a major shift in the state that kicked off the move to professionalize SRO administrators, Oregon, which has gone to a pared-down model that relies more on volunteers.

Dues levels vary greatly, too, with per-player dues to play fall 7s and spring 15s topping $250 or more, while other states charge $25 per play and are still able to stage state playoffs and run rugby intro initiatives.

But all of those differences are supposed to be approved through a democratic process. It's not that all member teams should vote on everything, but they should vote on the board that makes those decisions, and that's where some SROs are failing.

It’s a World Rugby Rule

World Rugby’s by-laws include a clause that says that any member governing organization should have open elections for boards. Here is the exact language of by-law 6.E:

Member Unions must ensure that elections to their governing body(ies) take place pursuant to a free and independent democratic process which conforms with applicable national legislation and the requirements of the Common Association Constitution.

SROs formed before this by-law was codified sometimes have their own by-laws that contradict this. They have a process whereby, for example, the existing board votes on who is on the board for the next term. That of course makes it very difficult for new nominees to get on the board, and almost impossible to effect change if the current board is doing something the members are unhappy with.

USAY&HS has been working with some SROs to change their by-laws, and in many cases the response has been “Oh, we didn’t know that. OK, we’ll change it.”

New by-laws in Rugby Hawai’i resulted in a completely new board, but the re-election of the incumbent SRO president.

No Taxation Without Representation

“Every member union signs up to World Rugby’s requirements, and SROs sign a document with USA Youth & High School saying they will abide by those requirements,” said USA&HS President David Pool. “This has existed since 2020, but also it makes sense to the members—America is a democratic country.”

There have been disputes between SRO membership and SRO leadership, and Pool said that very often when his organization hears about those disputes, it’s because there’s a deeper issue. And often that deeper issue is a lack of true membership representation.

“No taxation without representation” resonates with member teams, said Pool.

“When we have disputes, it’s usually because SROs are operating the old way, with a board that reappoints itself, or has control over appointing new members. Clubs feel they are being imposed upon and they feel that if they want to make a change, they can’t.”

“I Went Back to Ohio …”

And this brings us to Rugby Ohio.

[GRR Editor Alex Goff is an assistant coach to the freshmen at St. Ignatius HS in Cleveland, Ohio. As such he has been familiar with this specific dispute for some time, but is not involved in supporting or attacking either side]

The crux of the Rugby Ohio issue is that a significant majority of member clubs want to make some changes. The changes include how Rugby Ohio is organized, the dues level, championships, and some scheduling issues, as well. But the key point is they don’t feel they can put forward any changes because Rugby Ohio is, according to USAYHS, not in compliance with World Rugby By-Law 6. E (quoted above).

A recent member survey put out by Rugby Ohio’s leadership asked for nominations to the Board, but did not address how they are elected. That’s because there is no member-wide election.

A New SRO?

It’s been slow going to get Rugby Ohio’s leadership to make changes, and as a result there is a movement afoot to create a new SRO to replace Rugby Ohio. This is being spearheaded by Mark Weidner, Head Coach at St. Xavier in Cincinnati. Weidner told GRR he has well over 70% of member teams in support of the new group, and added that the whole idea is to have free and open board elections, and to bring in those who have had success in aspects of the game (grassroots recruitment, elite-level play, governance) to use their expertise.

But is it really that straightforward? Certainly the formation of a new organization shows evidence of passion and intent. But there’s more to consider.

“This isn’t me going off as a rogue person, half-cocked, without any guidance,” he said. “Because of all of the delays, we are on a parallel path of setting up the board of this new SRO called ‘Ohio Youth and High School Rugby’ so that everything will be in place for governance of this upcoming spring season. Our by-laws are in compliance with USA Youth & HS and USA Rugby. If Rugby Ohio has free and open elections immediately, that is our preference, but we have reservations; it won't be that easy.”

While the current Rugby Ohio has appeared to drag its feet (that survey they sent out was requested by Weidner’s group but was late and didn’t address issues the disputing clubs wanted to address), it is in talks with USAYHS through attorney Mike Coyne (a co-founder of the Cleveland Rovers club and a Rugby Ohio boardmember). And reports are that there is to be a hearing on or around January 9 wherein Rugby Ohio needs to commit to having board elections very soon.

Until then, Weidner told GRR that he doesn’t think Rugby Ohio’s board should make any major commitments or decisions, because open Board elections need to be held first.

“The issues with Rugby Ohio have been ongoing for many years, and people have been talking about changing Rugby Ohio but no one has done anything,” said Weidner. “I wanted to make a change, but I wanted to make sure it was a view that was supported statewide. It took time to get the collaboration, but most schools and clubs were on board immediately, while others were on board with the reservations that they wanted to be supported by USA Rugby.

“Once we had the support, we approached Rugby Ohio about having free election voted on by the schools and clubs. They offered me a position on the board, and I refused and reiterated my position, that we need free and open elections for the board immediately. Nothing short of that will be accepted.”

Offering Weidner a spot on the board is exactly the problem, Weidner said. It’s not about him; it’s about the process.

What Happens if RO Doesn’t Change?

And if Rugby Ohio does not change how they fill their board? There are a series of legal hoops to jump through, but there is a scenario where Rugby Ohio could be stripped of its status as the USAYHS-approved SRO for Ohio. Pool said that, with the exception of California, every state has just one SRO. Separate SRO-looking organizations (Cascade in the Pacific Northwest) are really subsidiary organizations working under and in conjunction with the oversight SROs.

So there can be only one.

“I am hopeful to get a resolution,” said Pool. “My preference always is to reach common ground, and everyone has to have a flexible approach. But we need to resolve the by-laws and have elections for the board.”

But if things don’t change, in Ohio, at least, there seems to be a vocal and enthusiastic group ready to drive change. And it’s likely they might inspire other groups to drive this chance.

Ohio isn’t the only SRO that needs to open up its election and decision-making process. Interestingly, a significant proportion of those SROs not in compliance with World Rugby are also some of the states with the highest per-player dues and most entrenched professional administrators. USAYHS is talking to the other SROs; some are changing immediately, while others might be circling the wagons.

January 9 looms large for all of them.