ARU fee structure change for 2015

[Inside Shoulder]

Not often I read fitzy but
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...sroots-rugby-can-survive-20141210-124aim.html
The reference to double bay and clontarf is mildly amusing since neither suburb has a rugby team to my knowledge.
The game is in such a shape that people wrongly assume it's doing well in what might be considered its spiritual homes in affluent areas.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Not often I read fitzy but
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...sroots-rugby-can-survive-20141210-124aim.html
The reference to double bay and clontarf is mildly amusing since neither suburb has a rugby team to my knowledge.
The game is in such a shape that people wrongly assume it's doing well in what might be considered its spiritual homes in affluent areas.

To be fair the Double Bay/ Clontarf references aren't Fitzys but those of an unnamed club official directed at ARU:

""It seems," another writes, decrying the new registration system requiring email links and credit cards when many of his players have neither, "the ARU are moving to a more elitist game played only in the hallowed confines of Double Bay or Clontarf and couldn't give a monkey's about country grassroots rugby, which here encompasses all classes; all cultures.""

On the whole it's difficult to argue with the gist of Fitzys article & the warnings of the club officials quoted need to be taken very, very seriously.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

To be fair the Double Bay/ Clontarf references aren't Fitzys but those of an unnamed club official directed at ARU:

""It seems," another writes, decrying the new registration system requiring email links and credit cards when many of his players have neither, "the ARU are moving to a more elitist game played only in the hallowed confines of Double Bay or Clontarf and couldn't give a monkey's about country grassroots rugby, which here encompasses all classes; all cultures.""

On the whole it's difficult to argue with the gist of Fitzys article & the warnings of the club officials quoted need to be taken very, very seriously.

Yes i know.
Not arguing with it at all - my point is that people assume that places like the Eastern Suburbs are strongholds of rugby: they are not.

 

[TSR]

And that is the point. I can appreciate that the ARU is in a tough position here. The code is broke and they need to raise funds. If they do nothing the game suffers. But this change seems likely to drive significant numbers out of the game. If that does happen it will leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of a lot of long term supporters.

If the overall effect of the changes is to erode participation, I can't see how the changes can be seen as anything else but a failure. Surely some level of consultation should have occurred before making a change with such potential consequences - but I am certainly not aware of any.

 

[Quick Hands]

Not often I read fitzy but
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...sroots-rugby-can-survive-20141210-124aim.html
The reference to double bay and clontarf is mildly amusing since neither suburb has a rugby team to my knowledge.
The game is in such a shape that people wrongly assume it's doing well in what might be considered its spiritual homes in affluent areas.

He's nailed it.

The ARU have achieved the seemingly impossible under Hawker and Pulver - they've made the NSWRU look lilke a forward thinking, competent, vibrant adminstration

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Fitzy's best point, when describing AFL, is that their theory is if they play they'll pay.
This seems so obviously correct to me that it frustrates me no end that those in power cannot see it.

 

[Chris McCracken]

You're probably sick of my rants by now, but Fitzy's article brings up another one for me. My son is a pretty good player. But he wasn't always. He was (much to my dismay) an AFL kid from age 7. The reason was simple. There was no RU club in our town and the team I played for (40km away) didn't have juniors. On top of that, the local League team's acceptable behaviour was poor, at best.

The AFL ran a program with a full competition in a remote Queensland town. The kids all got a heap of gear and Jonathon Brown came to visit. It cost us $10 to register at the time. The AFL must have lost a good deal of money putting that together.

But, in return, they got about 100 kids in Boyne Island (and about the same in Gladstone) standing in their parents' loungeroom on a Saturday afternoon screaming that they need to see the Lions play NOW!

That's how you grow the support for the game. I know it's beyond the ARU at the moment, but I don't think doing the exact polar opposite is going to help matters.

On another note, the Waratahs sent the Super Rugby trophy to Parkes yesterday afternoon and a great time was had by all. I've also got to hand it to Tahman, who ran around in that suit in 42 degree heat while a massive bunch of Walla kids constantly attacked him for ages. And there was not one hint of fatigue or unwillingness until the kids had left.

More of that sort of thing might make the extra the juniors pay worth it.

 

[Quick Hands]

You're probably sick of my rants by now, but Fitzy's article brings up another one for me. My son is a pretty good player. But he wasn't always. He was (much to my dismay) an AFL kid from age 7. The reason was simple. There was no RU club in our town and the team I played for (40km away) didn't have juniors. On top of that, the local League team's acceptable behaviour was poor, at best.

The AFL ran a program with a full competition in a remote Queensland town. The kids all got a heap of gear and Jonathon Brown came to visit. It cost us $10 to register at the time. The AFL must have lost a good deal of money putting that together.

But, in return, they got about 100 kids in Boyne Island (and about the same in Gladstone) standing in their parents' loungeroom on a Saturday afternoon screaming that they need to see the Lions play NOW!

That's how you grow the support for the game. I know it's beyond the ARU at the moment, but I don't think doing the exact polar opposite is going to help matters.

On another note, the Waratahs sent the Super Rugby trophy to Parkes yesterday afternoon and a great time was had by all. I've also got to hand it to Tahman, who ran around in that suit in 42 degree heat while a massive bunch of Walla kids constantly attacked him for ages. And there was not one hint of fatigue or unwillingness until the kids had left.

More of that sort of thing might make the extra the juniors pay worth it.

Don't worry, I've been ranting on the same things for years.

It's not only the bush, there are suburbs in western Sydney where there is a 30-45 min drive for kids to get to their nearest junior rugby club - so they all play league with their mates from primary school. Israel Folau would be the most notable example of a player who had no junior rugby option as a youngster - how many of them are there out there in western Sydney, country NSW, country Qld and elsewhere throughout Australia.

Michael Cheika gets it, because he's not a GPS old boy - hence the Waratahs are now all about spreading rugby far and wide. The NSWRU move at glacial pace behind, but the penny might have dropped - to their credit they absorbed the $200 team levy in full in 2014 and haven't imposed any form of state levy.

Meanwhile, the ARU move against common sense and against what has proven to be wise policy by the AFL. They just don't get it, and with the current crew in there, I don't think they are going to get it. In their privileged enclave of Mosman juniors, Shore school and Uni colts, they might not even be aware that there is anything to get.

 

[Chris McCracken]

It's not only the bush, there are suburbs in western Sydney where there is a 30-45 min drive for kids to get to their nearest junior rugby club - so they all play league with their mates from primary school. Israel Folau would be the most notable example of a player who had no junior rugby option as a youngster - how many of them are there out there in western Sydney, country NSW, country Qld and elsewhere throughout Australia.

My view is very definitely through a Country lens. But I do appreciate it's the same for a lot of people in Sydney. I see it with the kids from the West in the boy's school rep team, as well.

Michael Cheika gets it, because he's not a GPS old boy - hence the Waratahs are now all about spreading rugby far and wide. The NSWRU move at glacial pace behind, but the penny might have dropped - to their credit they absorbed the $200 team levy in full in 2014 and haven't imposed any form of state levy.

Honestly, the NSWRU's refusal to pass on the levy last year changed my opinion of them. I had had some issues getting support from them and had often turned to the Brumbies. But that gesture made me realise there might be a different policy coming through. Even this Super Rugby Trophy tour is showing that.

Meanwhile, the ARU move against common sense and against what has proven to be wise policy by the AFL. They just don't get it, and with the current crew in there, I don't think they are going to get it. In their privileged enclave of Mosman juniors, Shore school and Uni colts, they might not even be aware that there is anything to get.

This is so very true. They have a great opportunity to show that the stereotypes can be broken and instead, they make access to the game even more difficult.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I know it's not driving your supporter/grassroots base to the wall.

 

[Braveheart81]

You're probably already doing it, but the people involved in country clubs in particular should be writing to the QRU/NSWRU/ARU about the new policies and carefully spelling out why you think it will damage your club and/or region.

The particular issue to identify from reading this thread that perhaps hasn't been thought through properly is making it very difficult for a person to give rugby a try without paying for a full season.

Maybe there can be a workaround. Maybe the ARU can add dispensation so that there a club can have a couple of spots each game for an unregistered player so that it is still a possibility without being open to abuse.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Two things:

That's how you grow the support for the game. I know it's beyond the ARU at the moment, but I don't think doing the exact polar opposite is going to help matters.

Love this ^^^^^

I've also got to hand it to Tahman,

He's my favourite Tah: his quad bike may need replacement - sponsorship pop for Honda Motorcycles ?????

 

[RugbyReg]

You're probably already doing it, but the people involved in country clubs in particular should be writing to the QRU/NSWRU/ARU about the new policies and carefully spelling out why you think it will damage your club and/or region.

The particular issue to identify from reading this thread that perhaps hasn't been thought through properly is making it very difficult for a person to give rugby a try without paying for a full season.

Maybe there can be a workaround. Maybe the ARU can add dispensation so that there a club can have a couple of spots each game for an unregistered player so that it is still a possibility without being open to abuse.

I reckon GAGR would publish on the front page any 'open letters' to the ARU etc that clubs were willing to share.

 

[Jaghond]

Not withstanding the comments on these pages about Messrs Pulver & Hawker.....(at the end of they day, they carry the can as CEO & Chairman)

But can anyone confirm whether there was a committee / working party who came up with this new policy / costs arrangement - and if so what sort of research they may have undertaken ? And whilst I don't want to know precisely who was on any committee ( if there was one) - I am certainly interested in their breadth of knowledge & understanding of what grass roots rugby is all about.

I simply can't believe that this is something dreamed up by the above individuals, no matter where they went to school, uni or whatever.

They have (anecdotally) both been successful businessmen - and what we have here is not what I would have expected from suchlike people.

The Hound

 

[TSR]

I'm guessing they may have consulted Tony Abbott's PR team.

 

[Braveheart81]

I'm guessing they may have consulted Tony Abbott's PR team.

It's not a fee increase and it's definitely not a levy or a tax.

It's a recalibration of cost allocations to improve efficiencies.

 

[Quick Hands]

Not withstanding the comments on these pages about Messrs Pulver & Hawker...(at the end of they day, they carry the can as CEO & Chairman)

But can anyone confirm whether there was a committee / working party who came up with this new policy / costs arrangement - and if so what sort of research they may have undertaken ? And whilst I don't want to know precisely who was on any committee ( if there was one) - I am certainly interested in their breadth of knowledge & understanding of what grass roots rugby is all about.

I simply can't believe that this is something dreamed up by the above individuals, no matter where they went to school, uni or whatever.

They have (anecdotally) both been successful businessmen - and what we have here is not what I would have expected from suchlike people.

The Hound

It seems to me that this levy is straight out of either Banking 101 or Corporate 101. It's all about user pays.

 

[Brendan Hume]

It seems to me that this levy is straight out of either Banking 101 or Corporate 101. It's all about user pays.

The problem is, the user isn't being told what they are paying for, not are they given an opportunity to make alternative arrangements...

 

[Braveheart81]

The problem is, the user isn't being told what they are paying for, not are they given an opportunity to make alternative arrangements.

So exactly like most bank fees then?

 

[Brendan Hume]

So exactly like most bank fees then?

We do have choice when it comes to our bank though... The only choice we have here is to whether to participate or not. Unfortunately there is a well-founded fear that the answer will be not.

 

[Chris McCracken]

So exactly like most bank fees then?

I can negotiate with the bank. Seems an odd situation when its put that way.