Girls Tag Rugby Development Festival Yr 5/6 (Wimbledonians)

This event is in partnership with Old Wimbledonian Warriors RFC

Booking

• This is a Development Festival event.
• Schools may event on the initial booking date of:
• Monday 16th September 2024 at 5pm
• If an event is full, schools will be placed on a waiting list and be notified of this.
• MSSP will contact schools should places become available in the build-up to events.

Team Eligibility

• Age: Year 5/6.
• Girls event.   
• Mini-Games followed by 7 a-side fixtures.
• Squad size: maximum of 10, minimum of 7.

Requirements – Teamsheets

• To help us support our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion aims, all school teams must complete and submit the attached MSSP Event Entry – EDI Teamsheet in order to register for this event. We do not require the children’s names, just initials or first names are fine. This data is vital to help us improve equity and access for all. We want all Merton students to be able to represent their schools in activities they enjoy and in an environment where they feel a sense of belonging. The data you provide us will help us to review and improve our offer as we strive to achieve this.

Kit & Equipment

• All schools MUST provide their own First Aid kit along with a first aid qualified member of staff.
• Please provide own warm up balls. Match balls are provided. 
• Trainers/Astro, moulded and studded boots are allowed. No metal blades will be permitted. 
• Schools should supply all players with a ‘tag belt’ that has two ribbons (tags) attached to Velcro. The belt must be worn around the waist with all loose clothing tucked in. The tags are positioned either side of the hips. 
• Players of the same team should wear the same colour tops/bibs.
• No jewellery, baseball caps etc. It is advised that if eyewear is essential, it should be made from plastic rather than glass.

Staffing and Spectators 

• Spectators will be permitted but must remain behind touchline barrier tape at all times.
• All staff attending the event must have enhanced DBS clearance and have been fully vetted by their primary school. DBS numbers.
• Staff will be asked to keep score during the games.

Rules 

• Ball carriers can run or dodge potential taggers but cannot fend off, guard or shield their tags. 
• Players are permitted to spin away from a defender, but are NOT permitted to continuously spin. Diving to avoid being tagged is not permitted. 
• The game will commence with a Play-the-Ball, centre field. 
• If a try has not been scored after 6 tags, possession turns over to the defending team at the point of the last tag. 
• Any acts of unsporting behaviour will result in a handover to the non-offending team at the place where the incident occurred and play restarted with a Play-the-Ball. 

Play-the-Ball: 

• The ball carrier must return to the spot where the tag occurred. 
• Facing the way they are playing, the player places the ball on the ground and rolls the ball back with their foot to a team mate. 
• The team mate who gathers the ball from this position (called the Dummy half) must pass the ball from the Play-the-Ball and should not run forwards. They are able to take steps laterally to assist with passing. You cannot score from a Dummy Half. N.B Any player can be the Dummy Half and the player at Dummy Half could change at every Play-the-Ball. 
• Defence must maintain a distance of 5 metres until the Dummy Half passes the ball and must retreat 5 metres after each tag. The Dummy Half should not deliberately delay the pass and repeatedly delaying the pass intentionally may be penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct. A pass must be played within 3 seconds of the ball being made available to the dummy half. 
• If a defender does not retreat 5 metres, they will be deemed to be offside. If a tag is made from an offside position, the attacker should play the ball as normal, but the tag will not add to the tag count. Repeated or deliberate offside offences will be penalised as unsporting behaviour & the tag count reset to zero. 

Tagging: 

• Only the player in possession of the ball can be tagged. 
• A tag is simply the removal by a defender of one of two of the ribbons from the ball carrier. 
• When a defender has removed the tag, he/she stands still at the point at which the tag was removed. 
• The attacker returns to where the defender is holding the tag and restarts the game by ‘playing the ball’ backwards in the correct manner. Immediately following the ‘Play-the-Ball’, the defender must present the tag back to the tagged player. Neither the defender nor the tagged player can take any further part in the game without both tags properly in place on their belts. 

Scoring a Try: 

• A try is scored in the normal way by placing or touching the ball down on or over your opponents’ try line. 
• If tagged in the act of scoring the try will stand. 
• After a try has been scored the non scoring team will restart with a Play-the-Ball, centre field on the half way line. All other starts and restarts will also be with a Play-the-Ball whatever the situation. 

For more information on the rules of Tag Rugby, please click on the following link: https://www.englandrugby.com/participation/education/schools 

Event Format 

• Skill stations and mini-games will take place in the morning with mini matches following in the afternoon.

  Draw Format  

• School teams will rotate around a number of tag rugby based skill stations lead by sports leaders.
• Teams will be placed in like-ability groups for the afternoon set of matches.
• First stage is round robin groups. A second stage may be introduced depending on time. Final group standings will be determined from results. Winners of the groups will take top seed of their group, 2nd take 2nd seed of their group, etc. 
• All teams will progress to a second stage of competition according to their placement in the first round, with the format to be determined by the number of schools entered.  

Awards

• Awards will be dependent on the format and number of teams entered.
• There may be group winners and in that case certificates will be awarded for 1st , 2nd and 3rd Place.
• Medals and trophies will not be awarded at Development Events
• REFSPECT winners – Certificate 
• Participation certificates will be presented to all participants. 

Results 

• Results and event report will be available on the news webpage within 24 hours of the event ending. 

Winner’s Pathway 

• There is no planned pathway from this event and there may not be an overall winner. 

MSSP Duty of Care 

MSSP have a duty to take all measures that are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the health, safety, wellbeing and welfare of all participants and any other attendees involved in the relevant event. MSSP have tried to ensure that all reasonable steps have been taken in its duty of care being discharged, and to the requisite standard of care, MSSP have ensured the following guidance and actions have been adhered to and carried out: 

• That the advice of the UK Government and public health authorities has been followed 
• That the bespoke guidance and protocols issued by the relevant NGB, federation and/or umbrella organisation (if applicable) have been followed. 

Safeguarding and DBS 

MSSP acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice and the requirements of the Partnership’s host organisation, the Harris Federation. 

We recognise that the welfare and interests of children are paramount in all circumstances. We aim to ensure that regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, socio-economic background, all children and young leaders: 

• have a positive and enjoyable experience of sport or physical activity at MSSP events in a safe and child centred environment
• are protected from abuse whilst participating or officiating at MSSP events 

All MSSP staff at the event are fully vetted and enhanced DBS checked. It is the schools’ responsibility to ensure any staff and volunteers who attend the event comply with the host venue safeguarding and welfare policy and can provide documentation to support this on request.  

Spectators will not be permitted entry to school/private sports facilities and should be informed of this when letters are sent to parents. In order to safeguard children at our events, we will only allow entry to parents if they have been DBS checked and vetted through safer recruitment procedures and authorised to attend by your school. The school will maintain responsible for them at all times. At public sites such as parks we will section off an area for the public where parents that are not with the school party may spectate from. 

For more information regarding MSSP’s safeguarding, please click here 

If you have any concerns about a child at our event please make sure you say something. The MSSP safeguarding team contact details will be on display at all events or for more information on who to speak to please click here 

Please see attached Risk Assessment in the ‘Resources’ sections for event specific planning and considerations.

REFSPECT 

MSSP values the contributions by all those involved in making our events a FUN, safe and enjoyable environment for children to take part in sport. To ensure our events continue to be successful we promote our REFSPECT campaign. We expect everyone attending our events to maintain respect for the rules, officials, opponents, teammates and themselves. Only designated staff and volunteers will be allowed on the side-lines. All spectators are to remain behind the barriers, providing positive support and encouraging a fun and fair event.  

For more information about REFSPECT and codes of conduct for attendance at our events, please click here

If any staff, adults or children are deemed to be in breach of our REFSPECT codes of conduct they will be asked to leave the event and the Head Teacher of the relevant school will be informed immediately.

Photo Consent 

Photographs will be taken at this event by staff members from MSSP and may be used for promotional material. If you have any children that do not have permission to be photographed, please inform a member of staff before the start of the event. 

Please ensure your school only take photographs of their own students and do not share any photos of other children on social media without consent from that school.  

Social Media 

For information and updates from our events, please follow and use the platforms below.  

Email: info@mertonssp.org.uk

X: x.com/MertonSSP

Instagram: instagram.com/mertonssp

First Aid 

MSSP will have a basic first aid kit and qualified person at all events but will not be available to tend to less urgent first aid, as they will be delivering the event. As part of the school’s risk assessment a qualified first aider should be with the school team at all times (including travel) to tend to their children during the event.

Comments, Compliments and Complaints 

MSSP aims to deliver a first-class service to all of its stakeholders. We see all feedback, whether good or bad, as a valuable way for us to learn and improve. Therefore, we welcome all comments, compliments and complaints. For further details, please click here