Youth Rugby Laws & Regulations


Southern California Youth Rugby uses the following youth rugby laws and guidelines. These are modified rugby laws have been created and implemented to make the game safe and enjoyable for youth of all ages and offer a pathway to full tackle 15 a side rugby.

Law Variations based on age group for the various tackle age groups can be downloaded below.

All teams U12 or older are required to present a completed match report to the referee PRIOR to kick-off. All players must have their CIPP prior to playing any match.

Clubs are required to use the Competition Management System to create match reports, report scores, and keep their club contact information up-to-date.

After the match, scan and E-Mail both pages of the completed Match Report to: admin@socalyouthrugby.org
or Fax to: 888-567-1294
or Mail to:
Claire Meyer - SCYR Administrator
2625 Canyon Rd
Escondido, California 92025

Contact Ray Steel if you do not have a club login ID.

Club Transfers No player can play league matches for more than one club during the competitive season. By doing so, that player becomes ineligible and makes any subsequent match played in a forfeit to the other team. Exceptions to this policy shall be approved on a case by case basis by the Southern California Youth Rugby Council.
Sportsmanship Policy A set of Sportsmanship Rules were adopted at the AGM on Sep 18 2011 that can be read here.
Age Eligibility For the current youth rugby season starting in January 2011, ages are determined by the age the player was on September 1st of the previous year.
E.g. U12 - the player was 11 or younger before Sept 1st 2010.

Age categories for boys & girls are:
U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U19, HS (enrolled in High School)
Referee Fee Schedule For the current youth rugby season starting in January 2011, referee fees are to be paid by the home team before the match.
  • $50 - U19 boys and girls
  • $40 - U16 boys
  • $30 - U14 boys
  • $25 - U12 boys
  • $25 - U16 and U14 girls (7 a side)
OLDER/LIGHTER POLICY
(Approved Nov 2009)
(Amended Oct 2010)
 As of Sep 1 of any year, a 12-year-old 80 pounds or under for the upcoming season may play U12 and a 14-year-old 100 pounds or under may play U14.

DivisionAgeWeight
U121280 lbs
U1414100 lbs

Any requests for this "Older/Lighter" waiver must be made to the appropriate Division Rep and approved by the SCYR competition committee. There will be no cutoff date for this as players are always allowed to move up and down through their club's age divisions.

A player may have had his waiver granted, but still play IN ONE MATCH (as a starter or substitution) in his regular division (U14 or U16), and then choose to "play down" (U12 or U14). However, once he has played (starter or sub) in a second match in his regular division, he is ineligible to "play down".

Example #1: Tony, D.O.B. 6/6/98, is 12 years old (as of 9/1/2010) and weighs 77 pounds. He applies for the "Older/Lighter" waiver and is granted it before the season begins. His U14 team is short players so he decides to play in their first U14 league match. The competition proves too much for him so he drops down to U12 (per his waiver).

Example #2: Frank, D.O.B. 9/2/97, is 14 years old (as of 9/1/2010) and weighs 93 pounds. He is granted an "Older/Lighter" waiver but ends up coming from off the bench into U16 league match. He only plays 5 minutes, so the next two weekends he plays in two full U14 matches (per his waiver). On the fourth weekend, his U16s are short and he ends up on reserve with them. Again he enters the match and only plays for 5 minutes. He is now INELIGIBLE to play U14s again -- his waiver is revoked.

To apply for the waiver - email competitions@socalyouthrugby.org with a copy of the player's birth certificate, weight, playing experience (years), and a full body picture of the player against a reference object (e.g. a car). Allow one week for a preliminary decision pending an official weigh-in.

Waivers will not be accepted or considered until 12/1/2010 - one month before the new season starts.

SCYR Law Variations Youth law variations can be downloaded here.
Quick Reference Guide to youth law variations can be downloaded here.
Policies and Procedures can be downloaded here.
Substitutions for U12 & U14 Boys For the 2011 season at the Boys U12 & U14 divisions, we have introduced a variation of the substitution rules (Law 3):
Each team can substitute up to two front row players (or three if they have three suitably-trained front row replacements) and up to five other players (for a total of seven or eight) PER HALF.

Substitutions may only be made when the ball is dead and with the permission of the referee.

The following provisions would be in effect:
a) In either half, once a player is replaced he cannot return that half.
b) A player who was replaced in the first half MAY play again in the second half.
c) Rosters would still be capped at 22 (with 2 suitably-trained front-row replacements) or 23 (with 3 suitably-trained front-row replacements).

Youth Non-Contact Rugby Non-contact rugby in Southern California starts as early as preschool and develops the basic rugby skills before full contact is introduced. Youth non-contact rugby is usually played as 7 a side rugby.
Laws can be downloaded here..
U12 Rugby U12 rugby introduces tackling with teams playing rugby with 10-12 players on the field.
Girls are allowed to play U8-U12 tackle rugby with boys.
U14 & U16 Girls U14 Girls play with 7 players on the field. U16 Girls 7-15 players.
U14 & U16 Boys 12-15 a side
Girls are NOT allowed to play U14 (and older) tackle rugby with boys.
U19/HS Boys, U19/HS Girls Rugby 15 a side rugby.