Academy and u13 Craven Week no longer for SA Rugby’s budget
Parents whos children and probably unions and schools will have to cough up approximately R3 150 per rugby player who is chosen for this year’s u18 Academy Week and the u13 Craven Week. SA Rugby and the South African Schools Rugby Association (Sasra) had to make some tough decisions for the second year that the Youth Weeks will be hosted without a sponsor.
The R3 150 doesn’t include transport to the venue and both these tournaments hosted by Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg will be self-funded. SA Rugby is apparently searching for opportunities to attract sponsors and/or to bring down the cost of the tournaments.
It was also decided to bundle these two tournaments together. During the last couple of years, the u18 Academy Week was run hosted at the same venue as the u18 Craven Week, while the Grant Khomo Week and u13 Craven Week were hosted together. The u13 Craven Week will also be shortened from four matches per team to only three games.
It is good news that all the Youth Weeks will still exist, but the various associations have until 14 February to inform the Sasra’s secretary, Kervin Grove, if they will be sending a team to these two weeks. The two weeks will take place from 14 to 18 June 2020.
The meeting by Sasra also tabled the suggestion that the LSEN Week (for learners with special educational needs) be divided into two sections with a tournament for North and South. The LSEN Association will have to make the final decision on how the week will be structured.
The South African Schools Rugby Association also confirmed that they will still be aligning itself with SA Rugby’s Strategic Transformation Plan 2030. This means that each team of 23 players attending the Youth Weeks still have to comply by selecting a minimum of 12 players of colour. It is also noted that foreign players, schooled in South Africa can be selected for the Youth Weeks but black foreign players do not count as players of colour.
This further escalates the problem that associations, the unions as well as the schools will face. If a player that is picked for the representative team and can’t pay to attend the tournament it could increase the costs that other parents, associations, unions and their schools might have to cover.
The u18 Craven Week and u16 Grant Khomo Week will be held in conjunction with each other from 21 to 27 June in Port Elizabeth. They will be funded by SA Rugby. In a letter to the various stakeholders the chairman of Sasra, Noel Ingle, states that they understand the challenges that are facing school rugby in South Africa and that the plan communicated to the associations is to ensure that Sasra is in line with Saru’s 2020 Recovery Plan.
The Youth Weeks was left without a sponsor in 2019 after Coca-Cola decided not to renew its long-standing relationship with SA Rugby after 35 years.
The teams that are invited to the Youth Weeks:
Craven Week: Blue Bulls, Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State, Griffons, Griqualand West, Limpopo Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Leopards, Pumas, Sharks, South Western Districts, Valke, Western Province, Western Province XV.
Grant Khomo Week: Blue Bulls, Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State, Griffons, Griqualand West, Limpopo Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Leopards, Pumas, Sharks, South Western Districts, Valke, Western Province, Western Province XV, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Border Country Districts, Iqhawe XV.
u18 Academy Week: Blue Bulls, Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State, Griffons, Griqualand West, Limpopo Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Leopards, Pumas, Sharks, South Western Districts, Valke, Western Province, Western Province XV, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Border Country Districts.
u13 Craven Week: Blue Bulls, Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State, Griffons, Griqualand West, Limpopo Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Leopards, Pumas, Sharks, South Western Districts, Valke, Western Province, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Border Country Districts.
LSEN Week – North: Blue Bulls, Griffons, Golden Lions, Leopards, Pumas, Valke. South: Boland, Eastern Province, Free State, Sharks, South Western Districts, Western Province.
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