All things dispensation
Dispensation has always been a highly contested topic and we are aware of the angst and frustration dispensation has and continues to cause.
Here you will find all the details on our club policy philosophy and procedures that need to be followed when players want to be considered for dispensation.
We are committed to becoming one of the biggest and most successful junior rugby clubs in the state and our dispensation policy forms an integral part of our strategy to get us there. The combination of our desire to grow our club and the commitment we make to player welfare, together with the guidelines set out by RugbyAU (as adopted by RugbyWA) informs our dispensation policy.
It’s been pleasing to see the continued growth in participation across the juniors age groups. As a club committed to growing the game of rugby our 2023 pre-season training attendance has been testament to the success of our effort to get more juniors on the pitch. With growth comes growing pains and as we navigate through the challenges that the new phase of our club’s story brings, we want to ensure our rugby community understand where we’re heading and how we get there together as we move forward on this exciting journey.
The welfare of our players is always the single most important factor in establishing our policies. We include quality of coaching, the overall enjoyment of the experience, longevity of the journey for all players and well thought through age-appropriate development alongside the more obvious health and safety aspects of player welfare.
RugbyAU adopted protocols based on substantial global research relating to how each age group is structured in accordance with the pathway skills development framework involving year of birth, safe brackets for players according to height and weight and the progression from U6 – U18 modified rules.
According to the RugbyAU protocols, application for dispensation follows a process governed by RugbyWA as the state sporting administrator for rugby union in Western Australia. As part of this process, players seeking to dispensate up one/two age group(s) are at the discretion of Wanneroo Rugby Club. We apply our club dispensation policy to these applications, considering the growth strategy of the club and the player welfare of all players involved.
In the spirit of growing the game we do not show new players away when an age group has reached capacity and prior to registrations closing.
However, we require prompt registration from players to enable us to adequately prepare for the season ahead.
The following considerations are given to dispensation applications:
Age group size
Coaching resources
Training pitch allocation
Playing jersey numbers
Player’s social, emotional and physical level of development
Whilst some of these factors are subjective, Wanneroo Rugby Club does not consider applications for dispensation into age groups where the age group capacity has been reached. Dispensation can only be completed once all registrations for each age group have been considered and finalised, therefor players who are outside of their age group must train with their actual age group until they have been successfully dispensated.
In order to be considered for dispensation the following process must be followed to ensure consistency, transparency and integrity of the process.
If these steps are not taken, the club deems that there is no application to dispensate.
The process is as follows:
Login to your Rugby Xplorer account
Click the ‘consent forms’ section on the left hand menu
Select the most relevant consent form – Size for age, age group, front row, senior player etc
Complete the form and submit
The Club will need to perform an assessment and approve the request prior to the referral to an independent assessor (if applicable)
If approved by the Club and an independent assessment is required, then details will follow about the independent assessment
The independent assessment is completed and the outcome will be communicated to the Club, In depth feedback to the player and parents will not be provided by the assessor to the club.
The club will are required to pay a fee for each assessment that are deemed ‘non-mandatory’ as well as any ‘re-assessments’ so approval from the club prior to any form of independent assessment is mandatory.
Club dispensation Assessments will be performed first by our Club Dispensation Officers on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th of March.
These assesments will be reviewed by our Club Dispensation Administrator prior to the Junior President approving for an independent assessment to be completed by Rugby WA Assessors. As per step 5 in the above process, you will need to first have completed the Club process prior to being approved to go to the Rugby WA assessment. Once team nominations to Rugby WA are submitted the window for dispensation has closed unless there’s an exceptional circumstance to be approved by the Junior President and the Director of Rugby.
Wanneroo will host one of the Rugby WA dispensation nights for the Northern Region on 5th April 2023 (further details to follow). Other dates are available as per the below schedule:
• Central: 25th March, RugbyWA
• North: 5th April, Wanneroo Rugby Club
• South: 26th April, Southern Lions Rugby Club
• Final: 17th May, RugbyWA Headquarters
We continue to rely on the support of our parents to ensure our rugby family remains positive and constructive in its criticism so we invite anyone who would like to discuss our club strategy, and specifically the dispensation process, to contact our club registrar, Jeli Talemaira registrar@wanneroorugby.com.au