With more and more Unions across the USA successfully aligning their disciplinary processes with USA Rugby and World Rugby requirements, USA Rugby Training & Education is pleased to announce the four Community Judicial Officer training sessions to be held in 2025.
After identifying a need for growth and consistency in the disciplinary process across USA Rugby community competitions, the training course was designed for disciplinary officers needing to align their processes with current World Rugby protocols. USA Rugby additionally established the certification of Community Judicial Officers to recognize those who successfully implement the process in their Unions.
USA Rugby Director of Training & Education, Jamie McGregor said, “Since the initial pilot program in 2022, we have now trained over 100 individuals across the country and have fully certified 10 of those, with more due to be certified this summer and fall. Overall, the program has been a great success; SYROs and GUs who have come on board are seeing fairer, more consistent outcomes. Code of Conduct incidents are more often being managed through the correct process, with the volunteers who are managing these situations provided with assistance and guidance.
I have been delighted at how many Unions at all levels have supported their disciplinary officers in attending the courses to date. We know that there are more people involved in disciplinary matters across the game who are not yet trained, so we are excited to host more sessions this year, including two sessions that will incorporate attendance at an MLR match and a Test Match.”
Interested parties can register on the Rugby Learning Center now. The course costs $375 online, but USAY&HS, the Senior Club Council and CRAA all have access to codes that will reduce this cost to $0. This way anyone ‘sponsored’ by a SYRO or GU or College Conference will be able to attend the course free of charge. Participants should contact their Union to gain access to the code.
| DATE | LOCATION |
|---|---|
| May 31 and June 1, 2025 | Newark, NJ |
| June 7 and 8, 2025 | New Orleans, LA (includes attendance at NOLA v NEFJ MLR match) |
| July 12 and 13, 2025 | Charlotte, NC (includes attendance at USA Eagles vs Spain) |
| October 11 and 12, 2025 | Moraga, CA (held at NorCal Summit) |
Community Judicial Officer (CJO). Training in the World Rugby Disciplinary process for the purpose of running Disciplinary Panels in accordance with World Rugby guidelines. After attending this workshop, participants are not yet certified as Community Judicial Officers (CJO) but will be eligible to participate in gaining USA Rugby CJO certification through a transcript process.
Representatives of USA Rugby Unions, SYROs and Competitions who will serve as Disciplinary Chairs, Community Judicial Officers and/or Disciplinary Panel members for their Union/SYRO/Competition. Unlike World Rugby JOs, Community JOs need not be lawyers/legal professionals.
Interested parties can register on the Rugby Learning Center. To access the Learning Center, login to your USA Rugby Member Profile and navigate to the left menu. The course costs $375 online, but USA Y&HS, the Senior Club Council and CRAA all have access to codes that will reduce this cost to $0. This way anyone ‘sponsored’ by a SYRO or GU or College Conference will be able to attend the course free of charge. Participants should contact their Union to gain access to the code.
Once registered, information is provided regarding room block booking information at the hotels where the courses are taking place.
