Parent's Guide to Rugby Canada Rookie Rugby U7-U12 2024

For Rugby Canada's free Rookie Rugby festivals, children bring athletic clothing, cleats or running shoes and a water bottle. Rookie Rugby is played with flag belts, and the program says little equipment is needed.

Rugby Canada's age grade variations also include a mouth guard page, noting that mouth guards are typically worn in contact sports and that a New Zealand study reported a 47% reduction in dental injury claims after compulsory mouth guards were introduced.

There is a 5m safety zone between playing areas. Ball size is 3 for U7 to U10 and 3 or 4 for U11 and U12.

Substitutions are rolling.

There are no red cards in Rookie Rugby. The yellow card is a "time out": the player sits out for a short period to get feedback from their coach on the foul play (described as a learning opportunity) and is replaced so teams stay equal in numbers.

• U7 to U10: 2-minute time out.
• U11 and U12: 2 minutes at a festival, 5 minutes in a single game.

Penalties are taken as a tap and pass, and there is no goal kicking.

Rookie Rugby games (U7 to U12) are run by a Game Manager rather than a match official.

• U7 and U8: coaches on the field: yes.
• U9 and U10: coaches permitted on the field if needed.
• U11 and U12: not recommended, permitted if needed.

Rugby Canada's NCCP Rookie Rugby training is a 4-hour in-person course for coaches of under-12 or non-contact rugby programs. It teaches how to introduce fundamental movement skills through rugby in a non-contact, safe and fun environment.

A coach's status becomes "Trained" NCCP Rookie Rugby once this course and NCCP Make Ethical Decisions training are both complete and recorded on their transcript in The Locker. Coaches complete free World Rugby online prerequisite courses first. No certificate is issued; the record is on The Locker.

Rookie Rugby Instructor training still exists, but it is reserved for teachers who want to bring Rookie Rugby into their curriculum.

• First aid: Rugby Canada's age grade variations say all age grade games in Canada should have appropriate first aid staff on site, supported by an Emergency Action Plan. Rugby Canada and its provincial unions offer World Rugby's First Aid in Rugby (FAIR) certification.
• Safe sport: Rugby Canada's Sport Integrity Policy Suite (approved 1 February 2025) applies to registered participants including coaches, officials, volunteers and parents or guardians. Rugby Canada adopted the Canadian Safe Sport Program from 1 April 2025.
• Reporting: concerns can be reported to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport at cces.ca/report-safe-sport or on 1-866-971-2777. Reporters can stay anonymous.

Rugby Canada's Concussion Policy (part of its Sport Integrity Policy Suite, approved 1 February 2025) says:

• Registration: participants under 26 confirm they have reviewed concussion awareness resources within the past 12 months and sign the Concussion Code of Conduct. For athletes under 18, a parent or guardian must also confirm they reviewed the resources and sign the Code.
• Removal: a player with a suspected concussion must be removed immediately by a designated person, who should consider calling 9-1-1 and must tell the parent or guardian of a player under 18.
• Medical assessment: the parent or guardian is told the player must be assessed by a physician or nurse practitioner before returning to participation.
• Aftercare: the player should not be left alone for at least the first 1-2 hours, should not be sent home alone, and should not drive until cleared by a medical professional.
• Return to sport: a graded six-stage return, with at least 24 hours at each step, starting with symptom-limited activity and ending with full contact practice (after medical clearance) and normal participation. Written determination of readiness from a healthcare provider is needed before unrestricted return.

Rugby Canada's age grade law variations split the grades into Rookie Rugby (U7 to U12) and club rugby, which is contact rugby, from U13.

• U11 and U12 is labelled a transition to contact: tackles are below the waist, with 1 v 1 contested rucks and 3 v 3 uncontested scrums.
• U13 and U14 play 13-a-side (6 forwards, 7 backs) or sevens, with World Rugby's tackle, ruck and 6 v 6 scrum laws in the 13s game. Both versions are played with a certified match official where possible and no coaches on the field.