Men's Division 2, Division 3, and Division 4 schedules released

From Men's Club Rep. / RMR Vice-President Erik Geib

​There are several things to note when looking at the schedule:
-The union and the competitive region committee were not able to accommodate all requests for which level each club is to compete (see below); both the union men's club committee (myself, plus the two elected division representatives) and the Frontier Competitive Region (CR) group unanimously approved the attached structure, however;
-For those of you with multiple sides, we've constructed special tabs to examine your schedules next to each other. If you see a note that says "can be fixed with timing," that means the union has fixed the issue of multiple sides competing by setting kickoff times (next point). If you see a note that says "imperfect, but has to work," it means just that. RMR did the best it could to not put sides in conflict, but hopes that your depth will assist you those weekends. It's impossible to create perfect harmony for mulitple-side teams, but the union is confident it did the best it could.
-The union has set standardized kickoff times for all matches this year. You can see those set times on the 'Referees' tab portion of the schedule document. If you do not like your set time, or cannot accommodate it with your facility, you must get approval from the union to change the time at least 30 days before the match is played. Most of the times are set around the clubs competing with multiple sides, and schedule change requests affect those clubs accordingly
-RMR attempted to follow date requests as best as possible; if you didn't put in requests, RMR did not accommodate them
-As always, double-check for Sunday matches; if you see a match in a column with a date and the (II) indication, it means you're playing a late afternoon match. Provo requested that both of its 'away weekends' feature both matches on Saturday.
-Division 2 and Division 3 will both be double round-robin (home and away) with no RMR playoffs prior to the Frontier playoffs; each team will play 10 matches
-Division 4 will be single round-robin and all teams will play 8 matches; the top four will advance to the RMR Division 4 Playoffs; the bottom five may choose to compete for the Division 4 plate in 10s competition
-The Frontier Playoffs (Division 2 / Division 3) could be the weekend of April 29 or May 6, which is why both weekends are marked on all schedules; The National Playoffs are the weekends of May 20 and June 3
-With a cleaner league structure this year, the weekend of the High Desert Rugby Tournament was left open in addition to the traditional Aspen date, major rugby events, and all holidays

The following promotion/relegation items are included:
-Colorado Springs' request to self-relegate to Division 3 was approved; it is felt the Springs are best set to reorganize in Division 3, and build their club with D3 and D4 teams
-CSOB Stags' request to compete in Division 3 was denied; the Stags must complete an entire year under RMR before being eligible to compete in D3, and teams of a similar competition level are also going to be in Division 4
-Colorado Rush's request to be promoted to Division 3 was denied; it was felt that the Rush would be more competitive in a strengthened D4 than competing against the D3 league as it is to exist
-Littleton failed to play all of its matches in Division 3 in 2015-2016 and is denied the opportunity to compete in Division 3 in 2016-2017; the club had a strong Spring and is expected to be competitive in Division 4
-The Marauders were relegated to Division 4 after finishing last among non-forfeiting teams in Division 3 in 2015-2016; their PD was -34.66 against remaining D3 teams, and the D3 league will be stronger with Colorado Springs coming down

New items to note:
-The Laramie Lumberjacks are the union's newest men's club and will compete in Division 4 this year while playing their first entire year of competition
-The Division 4 competition is much more formalized, and no B/C sides that didn't request entry have been entered
-The fines for failure to appear for a non-weather-canceled match will increase this year (TBD)
-As noted at the AGM, teams who are not using scoreboards - as union rules require - will not only pay the fines this year, but will also be responsible for all reported failure to use a scoreboard last season. For some clubs, that could be a fine of up to $1050 after your first match ($150/match last year, plus $150/match for this year's first match). Please get in compliance with the scoreboard initiative. You should be able to build one from Home Depot fairly cheaply, and it raises the standard of each match for participants and spectators.

In general, the consensus in building the leagues for next year, and the accompanying schedule(s), was to create competitive competitions for all. It doesn't do anyone any favors if their matches aren't competitive. RMR understands that some teams may not like the division that they have been placed in, but all things are solved through competition, and teams may be promoted/relegated next year based on this year's results.

If you have comments on the schedule, you must present them prior to Wednesday at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. No changes to theschedule will be made after the Thursday confirmation email.

Schedules may be found on the RMR website, located here:
Men's Division 2
Men's Division 3
Men's Division 4