FAQs for Age Grade 2024-25

Modified on Tue, 13 Aug at 3:01 PM

When will the new season 24/25 be enabled? Will coaches move up Age Bands as well?

This will be done on the 1st July with a start date for the playing season of 7th Sept 2024. All Age Grade players will move up to the appropriate Age Band based on their DOB.

Age grade players who are playing up or down will need to submit new forms as per the annual requirement. Coaches are not moved automatically as all clubs differ, so any that wish to be moved up an age band will need to be manually assigned. Please see our Community Rugby Help solutions if you need further instructions on how to do this.

What do parents need to do ahead of the new season?

We encourage all parents of players to login to GMS and ensure their details are up to date. The Personal Profile module and associated key tasks such as creating and updating an age grade registration have been designed for mobile devices to make it easier for parents.

When does renewal of registration take place?

Bulk deactivation of age grade players takes place on 1st July. You can register and renew registration of players in the system from 1st July to help get your administration processes underway early for the new season. Please see our solution pages on how parents can complete this process: ‘Age Grade Registration process for parents/ guardians’ and ‘Renew Age Grade Child Registration Process’.

What date do players get allocated to their new age groups in GMS?

On July 1st, in line with the renewal date, GMS will default to the new season. From July 1st, once players have registered or renewed their registration, they will be assigned to their new age band automatically.

When do the new regulations come into place?

From August 1st, the RFU regulations for the new season are in place. You can find all regulations on the England Rugby website.

When does the new season commence?

The 2024-2025 playing season will commence on September 7th.

When you register for GMS, is it the parent that is registering or the player?

For Age Grade players, parents need to have an account first. They will then be able to register or renew the Age Grade player attached to their profile. Please see the following guide on how to create an account and refer to the guides in question one on how you can register or renew the registration of an Age Grade player.

How can a club create an age grade profile when the parent doesn't want to get involved in the process?

Clubs cannot create new accounts for under 18-year-olds. The parent/guardian will need to action this.

How do we register players who are from care homes or have grandparents who look after them, they don’t have an email or smart phone, or when the parent doesn't want to get involved in the process?

There are good examples from clubs around the country of how they help parents and guardians or support those without online access to register Age Grade players. These models will be shared with clubs. The priority is to make this an adult-led registration process, along with all out-of-school activities and clubs, for safeguarding and data protection reasons. However, in the case where a club has a player who is still genuinely unable to be registered, they should submit a ticket with their details on the Community Rugby Help and the RFU will be able to support.

Is there a guide that will help parents navigate the system?

Community Rugby Help has a wide variety of solutions to support parents, these include videos showing how to complete the process in GMS. Clubs are advised to signpost parents to these guides. If users have specific feedback on how the content can be improved, please raise a ticket. Please use the following link to access our solutions Community Rugby Help.

Why is the registration process required each year?

Annual registration exists for several reasons but primarily it is for safeguarding purpose. As a National Governing Body, the RFU must fulfil requirements set out by GDPR, as well as the responsibility of safeguarding children and vulnerable people. Renewal of annual registration means data remains up to date and accurate to aid communication with players, access to medical information and the ability to measure participation at clubs. If the RFU has the knowledge of who is playing rugby, this means clubs and the RFU can offer the appropriate support to the Age Grade game. Providing a consistent online system to the game ensures that information is held in line with data security requirements.

What are the consequences if a player is not registered?

As per Regulation 15, it is a requirement to register players. If players are not registered, then this is a breach of the regulations. You can find all regulations on the England Rugby website.

Is the RFU still allowing Age Grade players to be registered with more than one club?

Age Grade players can register to multiple clubs.

Why can’t GMS send an email to all members asking them to renew their registration?

All Age Grade player’s parents who registered their children last season will receive communication asking them to renew registration for their child this season. We recommend all users have ensured that their contact details are up to date on their profiles to ensure they receive the latest communications.

Please can we have a button to hit to send out emails to parents that just sends a link to click on for renewal of registration please?

You can email all previously registered players by clicking ‘Age Grade yet to register under the ‘Player Management’ module. Select ‘All’ and email. We have also created a template letter to support clubs in communicating to their parents.

Can the registration process be made clearer on mobiles?

GMS has been designed for optimum use by parents. Small enhancements based on suggestions from last season to help prevent parents from registering themselves have been implemented. If you have any further suggestions to improve this process further, please submit a ticket via Community Rugby Help.

If a parent renews registration but they didn’t complete the consents correctly last season, will they be prompted to do that?

When you click on renewal, the registration form comes up to be reviewed with the option to be edited before saving and sending to the club. Clubs should always encourage parents to check and update all the information as it will help streamline re-registration moving forward.

One issue we have is that there are other pieces of information we also require as a club (i.e., which school the child attends), but no option to add in club specific questions. Can this be included as a suggestion?

The registration and renewal of registration form includes which school the player attends and can be updated if necessary. There is also a ‘Notes’ section for club specific information to be recorded.

Is there any way to automatically move coaches and managers up to the next team without having to re-select them all in team management against each team?

No, as each club operates differently, and some coaches stay with the same age group. We also believe it is important for a club to action this manually as they can reconfirm coach availability, suitability and development for the new season. For further support, see our guide on How to move Coaches onto different Age Grade Team.

“Assign Player to 'Playing Squad’” - can this be done by the coach if assigned to the team in question rather than the AG Registrar?

Yes, if the coach has GMS permission levels 1, 3 or 5. Please see our guide on Assigning Players to Teams.

Which age groups use match cards?

Electronic match cards (EMC) are not currently a requirement across Age Grade rugby. However, there are some national competitions that have regulations requiring the use of the EMC system. Some other competitions at county or regional level may also choose to do so and some clubs use match cards for their team to track player participation. For guidance on how you can use the EMC, please see the following guide: Electronic Match Card Top Tips and Advantages

Is there a way to 'declutter' club data so all the lapsed members get archived, and we only see active members?

This is a manual process for clubs. You can remove player from the club under the ‘People’ module providing they are not registered players or have an active membership. For further support, see our guide on how to de-register players.

To keep track of who is returning, will everyone show as non-reregistered, or can people remove themselves without your knowledge?

After the 1st of July, all players will be de-activated in bulk and show as renewal required with a non-active playing status. They will remain in the system to be renewed – no data is deleted or lost when central de-inactivation takes place. Club administrators can view players in either the ‘Team Management’ module or the ‘Player Management’ module. The module will show “age grade yet to register from previous season” and you can email them to renew in bulk. Currently the system does not allow individuals to remove themselves from clubs or organisations.

I can't find 'players' in my dashboard?

Ensure you have the correct GMS permissions and roles within the club to be able to view the players/ teams in question. Check that the player in question is registered to the club. If the player is registered, then check the player is not in ‘Pending Registration’ Status in the ‘Player Management’ module and has been assigned to the ‘Playing Squad’.

How can you assign a player who is playing down an age grade to the correct age group?

You can assign a player to the relevant team outside of their Age Grade band category using the ‘Add Player Function’ provided you have the relevant authorisation as per Regulation 15. Please see our guide on ‘Age grade players playing up or down’.

What happens when an Age Grade player transitions to adult rugby?

Currently, a unique email address for the transitioning player will need to be assigned via the club admin or the parent so that they can manage their own GMS account. Once this is in place, the transitioning user can request to ‘reset password’ to the assigned email address. The link can be accessed via email and once the password has been reset, the user should be able to log in. See our article on ‘How to reset your password / problem logging in’ for further support.

For 17-year-olds playing up into adult rugby, as per Regulation 15, to be eligible to play adult rugby the 17-year-old player must be assessed as capable of playing with adults. View our article 'How do I register a 17yr to play adult rugby' for further guidance.

Are photos still a requirement on GMS for age grade? Our CB still request them for festivals, but some other areas no longer require them. What is the RFU’s view?

The RFU does not require photos of players, however, it is dependent on the competition organiser, the club, and the CB if they require this. Player Cards are available under the Reporting Module in GMS.

On the email address issue, if a parent has changed or forgotten their email they used to register the first time and set themselves up again, they now have 2 profiles. Secondly, if they are set up in GMS and we cannot see them as an Age Grade registrar, is the ONLY way to find them by raising a ticket?

As an Age Grade registrar, if the parent has a duplicate account and both have been added to the club, you can merge the accounts. If one of the accounts has not been added to the club, then the only way to locate them will be by raising a ticket with the GMS Service Desk.

Is a unique email address per GMS account necessary?

A unique email is a requirement. Adults are not able to share email addresses. Please see the guide on ‘Unique email addresses in GMS’.

Is the email issue where emails end up in junk resolved?

Your email service provider may delay emails or send them to your junk or spam folder. View the following guide ‘Not receiving emails / email provider’ to see how to amend this.

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FAQs for Age Grade 2024-25

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FAQs for Age Grade 2024-25

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