Division I Division I will remain constant until the following occurs:
(a) The number of teams is greater than or equal to ten (10). Any team(s) in positions eleven (11) (and higher) will be relegated to thw appropriate Division II North or South league (where they have been designated below). In addition, the Division II-North and II-South winners have the right to play a promotion/relegation match against the 9th and 10th place Division I teams; in odd years, the II-North/II-South will have the right to play #10/#9; if the team designated to challenge #10 does not do so, then the other Division II team would challenge #10 (instead of #9). The game(s) will be played at the site of the Division I team(s) at the conclusion of the Fall league play; a tie goes to the Division I team(s). If the Division II-North or II-South winner opt to forfeit the challenge right, their corresponding runner(s)-up will have the option to play the promotion/relegation match(es). The team(s) must declare their intention to move up no later than 5 pm, 2 days after the conclusion of league play. If a decision is not made by the end of that period, no promation will occur.
(b) The number of teams is less than 10. The Division II Champion has an automatic right to move up (no play-in match). If there are two openings, the Division II winner and runner-up have the right to move up (no play-in match). The team(s) must declare their intention to move up no later than 5 pm, 2 days after the Division II Championship match. If the decision is not by the end of that period, no promotion will occur. If there are additional openings, other teams may have entry based on request to the MARFU Competition Committee and the Committee’s subsequent approval.
Division II Division II will continue to have two branches: II-North and II-South, hereafter referred to as N and S.
Teams assigned to N and S will be done geographically, based primarily on the distance between the teams. As of January 27, 1997, the MARFU mid-point has been determined to be Washington, Dc, although it is recognized that there is still a distance disparity for the southern teams.
Existing teams in the N and S (as of December 31, 1996) will be grandfathered into N and S. However, if any of the teams move to Division III at some point, they will lose their grandfathered status.
Therefore, for the purpose of promotion/relegation, the following geographic assignments are made for ALL clubs in MARFU (Division I, II, and III):
North
Baltimore
Blackthorn
Brandywine
Doylestown
Frederick
Harrisburg
Hibernians
Lancaster
Lehigh Valley
Maryland Exiles
Media
North Penn
Old Gaelic
Philadelphia-Whitemarsh
Reading
Schuylkill River
Second City Troop
Severn River
South Jersey
Wilkes-Barre
Wilmington
York
South
Blacksburg
Blackwater
Fighting Docs/USUHS
Hooligans
James River
Newport News
Norfolk Blues
NOVA
PAC
Raleigh
Roanoke
Rocky Gorge
United
Virginia
Virginia Beach
Washington
Washington Irish
West Potomac
Western Suburbs
Day and Time of League Matches (effective October 12, 1997)
MARFU league matches must kick off between 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm on Saturday, unless a mutually agreeable change is made prior to the beginning of the season and reported to the appropriate referees association and to the MARFU Competitions Committee.
MARFU Men’s Division I, II-N, II-S Field Cancellation Policy (effective October 12, 1997)
1. Home clubs are required to contact their Away opponents no later than 12:00 noon on the Thursday prior to their scheduled league matches in the event there is a problem with the weekend’s scheduled site.
2. If the original Home field was cancelled (for any reason), the Home team shall make any/all effort to secure a suitable field no further than 30 miles in additional travel distance from the original venue for the Away team.
3. If the Home team cannot secure a field as stated above, the Away team may accept the following (in order from first to last):
a. Play the match at the Away team’s home venue at the originally schedule date and time.
b. Reschedule the game at the Away team’s convenience.
c. Accept a 30-0 league win.
Cooperation is requested and highly desired. However, due to external economic influences (travel expenses, time away from work), field problems cannot be tolerated and must be worked out immediately. The Competitions Committee will adjudicate unique problems (field cancellation on the morning of the match, etc.).
Forfeits (effective January 1, 1999)
A match forfeiture will be counted as a 30-0 league win. Fines will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Maximum match point differential (effective January 1, 1999)
A team will receive no more than 60 (+/-) differential points for a match win in the MARFU divisional standings. The 60 point differential will be determined from the losing team’s final score.
Examples: a 72-0 match would count as a 60-0 match (60 point max differential); a 80-50 match would count as a 80-50 match (only 30 point difference); a 90-25 win would count as a 85-25 win (60 point max).
This does not mean that matches will be halted after a 60 point differential has been reached; play may continue. This rule only applies to the administrative league standings and not to the actual match.
Division I and II League Tie-breakers (effective January 1, 1999)
If two or more teams are tied at the end of the regular season in the same division:
1. Head-to-head record among the tied teams.
2. Largest point differential (points for minus points against) between tied teams (e.g., teams with the same record).
3. Largest point differential (points for minus points against) in all divisional games.
4. Most points for.
5. Last team among those tied which advanced the furthest in the most recent MARFU Championships (regionals and finals).
6. Team drawn at random from among the tied teams. This procedure shall be performed by the MARFU League Administrator and witnessed y the President of the Potomac Rugby Union (or the President of the LAU in which the League Administrator resides) and a Notary Public, who shall attest to the blind draw.
1. The EPRU Division III Champion will always challenge the last place N team (unless (3) below occurs).
2. The VRU Division III Champion will always challenge the last place S team (unless (3) below occurs).
3. The PRU Division III Champion would challenge the last place team of the area their club is assigned to (see above; North or South). This would generally mean that either the N or S would have two promotion/relegation matches will the other just had one. The LAU Division III Champion that plays the last place team (instead of the next-to-last team) would be determined in a fixed cycle; the PRU will play the last place team on odd years, will the VRU and EPRU get the even years.
4. [Effective January 1, 1999] Promotion/relegation matches would be played in the Fall on the Saturday immediately following the conclusion of league play for the team’s division at the site of the Division II team in a full 80 minute match with a tie going to the Division II club. If a team decides not to challenge and was to play the last place team, the other challenging team (see (3) above) would then play the last place team.
5. In the event the number of teams exceeds 8 in either N or S, the additional (9, 10, etc.) would be automatically relegated. Promotion/relegation would STILL be played against the 8th place team (and possibly the 7th place team depending on the PRU Division III winner).
6. [Effective November 16, 1997] A team desiring to challenge a team for promotion/relegation must declare their intention no later than 5 pm, 2 days after the end of their league play or the end of league play of the challenged team, whichever is later (typically, this will be Monday afternoon). If a decision is not made by the end of that, no promotion/relegation match will occurs.
Field Dimensions Minimums for MARFU-Based League Play
Length (goal to goal): not less than 91m and not
exceeding 100m
Width: not less than 59m and not exceeding 70m
Ingoal: not less than 8m and not exceeding 22m
‘22m line’ will be 22m from the goalline.
‘10m line’ will be 10m from the mid-way line
‘5m from touch’ will be 5m from the touchline
‘15m from touch’ will be 15m from the touchline
‘5m from goal’ will be 5m from the goalline
The top four (4) teams from the Fall league play will advance to the Playoffs. Seedings will be based on the final Fall Standings (#1-#4).
#1 will play #2 and #3 will play #4 in the first round of the MARFU playoffs. The winner of (#1 vs. #2) will advance to the national playoffs as the MARFU #1 team.
The second round of the playoffs will consist of the loser of (#1 vs. #2) and the winner of (#3 vs. #4). The winner will go to the national playoffs as the MARFU #2 team and the loser will go as the MARFU #3 team, if the territory has the additional seed.
Additionally, the final playoff standings (the MARFU #1, #2 and #3 seeds to the national playoffs) will be used for promotion purposes in the event one of the teams is declared ineligible.
All matches will be standard 80 minutes matches with the higher seeded team having the home field advantage. The regional or MARFU referees association will assign the referees for the matches.
The top four (4) teams from the Fall league play in II-N and II-S will advance to the Spring Playoffs. Seedings will be based on the final Fall standings (II-N-1 to II-N-4 and II-S-1 to II-S-4). All matches will be standard 80 minute matches.
First round Matches will be held 4 prior to the USA Rugby Division II National Round of 16 teams and are as follows, with the home team being the highest seeded team. Referees will be assigned by the home team’s LAU.
#1 – II-N-1 vs. II-S-4
#2 – II-S-2 vs. II-N-3
#3 – II-S-1 vs. II-N-4
#4 – II-N-2 vs. II-S-3
The winners advance to the Semi-Finals and Final held on the following Saturday and Sunday (3 weeks prior to the USA Rugby Division II National Round of 16) at a location bid through the MARFU Event Bidding Process at the December MARFU Annual General Meeting and approved by the MARFU Board of Directors. There shall be no entry fee. The regional or MARFU referees association will assign the referees for this event. Note: losing clubs of games 1-4 above do not advance.
Saturday Matches
#5 – Winner of #1 vs. Winner of #2 (Semi-Final #1)
#6 – Winner of #3 vs. Winner of #4 (Semi-Final #2)
Sunday Matches
#7 – Loser of #5 vs. Loser of #6 (MARFU Div. II Third Place)
#8 – Winner of #5 vs. Winner of #6 (MARFU Div. II Champ)
