Statement on COVID-19: Membership Update

April 09, 2020

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 Statement on COVID-19: Membership Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 9, 2020

(WHITBY, ON) -Following the announcement on April 3rd, 2020 regarding the indefinite suspension of sanctioned rugby activities and temporary suspension of registration, Rugby Ontario is actively working through its own contingency planning, including assessing the impact to membership registration in order to determine the best course for the organization. 

 The resulting impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on rugby programming has created a unique situation that our administration has not been faced with previously.  At this time of year, membership dues paid through registration represent a material financial contribution to support our operations and delivery of programs, and those of our Member Clubs.  Please know that our office is working very diligently to support our members and we are committed to processing registration refunds that are formally requested via the appropriate means; however, the timing of refunds may be significantly delayed due to inadvertent financial and administrative constraints at this time.  We ask for your patience and support as we continue to navigate these challenging and uncertain times. 

Rugby Ontario would like to extend the opportunity for members that have registered in 2020 to forego a refund and consider making a contribution to Rugby Ontario and their respective Club to support the ongoing operations and administration of future rugby programs.  For any registered member willing to hold onto their existing registration, Rugby Ontario’s records will indicate a fully paid registration for the 2020 membership season.  Any and all contributions of this nature are greatly appreciated by Rugby Ontario and our Member Clubs.


For further clarity on the Registration Suspension and Refund Process:

Link: Rugby Canada statement regarding the temporary suspension of registration via SportLoMo and refunds 

Effective Monday, April 6th, 2020, the registration system has been temporarily suspended.  At this time, the registration system is only accepting Board and Social Member category registrations. 

Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada refunds will only be provided to members who have not partaken in any rugby related activities since registering in 2020; these are not limited to just training or matches.  Refunds must be formally requested by the member, or on behalf of a member by a parent or guardian (applicable for any registrant under the age of majority in Ontario), through their SportLoMo account.  

Important note: If a refund is approved, Rugby Canada, Rugby Ontario and the Member Club will each process their portion of the refund separately offline, outside of the SportLoMo platform; therefore, members who qualify for refunds will receive separate payments from these three entities. 

Please click on the following links to access SportLoMo User Guides in relation to the refund process:

   Automatic Refund User Guide  (under 15 days from transaction date)

   Manual Refund User Guide    (over 15 days from transaction date)

Should you have any questions about this process, please contact the Rugby Ontario office (Elisa DiGiulio, Coordinator, Member Services: edigiulio@rugbyontario.com).  For Rugby Canada related refund inquiries, please contact: refunds@rugby.ca 


We are hopeful that rugby will return in 2020, in which case the registration system will be re-opened allowing members to register again for available programs.  We encourage all members to stay tuned for announcements in relation to future programming updates. 

To further assist our community and provide clarity to many topics, we have developed a Rugby Ontario COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource.

To the entire rugby community: stay safe and stay healthy.

Thank you, 

Rugby Ontario

ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES

The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.


ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO

Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.

To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/


WANT MORE INFORMATION?


Dalton Finkbeiner

 Communications and Marketing Coordinator - Rugby Ontario

    647-560-4790 x 1006

    dfinkbeiner@rugbyontario.com


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