On 11 June 2020, Rugby League Ipswich announced the cancellation of their 2020 seasons for both juniors and seniors, due to the current COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the Queensland Government.
Click here to read the full Rugby League Ipswich announcement.
Our Club understands that this is a big disappointment for our players, coaches, volunteers and their families who are all passionate about their footy and have already missed out on so much this year.
Here is a video statement from Brother Juniors Ipswich president, Michael Williams, outlining our club's support for the decision, our commitment to being back on the field in 2021, and answering some initial questions about registration fee refunds, Fairplay vouchers and player transfers.
At the bottom of this page, we have created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section to address all the questions we are receiving, including information in regards to:
If you have additional questions, we ask that you please email these through to info@ipswich.qld.gov.au. If we can't answer straight away, we will seek clarification and respond with the relevant information and add it as an update to this page.
Finally, as mentioned above, we are committed to being back bigger and better in 2021, and hope to have you all here with us.
Deciding to not return to play for 2020 was not an easy decision. Rugby League Ipswich consulted with all the Clubs and in the end, we support the decision that has been made.
Under the current Queensland Government guidelines and restrictions, it was just not going to be possible for us to deliver an enjoyable footy season for our members. The main factors we looked at to make the decision include:
We also couldn't keep delaying the decision. If we were returning we needed to start putting things in place for a re-started season, and if we weren't returning, we needed to let our members know so that they could make alternate arrangements.
The decision to not return to play is for all our teams, from Under 6 to Under 17s and our three girls teams.
Consideration was given to the fact that our 3 girls teams play in a different (SEQ) competition to the boys and the mixed teams. In the end, we didn't feel it was right for some of our teams to be able to return to play while others couldn't.
After initially announcing the full cancellation of the 2020 junior season on 11 June, Rugby League Ipswich subsequently announced on 7 July that the season would be recommencing with only 5 clubs (not including Brothers Juniors Ipswich) participating. Click here to see Rugby League Ipswich's announcement regarding the recommended 2020 junior season.
It's early days and we are focusing on handling the season cancellation at the moment, but we are looking at some activities that we may be able to hold between now and 2021, including:
If you want to suggest an off-season activity, please email your idea through to info@brothersjuniorsipswich.com.au for the committee to consider.
We are committed to being back on the field in 2021. We anticipate that some of these health and hygiene requirements are likely to still be in place in some form next year.
Now that we are not returning for 2020, our committee will focus on working with the QRL and Rugby League Ipswich on what our requirements are for a safe and practical return to play for 2021, and ensure that we have these in place for next season.
As yet, we don't have an answer to this question - but it has been asked. As this falls under '2021 planning' it may be a while before we have this information.
If possible, we are asking people who have paid their registration fees to allow us to hold these in credit for you for next season. It will be a big help to us if we don’t have to process hundreds of refunds.
We do understand though that there are some families doing it tough now and we have created a form via which people can request a refund (see How do I request a refund? below).
Our 2003 born boys and 2002 born girls, who won’t be eligible for juniors next year, should also use this form to request a refund for any fees they have paid.
You do not have to do anything. We will keep a register of players and the registration fees that were paid for them for 2020. This will then be applied against their fees for next season once they register.
We have created a form via which people can request a refund. The form asks for the names of the players that you are requesting the refund for and for your bank account details.
We will be calling or texting the parent/guardian listed in the MySideline system, for each player that a refund has been requested for, to verify that they have actually submitted the refund request.
We anticipate that it may take us 2-3 weeks to verify and process any refunds, depending on the number of requests we receive.
Processing of refunds has been delayed due to the recommencement of discussions about possible return to play. Now that a final decision about the 2020 season has been made, we will be processing refunds ASAP.
We will be keeping a register of all the 2020 registration fees that we are crediting towards next season. You will be able to request a refund of the fees that you have paid at anytime.
Fairplay vouchers are not redeemable for cash. This is not our rule, it is the Queensland Government’s rule.
If we are found to be breaching this rule, we can lose eligibility to redeem the vouchers in the future which negatively impacts everyone.
Fairplay vouchers are not redeemable for cash. This is not our rule, it is the Queensland Government’s rule.
If we are found to be breaching this rule, we can lose eligibility to redeem the vouchers in the future which negatively impacts everyone.
We are continuing to seek clarification from Queensland Sport and Recreation in regards to the specific question of crediting vouchers to next year. The responses we have received to date are unclear and indicate that they may not have made a ruling about this yet.
In the meantime, we are keeping a register of all the vouchers presented for 2020, so that we can apply a credit if directed to do so.
Yes, we are permitted to transfer the $150 value of any 2020 Fairplay voucher redeemed to another eligible activity provider.
If you require us to do this for your child, please ask the activity provider that you are registering with to email us a tax invoice for the redeemable amount (including GST) to info@brothersjuniorsipswich.com.au along with proof of registration. We will then just need to verify that your new activity provider is eligible, before we transfer the funds for you.
We are not permitted to refund the value of the voucher to a parent/guardian to take to the new activity provider. It must be transferred directly from us to them.
No, we have been directed by Queensland Sports and Recreation to stop redeeming 2020 vouchers until our activities resume for 2020. As we are not returning to play, this means we are no longer able to accept vouchers in 2020.
If you have 2020 vouchers that you haven't redeemed, the date for using these has been extended to 11 November 2020. You can use them with another activity provider that is returning to play in 2020, including the summer season sports.
To help you understand the information in this section, please see the definitions below of the two types of transfer that exist in rugby league:
Clearance: This type of transfer fully removes the player from their current club and registers them with a new club. If this player wants to transfer back to their previous club in 2021 (clearance restrictions may apply).
Portability Permit: This type of transfer allows the player to stay registered with their current club, but permits them to play with another club for a specific period of time (e.g. the remainder of the 2020 season). Then in 2021 season, this player will be able to re-register with their previous club as normal. If they want to permanently move to their new club for 2021, they would need to seek a full clearance at this time (clearance restrictions may apply).
See the definitions above to understand the two types of transfer that exist in rugby league.
Yes, you can request a transfer but it must be a Portability Permit and not a Clearance request.
The QRL has announced that they would not be approving any clearance request submitted after 1 June. Players that want to transfer to another club that is returning to play, can do so but they must do this by requesting a Portability Permit. This type of transfer allows the player to stay registered with their current club, but permits them to play with another club for a specific period of time (e.g. the remainder of the 2020 season).
Portability Permit requests can only be submitted by the club that you are looking to transfer to.
In order to request a Portability Permit, you must contact the club you are interested in to discuss if they are accepting transfers for your age group and ask them to submit the request, which will automatically be sent to us to approve.
No, parents and players can only request a Clearance via MySideline. The QRL has confirmed they will not be approving any new Clearance requests for the 2020 season.
Portability Permit requests can only be submitted by clubs. You must contact the club you are interested in transferring to and ask them to submit the request.
No, we will not be blocking Portability Permit requests for any 2020 registered player. If you believe that we may have missed approving a request, please reach out to us via email to info@brothersjuniorsipswich.com.au.
Given that the QRL is only allowing transfers via Portability Permits for the remainder of 2020, we don't believe that there will be any restrictions on these transfers.
In the normal state of events, there are restrictions on Clearances for representative players and players that have already registered with a club for 2020. There are also restrictions on the number of Clearances that a club can accept in each age group from other Queensland clubs. If a Clearance is declined on the basis of one of these restrictions, clubs can appeal by lodging a special consideration request which includes a fee usually payable by the parent/guardian of the player.
Yes, we are permitted to transfer the $150 value of any 2020 Fairplay voucher redeemed to another club, presuming they are an eligible activity provider.
If you require us to do this for your child, please ask the club that you are registering with to email us a tax invoice for the redeemable amount (including GST) to info@brothersjuniorsipswich.com.au. Once the Portability Permit has been fully approved, we will then just need to verify that your new club is an eligible activity provider, before we transfer the funds for you.
We are not permitted to refund the value of the voucher to a parent/guardian to take to the new club. It must be transferred directly from us to them.