2025 Declaration Process and General League FAQs

WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE LEAGUE?

The Inaugural season of the league will consist of 6 teams in the following markets - Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, and Twin Cities.  The teams will play home and away matches throughout the season. 

WHAT WILL PLAYERS RECEIVE AS PART OF THE LEAGUE?

The players will, at a minimum, receive elite level training/coaching, complete travel coverage (flights, hotels, ground transportation, meals). The league is an active start-up and will be working to add to the overall package as funding is finalized.

WHAT TYPE OF MEDICAL SUPPORT WILL PLAYER RECEIVE?

Athletes will have access to a full collaborative medical team consisting of athletic trainers, sports performance coaches and team physicians. Athletes will receive expedited care with the team physicians as well as assistance in higher level care with specialists.  

Athletes will also have access to a dynamic, collaborative sports science database. This database will house wellness data, load management, team lifts, communication hubs and partner with wearable technology to provide state of the art metric tracking. 

Our medical teams will be fully supported by a robust Medical Advisory Board who will collaborate and support the care for all six teams. 

WHAT WILL THE SEASON SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE?

The overall season will run from Mid-February (pre-season) through End of June, with games beginning at the end of March. There will be several league breaks, but players should expect to be available for all matches unless approved by the head coach and Director of Rugby prior to the beginning of the season.

WHAT WILL THE DAILY/WEEKLY SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE?

Players can expect to train 3 days per week, as well as participate in ~3 S&C sessions. The S&C sessions may be independent or undertaken with the team.  Additionally, there may be required meetings for practice preview/review, game analysis, video review, etc. The maximum work week exclusive of travel/games will be 16 hours (3x2hrs training, 3x1.5hrs S&C, 3x1hr meeting).  Players will have a minimum of 2 days off per week

HOW DO I JOIN THE LEAGUE?

Complete the Declaration process between Sept 23rd and Oct 20th, 2024. This process includes completing initial Declaration documentation, submitting match film, and completing the Medical Forms. Coaches will then use this information to complete team selection between November and January.

DO I HAVE TO MOVE TO PLAY?

Maybe. Players who have a compelling case to be in a specific market (i.e. current resident, job opportunity, hometown, etc) can request an In-State Athlete Designation. This designation restricts which team can select the athlete to only the local market. Having an In-State designation does NOT guarantee that an athlete WILL be selected to that market.

WHEN WILL I KNOW IF I HAVE BEEN SELECTED?

Coaches will begin their selection process in November when they select five foundational players who have been historic members of the local rugby market. Following the announcement of foundational players, there will be two selection rounds held in December. Selected players will be contacted after each round to confirm their role and sign initial league agreement. Complete rosters will be announced in January 2025.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I WASN'T SELECTED?

Players who were not selected are able to play amateur rugby and re-enter the selection process the following year. A limited number of local market players who are not initially selected will be offered an On-Call Athlete role. These athletes will be part of a pool of players who are available for selection to the training squad in the event of injury or other issues with training numbers.

WHAT IMPACT DOES PLAYING IN THE WER HAVE ON MY COLLEGIATE ELIGIBILITY?

Different collegiate programs will have different eligibility restrictions. High school and College players who choose to join WER risk impacting their collegiate eligibility. Players who have questions about their specific situation are encouraged to discuss the implications with their existing college coach, eligibility personnel at their current or prospective university, or other eligibility specialists. There will be a collegiate selection process in May, for those athletes who are current college athletes who wish to finish their collegiate career before declaring for WER.

IF I AM AN INTERNATIONAL PLAYER, CAN I JOIN THE WER?

At the moment, WER is not able to support player visas. However, if players are eligible to work in the US or have secured visas on their own prior to the start of the season, they may be considered for the 2025 season.