The Women’s Collegiate All Star Championship kicks off tomorrow in Glendale, Colo., but the competition won’t be at full strength as years prior. Typically eight teams strong, the NASCs will be without the Northeast and Southern California regions.

The all-star championship still allots seeds to territories, which conflicted with the two new Geographic Unions. The NRU was divided in Empire and Northeast GUs, and SoCal transitioned to a GU.

“It was decided by the Union not to enter a team in the tournament due to the fact that it usually lands during graduation weekend for many schools in California, the cost of traveling to for the players/team (usually it is in Pittsburgh) and time to prepare the players,” University of Arizona coach Rusty Wortman said on behalf of SoCal. “The Union decided that at this time we needed to pull back from the tournament and evaluate the future of all star or select side programs. There is quite a bit of money involved, and this year that money is going to be used to put on clinics in Southern California to grow women's rugby.”

The situation in the former NRU is more complicated. After dividing up the territorial union, the all-star competition called for the former companion LAUs to coordinate once again.

“It was disappointing that the Northeast region was unable to submit a collegiate team in this year's NASCs,” Empire VP Communications Renee Ovrut said. “However, given the restructuring from LAU/TUs to GUs, alongside movement of colleges into conferences, the organization and finances needed to select and support the most talented and capable players from our area was not possible this year.  In the end, taking a year off from selects was the best and most pragmatic option, and we look forward to rejoining the competition next year, either as a Northeast team or - ideally - as two select teams: one representing the Empire GU and the other the Northeast GU.”

The NRU’s late withdrawal caused some scheduling woes, as certain teams’ flights barred the ideal restructure. What emerged is a very convoluted if/then schedule. The Thursday matches are set: Four Tier 1 teams will play one game apiece, and the two Tier 2 team will face off. MARFU will play on Friday, Pacific Coast will play on Saturday, but it whether that’s for fifth or third place will be determined after tomorrow. The Tier 1 championship will be contested on Saturday.

Below is the match schedule:

Thursday
9 a.m.: Tier 2 semifinal – Pacific Coast (5) v MARFU (6)
11 a.m.: Tier 1 semifinal – Midwest (1) v West (4)
1 p.m.: Tier 1 semifinal – USA U20s (2) v South (3)

Friday
1 p.m.: 3rd/4th or 5th/6th place match v MARFU

Saturday
1 p.m.: 3rd/4th or 5th/6th place match v Pacific Coast
4 p.m.: Tier 1 final

If you want a jump on the playoff match-ups, below are the advancement scenarios, courtesy of USA Rugby Competitions Management Coordinator Eric Geib:

Midwest
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 11:00 AM (1 v 4)
Game 2: Plays Saturday at 4:00 PM if they win on Thursday; Plays Friday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Mid-Atlantic defeats the Pacific Coast; Plays Saturday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Pacific Coast defeats the Mid-Atlantic

USA U20s
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 1:00 PM (2 v 3)
Game 2: Plays Saturday at 4:00 PM if they win on Thursday; Plays Friday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Pacific Coast defeats the Mid-Atlantic; Plays Saturday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Mid-Atlantic defeats the Pacific Coast

South
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 1:00 PM (2 v 3)
Game 2: Plays Saturday at 4:00 PM if they win on Thursday; Plays Friday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Pacific Coast defeats the Mid-Atlantic; Plays Saturday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Mid-Atlantic defeats the Pacific Coast

West
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 11:00 AM (1 v 4)
Game 2: Plays Saturday at 4:00 PM if they win on Thursday; Plays Friday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Mid-Atlantic defeats the Pacific Coast; Plays Saturday at 1:00 PM if they lose and the Pacific Coast defeats the Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Coast
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 9:00 AM (5 v 6)
Game 2: Plays Saturday at 1:00 PM

Mid-Atlantic
Game 1: Will play Thursday at 9:00 AM (5 v 6)
Game 2: Plays Friday at 1:00 PM