USAFL and others

[Canberra Pear]

That "parallel" hadn't escaped me, but you are skirting around the event's problems.
The USAFL nationals is big money, so much so they can "tender" it out to get the best deal.

The USAFL Nationals is already a big deal and already tendering it out. Making it international by adding more Canadian teams doesn't add too much to that.

Nationals consistently get two Canadian clubs: Calgary and Quebec. Even when there's a lot of teams, it's usually just multiple teams from those organisations.

I don't think they'd get too many more Canadian teams by claiming it as international as opposed to American. If Edmonton numbers build back numbers, and Nova Scotia continues its trajectory, I can see them joining, but that's regardless of the tournament's name/identity.

Men's teams were also invited to the AFL Canada Cup, but there wasn't enough interest to host a men's division. For the Canadian men in BC and Ontario, their respective grand finals remain the pinnacle. I'm still hopeful for a men's division in the future, but at the end of the day, if they aren't interested in a Canadian tournament, Nationals (or Internationals) are an even greater commitment. You'll get some Canadian clubs, but it won't capture the interest the way it does in the USAFL.

Just to reiterate, I'm all for a greater Canadian presence at Nationals, I just don't think Nationals should become the default tournament for all North American clubs. In fact, I think more Canadian teams at Nationals would help launch a men's AFL Canada Cup division.

The event is already a compromise on time and place.
More Canadian teams wouldn't change things as they try to choose a place like Denver.

If it's to evolve from USAFL to international, it can't be played exclusively in the US. That'd be like playing every AFL grand final in the one city.

And then when you do have the tournament in Canada, flights to Montreal or Calgary etc would put an extra burden on southern American teams.

I'm sure there's answers, but the bigger the scope, the harder the balance is to keep everybody happy.

My vision would be for the premiers of the regional leagues to play off in a super bowl.
So, for four teams you are looking at three games and thus three airfares/travel only.
Now, this isn't perfect, as there are leagues, metro leagues and add-hoc games but
a conference system could work with wild-cards etc.

I like that concept. Could make it a playoff between the best team from each quarter of North America (Canada East, Canada West, USA East and USA West).

Something I wish was explored more also is league representative teams. AFL Ontario had a combined team more than a decade ago for a rep match (OAFL Steam). I would love to see combined AFLBC and AFLO teams at Nationals. I think they'd probably both compete at div 1 level.

 

[RedV3x]

The USAFL Nationals is already a big deal and already tendering it out. Making it international by adding more Canadian teams doesn't add too much to that.

Again you are missing the point. The idea that I'm suggesting is to put "international" into the title to make it more saleable to sponsors. The idea that I'm suggesting is to establish "national league" to make it more saleable to sponsors.
I'm talking from a marketing p.o.v. - you know... smoke and mirrors.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Again you are missing the point. The idea that I'm suggesting is to put "international" into the title to make it more saleable to sponsors.

I don't really have a strong opinion on this. I have nothing against adding international in the title, but I think the difference would be negligible compared to the good efforts the USAFL are already doing to raise the profile of the event.

The idea that I'm suggesting is to establish "national league" to make it more saleable to sponsors.
I'm talking from a marketing p.o.v. - you know... smoke and mirrors.

Could you elaborate more on how you'd go about establishing a national league?

 

[RedV3x]

I think the difference would be negligible

Most probably. It's just a suggestion ......at no cost.

compared to the good efforts the USAFL are already doing to raise the profile of the event.

I don't know why you have to keep adding stuff we already know.

Could you elaborate more on how you'd go about establishing a national league?

I thought I did. I would need more research or help as to the detail.

 

[BigBrainUSA]

Hooo boy. Where to begin.

The USAFL National Championships is meant to determine who the best team in the league is for that season. The seedings and divisions are determined by season performance and previous years’ performance, with consideration given to the number of players a team can commit to bringing to the tournament. It’s the USAFL’s finals system and Grand Final. Period, end of sentence.

Canadian teams are considered “guest teams,” and they are allowed to compete based on relationships they have with clubs, both in partnership and competitive. AFL Quebec competes against the Eastern clubs with regularity, And Calgary plays sporadic matches against west coast clubs. This year, players from Ontario clubs played with the Saints, players from Halifax played with Calgary, and players from the BCAFL played with Seattle (as they have during the season).

There is no desire on the USAFL to make this into a full-blown North American, or even international, tournament. There have been exhibition matches played by Australian clubs and inquiries from clubs in Europe and Columbia (the latter was in town last weekend to check out the tournament and take ideas on running a similar carnival back home with them). But at its heart, the focus point is and should be USAFL clubs and those who exist in proximity to the USAFL’s ecosystem.

The AFL does not need any sort of “smoke and mirrors” nor any other qualification to promote or get around this tournament. We had several AFL staff, including Laura Kane, on hand for the tournament to observe and assist, as well as foster its role with the USAFL as a development partner. The tournament is what it is and should be marketed based on that.

I would love to see Canada have its own club championships, owing to the fact that they have a couple of city based leagues. They may run into the issue that the USAFL would if they ever to do that “Super Bowl” like tournament - teams may or may not be able to travel to an ad hoc qualified tournament, even if it’s centrally located in a place like Toronto (which is more accessible to most Canadian cities, whereas I don’t know that such a place exists in the US).

 

[RedV3x]

There is no desire on the USAFL

Yes, there is no desire on the USAFL

to make this into a full-blown North American, or even international, tournament.

A North American tournament = an international tournament.

 

[jarrod_island_doggies]

Not sure if the best thread for this, but cool vision out of Kanagawa

Move over #4, there's a new jet in town (and by in town, I mean 8,000km away, hahah)


Picked up a footy for the first time (has a background in basketball), just turned 18 and is doing things like this on sand in school shoes.

 

[jarrod_island_doggies]

Quick question, does anybody know of VFLW/talent league/women's state leagues in general players with Tongan heritage?

 

[RedV3x]

So, is anyone else having trouble accessing the USAFL facebook site ?
Has been that way for some time now. Any reason for it to be private ?

 

[Canberra Pear]

So, is anyone else having trouble accessing the USAFL facebook site ?
Has been that way for some time now. Any reason for it to be private ?

Are you on the phone or computer?

I've got no issues on my phone.

 

[RedV3x]

Are you on the phone or computer?

I've got no issues on my phone.

It's the (lack of) sharing on facebook on computer.

 

[RedV3x]

I was looking at the USAFL site and thought there information could be better so I did a quick edit.
Feel free to use.

What is Australian Rules Football?

Australian Football, colloquially known as "Australian Rules Football", "Aussie Rules" or " footy" is a physical contact sport. It is a form of football with possible influences from early forms of English football, Gaelic football and an aboriginal game of Marngrook. It is an unique game of football created by experimentation by it's creators. Its rules were codified in 1858, and predate all other modern forms of football. Australian Football was the first to develop community clubs playing in leagues for a premiership season - the modern template for football world wide. Today it is a multi-million dollar business, with a National Competition, the AFL, with numerous smaller leagues, amateur leagues, women's leagues and junior leagues. Interest in the game is growing all the time.

Where in the World is Aussie Rules played?

Australian Football is played across Australia though not uniformly popular
The small Pacific island of Nauru is actually where Australian Football is the most popular.
Many countries outside of Australia play Australian Football at an amateur level to various degrees.
The P.N.G. and N.Z. have strong leagues being close to Australia, Ireland is very strong because of the similarity to Gaelic Football,
with Great Britain, Canada, Denmark, Japan. the USA also figuring strongly.
As a note, many Irish men and especially women play in the AFL and the AFLW respectfully.
The AFLW also attracts women players from around the world.


When is the Australian Football League (AFL) season?

Games usually start for the Premiership season in the last weekend of March, and continue through until the end of August. The Finals then start, culminating in the Grand Final on the last Saturday (Friday for the U.S.) in September.

A pre-season tournament (the NAB Cup) with the majority of games being played at night, is played from late February to the last week before the regular season begins. Exhibition games are sometimes played overseas between seasons.

Saturday afternoon is the traditional game time, but AFL games are played on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and evenings and Sunday afternoons and evenings to maximise television exposure. Games are occasionally scheduled on Monday nights and on public holidays.

To watch AFL live from within the U.S., check out www.espn3.com.



Timing.

Usually the team scoring the most points goals but as a goal is given a value 0f six points and a minor given a value of one point then total points wins the game. The match is considered drawn if points are equal in all but the final series where extra time is played.

A game is divided into 4 quarters of 20 minutes playing time. Time is monitored off the field by the timekeepers at professional games where they stop and start the clock for every umpire-controlled stoppage. Amateur football games tend to only add "time on" as it is called, for only serious injuries or serious situations.The teams change ends at the end of each quarter.

Time keepers consider out of play in the following situations:

A goal is scored. Time is stopped from when the goal umpire finishes waving his flags to when the ball is bounced at the centre circle.
A behind is scored. Time is stopped from when the goal umpire finishes waving his flag to when the ball is kicked in or run out.
The ball goes out of bounds. Time is stopped from when the boundary umpire signals until when the boundary umpire throws the ball back into play.
Whenever the field umpire signals to the time-keeper that time is to be stopped by raising his arm and blowing his whistle.


The interval between quarters and the longer half-time break is usually determined by the local league but usually 5minutes and 20 minutes respectfully.

The field.

Australian Football is played on large oval often shared with cricket. There are no standard dimensions for a football field and it is stated that a field should be an oval between 135 and 185 meters in length and 110 and 155 meters in width. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is considered a modern template with its dimensions being 165m length by 135m width. The boundary is marked with a white line and an interchange box for each team on the centre wing.

The goalposts are a set of tall posts erected at end of the oval flanked by a point post on either side. All posts 6.4 meters (roughly 7 yards) apart on the goal line which forms part of the boundary. A goal is scored by a ball kicked through the goalposts but untouched by hand or post. Any other ball crossing between the point posts is recorded as a "behind" worth one point. Posts are padded for players safety.


Kick-ins are taken after a point has been scored from a "goal square", a rectangle that extends 9 meters into the ground from the goal posts (6.4 meters in width).
The umpire calls "pay on" if a player taking the kick-in runs outside of the "goal square". A opposing player is not permitted with 8 meters of the "goal square" until play recommences.

An arc of radius 50 meters from each goal is usually drawn. This arc serves as a range finder for players and umpires. An AFL player should be able to kick a goal from this line remembering the kick has clear the player on the mark and any players on the goal line.

A center circle is marked at the precise center of the oval, 3 meters in diameter, bisected by a lateral line extending 2 meters either side of the diameter, and dividing the circle in half for the two opposing ruckmen. A center circle centers a square, 45 meters parallel and perpendicular to the goals. At each center bounce, six players must be within each arc and four players must be within the center square (leaving two players outside the square between the two arcs.



The Ball

The ball is an oval bladder covered with leather, tanned for day use or colored visible yellow for night matches, and inflated to 69kPa (10 lbs) pressure. It is slightly larger and rounder than the American or Canadian ball, and is specifically designed for accurate kicking over long distances.

Length 270 - 280 mm Diameter 167 - 173 mm Circumference - 720 - 735 mm by 545 - 555 mm Approximate weight - 450 - 500 grams (Dry weight inflated ball.)



Players and Positions

A team consists of 18 players on the field with four interchange players on the bench. Free substitutions are allowed at any time during the match, through a interchange area in front of a team's bench.

Player positions are purely nominal as players are free to roam the field. The closet players get to their nominal positions is at center bouncedowns where players are roughly
deployed in a matrix of five lines of three across the oval, with the remaining three assigned to the ball.

The players in each line are usually designated as being in either the left, center or right position in each line, relative to the direction of attack:


Full Forwards: Left Forward Pocket Full Forward Right Forward Pocket
Half Forwards: Left Half Forward Center Half Forward Right Half Forward
Center Line: Left Wing, Center, Right Wing
Half Backs: Left Half Back, Center Half Back, Right Half Back
Full Backs: Left Back Pocket, Full Back, Right Back Pocket

The three assigned to the ball are referred to as "followers." Their positions are referred to as Ruckman, Rover and Ruck-Rover.


Purposes of Player Positions

All players should contest the ball when its within their vicinity (unless playing to alternative coaching instructions).

The traditional purposes of player positions are:

Full Forward: taller players to mark the ball with shorter players grabbing any spoils.
Half Forward: direct the attack on goal mainly kicking to a lead and stop the ball from rebounding.
Centre Line: link the defences to the offences.
Half Back: to mark or spoil any balls in the air and rebound into attack.
Full back: taller players to spoil long distance attempts at goal, shorter players to smother any scoring attempts then rebound.

No padding is worn. Mouthguards, soft protective headgear and shin guards are permitted. Other protection or medical appliances require prior approval; generally, you can't play in a cast or heavy knee braces as you can in the NFL. Jewelry is prohibited as a health hazard.



Scoring

A ball kicked between the two larger goal posts without being touched by hand or post is a goal and scores six points. The ball is returned to the center circle for a "bonce-down."

If the ball passes between the behind posts by any other means, then it is a behind, and it scores 1 point. The ball is kicked back into play from within the goal square, by a player acting as the fullback. It is common for the fullback to run further than the "goal square" and "play on" is called.
A ball hitting a post, is deemed to have crossed the boundary for the lesser score - hitting a goal post scores a behind and hitting a behind post is deemed a free kick for out-of-bounds-on-the full or a throw-in if the ball has touched the ground or a player.


A scoreboard will invariably give the total points score but will also the break the score down into the number of goals and behinds scored.
The only similarity is Gaelic Football where they break scoring down into goals and "overs".


Starting and Restarting Play

The umpire determines the initial choice of goal by coin toss and call of the visiting team captain. The controlling field umpire starts play by blowing his whistle and bouncing the ball in the center circle so that it rebounds vertically to be contested by the players in the center square. If ground conditions won't allow the ball to bounce, the umpire simply tosses the ball into the air as if it were a "jump ball."

At a center bounce, only one player, a "ruckman", may enter the center circle and may not cross the center line into the opponent's side of the circle until the ball has left the umpire's hands and "play on" has been declared. The game has started and all starting position offsides cease.
After a goal is scored, play is restarted in the center of the ground in the manner described above.

The other common situations when play is restarted are:

After a behind has scored and after the field umpire has given the "all clear" to the goal umpire . The player acting as fullback must kick the ball out or run the ball out of the "goal square"to restart play and "time-on".

After the ball has gone-out-of-bounds (all of a ball outside the boundary line). If the ball touches the ground or a player by then the boundary umpire restarts play by throwing it backwards over his head towards the center of the ground. If the ball did not bounce and went over the boundary line as a result of a kick that was not touched, it is "out-of-bounds-on-the-full" (on the fly), and the opposing team receives a free-kick from the spot at which the ball crossed the line. The closest player from the opposing team takes the free kick.
When a ball is held in contest with no chance of coming free and no illegaity present the umpire blows a whistle for a bounce-down at the spot where play came to a halt.



Out of Bounds

A ball that has gone completely over the boundary line is considered out of bounds. If any portion of the ball is on or over the boundary line, the ball is still in play. A player can be over the boundary line and in possession of the ball without the ball being considered "out-of-bounds" if part of the ball is still in play.



Possession and Disposal of the Ball

A player may hold the ball for unlimited time when he is not being held by an opponent.
A player lying on or over the ball is considered to be in possession.
A player running with the ball must bounce the ball or touch it to the ground once every 15 meters.
A player in possession of the ball must at some point kick or hand-pass the ball.
A player in possession of the ball is liable to be tackled legally (above the knees, below the shoulders and not forcefully in the back.)
A player in possession of the ball and held by an opponent must dispose or attempt to dispose of the ball immediately by kicking or handballing the ball.

To handball correctly, a player must hold the ball in one hand and hit it with the clenched fist of the other hand out of the hand holding the ball. The hand holding the ball must not move relative to the player's body as in a throwing action.

A mark is awarded to a player when the ball is caught from a kick which has traveled a minimum distance of 15 meters horizontally without being touched by another player.
A mark is awarded to a player when the umpire deems that the marking player had control of the ball.
Marking contests can be very physical and are legal only if a player has "eyes for the Ball"
A player awarded the mark may play on immediately, or go back unhindered and kick from behind the position where he took the mark.



Shepherding

A player may block or bump but not hold an opposition player within 5 metres of a ground ball but not a markable ball.
Shepherding allows an opposition player to be pushed in the chest or side, or for the player to place his body between the opposition and the ball.
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Free Kicks

Free kicks are mostly awarded as penalties but a fair mark is awarded a free kick also. A free kick is always taken at the most advantageous spot. This usually where the infringement occurred, where the ball lands in the case of a free kick after disposal or 50 meters advanced in the case of a 50 meter penalty being awarded.

A free kick is given against the player in possession of the ball for the following infringements of the rules:

Not disposing of the ball within a reasonable time when held by an opponent.
Not disposing of the ball immediately when the player had "prior opportunity" to dispose of the football..
Not disposing of the ball correctly by using a handball or a kick.
Kicking the ball over the boundary line without it bouncing first or being touched by another player.
Deliberately forcing or taking the ball over the boundary line.
Running more than 15 meters without bouncing the ball or touching the ball on the ground.

A free kick is given against any player who:

Grabs the opponent with the ball above the shoulder or below the knees.
Pushes an opponent in the back.
Trips or attempts to trip an opponent which includes diving in front of a player..
Charges an opponent, unduly rough tackle or dangerous action.
Interferes or impedes with an opponent attempting to mark .
Shepherds an opponent when the ball is more than 5 meters away.
Is offside in the starting posistions before the ball is bounced at the restart of play.

Following a free kick or mark, a 50 meter penalty is given against a player standing on the mark who:

Refuses to stand on the mark at the point indicated by the umpire.
Deliberately wastes time in returning the ball to the player who is to take the kick.
Holds the player who is to take the kick thereby preventing play continuing.
Enters the protected area or leaves too slowly.
moves off the mark before "play on" is called.


Kick-in After Behind

If a ball is kicked back into play from within the "goal square", following the scoring of a behind, and subsequently goes "out of bounds" without being touched by a player of either team despite bouncing, it is treated as if having gone out-of-bounds-on-the-full. The attacking team is awarded a free kick. This rarely happens now as players run out of the "goal square" and "play-on" has been clalled



Play On Advantage

An umpire need not hold up play by awarding a free kick to a player who has been infringed. Where the player or a team-mate has possession and is in an advantageous position, the umpire calls "advantage play on" and allows play to continue. This is referred to as 'paying the advantage'. The umpire is obliged to blow his whistle for "advantage play on" which can be very confusing.



Relayed Free Kicks

If a player has been awarded a free kick and another player is infringed upon forward of play upon then the second player is awarded a free kick at that spot.If a player has been awarded a free kick, diposes of the ball by kicking and another infringement occurs in flight then a free kick is awarded to the player closest to where the ball lands.