Even dismissing these as "aspiartional goals" the difference between the football status of that country South of the border is immense.
Why does the 49th Parallel make such a difference ?
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AFL Canada
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Even dismissing these as "aspiartional goals" the difference between the football status of that country South of the border is immense.
Why does the 49th Parallel make such a difference ?
Is there such a beast ?
There are plenty, it’s just a handful of broke clubs in Melbourne who couldn’t afford it.
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This is just a guess, but I'll take a stab.
Canadian cities are more isolated, and therefore, out of necessity, create bigger teams or leagues in individual cities/provinces. Then you have a higher concentration of participation in each city, which helps with things like frequency of play and juniors' development. Players in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver can play competitive footy while rarely leaving the city.
The USAFL still has more senior players, but they're distributed between more cities. Many of the larger USAFL clubs have metro leagues similar to Montreal, but intercity travel for competitive footy still seems more prevalent.
It's a similar comparison to rugby league in North America. Rugby league has smaller participation than footy in both countries, but Ontario and BC both have leagues (or at least did pre-Covid), whereas American leagues are mostly teams travelling between cities.
Also, in a quirk of geography, the majority of AFL Canada's member clubs are actually below the 49th Parallel.
pretty much the same spread as cities in the U.S.A.
The U.S.A. has a population of 314 million to 38 million in Canada.
The two largest leagues in Canada are based in Vancouver and Toronto.
Vancouver is 12 hours away from the closest 1m-plus Canadian city. Toronto is 4.5 hours away from the same in Ottawa.
Comparatively, Louisville was one of the first two teams in the USAFL. They have five 1m-plus cities closer than Ottawa is to Toronto, but 25 years on, they still have to join with Indianapolis and Cincinnati to form a team.
San Francisco/Bay Area on the other hand, is more isolated. Near Sacramento, but 6 hours from LA. They have the only full-sized metro league in the country (that I'm aware of).
Could all be a coincidence, but I think larger isolated cities have led to a greater concentration of participants and resources.
Vancouver is right next door to Seattle and Portland. By comparison Vancouver is much more advanced.
Toronto is a short drive from a number of high profile cities. Toronto as we all know is a leader.
Now, if you are looking for excuses there is this business premise that states it's easier to conquer/infiltrate/sell to an optimum sized city than a large one.
That's because it's cheaper and easier to advertise to a median city.
But that excuse falls down because both Vancouver and especially Toronto are decent sized cities.
Now, if I was to analyze the differences in Australian Football take-up I would suggest.
1. AFL is competing against CFL in Canada and NFL in the U.S.A.
2. Canadians are socially and politically more similar to Australians.
3. The education system in the U.S.A. is really a very hard nut to crack.
4. On paper the USAFL is more creative with the formation metro leagues along side traditional football whilst AFL Canada probably plays the most traditional football in the Northern Hemisphere, but in reality the USAFL is dragging their feet waiting for something from the AFL.
BigBrainUSA
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- May 2, 2017
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Since you seem to have your pulse on what is happening on the USAFL despite not being involved with them whatsover, nor are you physically living in this country, could you kindly clue me, an employee of the USAFL, into what exactly we're waiting for from the AFL?
Yes, I'm not currently involved with the USAFL - but I was involved and nothing seems to have changed.
I'll pm you because I don't believe a public discussion would be beneficial to anyone.
BigBrainUSA
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- May 2, 2017
- 86
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- Hawthorn
No no, please, I think we're all kind of curious to know what you know.
So you want me to publicly criticize the USAFL ?
So Brian, with 2024 coming up, I'd be curious about your thoughts on raising the profile of the AFL International Cup.
Raising the profile of the International Cup - World Footy News
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Blame Canada...for USAFL?
Anyway, saw this today - another sign things are picking up again. How's the vibe Canberra Pear?
AFL Canada is Hiring: Development Manager position open in Toronto - AFL Canada
Anyway, saw this today - another sign things are picking up again. How's the vibe Canberra Pear?
AFL Canada is Hiring: Development Manager position open in Toronto - AFL Canada
Was literally about to post about this!
I didn't expect it to move this quickly, but it's definitely a good sign. Our executive director will soon be Montreal based. The BC development manager started in Vancouver in late December. Calgary also has a paid junior coordinator (but that's not done specifically through AFL Canada). So, with this role in Toronto, there'll be paid positions in the big four provinces (Alberta, BC, Ontario and Quebec). These provinces cover more than 85% of the Canadian population.
AFL Ontario has come down from its peak. It's been pretty status quo for a while, which is still a positive in light of the pandemic, but hopefully this will be a push in the right direction.
Around 2013-2014, the league had a 10-team first division, a 5-team second division, and a 5-team women's division. That's now an 8-team men's league with no second division. The women's division is the exact same teams.
- Broadview went from two men's teams, to no men's teams. Their remaining players went to other clubs.
- Etobicoke has flirted with re-entry in the men's division. Having a women's side has at least kept them in the fold.
- Windsor is close to the numbers, but the distance (3.5hrs from Toronto) means you need good numbers to properly commit.
- Kingston and London are both somewhat active (more so Kingston), but wouldn't be close be able to pull a full team together at this stage.
One of the goals will also be to get a mixed non-contact rec league up (similar to AFL9s). This will be good to introduce people to footy who don't want to commit to tackling. Or the time to practice. Toronto has a tonnes of Aussies, former footy players, and people who may have learnt it at school, but don't want a contact sport, so there should be a decent base for a rec league.
The strategic direction released recently outlined the plan for seven regional paid positions in the next five years (Vancouver, Quebec City, East Ontario, The Prairies, West Ontario, Maritimes, Central Alberta). They're already adding two (bolded), so I think momentum is looking good in Canada.
The Kin Games was also a success. About 500 uni students from across Canada played footy in Winnipeg.
The footy was played as an athletic component of the wider Kinesiology Games, where students studying kinesiology come together for a bit of friendly competition. It had schools from the seven (out of 10) biggest provinces.
It was the first time playing footy for the majority of students and a few asked how they could continue playing outside of the Kin Games. A few teams also trained with some clubs beforehand. We've had a few students come out to trainings since.
It was the second time footy was played at the Kin Games (and third time it was selected, but the pandemic scuppered 2020). The organisation seems to appreciate the efforts AFL Canada puts in so it looks like there'll be another collaboration in 2024 in Windsor, Ontario.
The footy was played as an athletic component of the wider Kinesiology Games, where students studying kinesiology come together for a bit of friendly competition. It had schools from the seven (out of 10) biggest provinces.
It was the first time playing footy for the majority of students and a few asked how they could continue playing outside of the Kin Games. A few teams also trained with some clubs beforehand. We've had a few students come out to trainings since.
It was the second time footy was played at the Kin Games (and third time it was selected, but the pandemic scuppered 2020). The organisation seems to appreciate the efforts AFL Canada puts in so it looks like there'll be another collaboration in 2024 in Windsor, Ontario.
The Halifax Cup occurred earlier in October and it was a big deal for footy in the Maritimes.
The Maritimes are a group of three smaller Canadian provinces east of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Collectively, they make up 1.9m people, but they're quite spread out, over an area twice the size of Tasmania.
Over the past two years, two teams in Nova Scotia have been steadily growing. Halifax Dockers, which is in by far the largest city in the Maritimes, and the Sydney Giants, about four hours away. They're about 12 hours from the next closest team, so it has primarily been these two teams playing nine-a-side.
But the Halifax Cup represented a real milestone. It was the first 18-a-side match played in Nova Scotia. It was a real testament to how well they've be pushing the growth.
It was also exciting because it involved players from the other two Maritime provinces. The Saint John Bulldogs in New Brunswick have a small group that has been training for this event, and it helped spark a group on Prince Edward Island who are now looking to build a team. Both sent players to play for the Giants.
If Saint John and PEI can properly get off the ground, it'll be great for the Nova Scotian teams to have more varied competition, and it'll also give a greater pool next time there's a provincial championship (last time they partnered with Manitoba, which is actually very far away.
The Maritimes are a group of three smaller Canadian provinces east of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Collectively, they make up 1.9m people, but they're quite spread out, over an area twice the size of Tasmania.
Over the past two years, two teams in Nova Scotia have been steadily growing. Halifax Dockers, which is in by far the largest city in the Maritimes, and the Sydney Giants, about four hours away. They're about 12 hours from the next closest team, so it has primarily been these two teams playing nine-a-side.
But the Halifax Cup represented a real milestone. It was the first 18-a-side match played in Nova Scotia. It was a real testament to how well they've be pushing the growth.
It was also exciting because it involved players from the other two Maritime provinces. The Saint John Bulldogs in New Brunswick have a small group that has been training for this event, and it helped spark a group on Prince Edward Island who are now looking to build a team. Both sent players to play for the Giants.
If Saint John and PEI can properly get off the ground, it'll be great for the Nova Scotian teams to have more varied competition, and it'll also give a greater pool next time there's a provincial championship (last time they partnered with Manitoba, which is actually very far away.
The Toronto Dingos are recruiting players for the 2025 season and beyond! The club is continuing to grow with players from all over the globe including Canada, Australia, Ireland, UK and France. A number of the international players were picked to represent their country at the 2024 International cup - highlighting the standard of the club and its players.
The club will help new comers to Toronto with work, accomodation and getting settled into life in Canada. The seaons runs from May - September, and post season activities include Grand Final Party and Footy Trip.
First pre season session is this coming Saturday, 15th Feb at Ballsports Polson Pier 12:00pm to 1:00pm
For more details reach out:
Web: torontodingos.ca
Twitter: @TorontodingosFC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torontodingosfc/
Email: president@torontodingos.ca
The club will help new comers to Toronto with work, accomodation and getting settled into life in Canada. The seaons runs from May - September, and post season activities include Grand Final Party and Footy Trip.
First pre season session is this coming Saturday, 15th Feb at Ballsports Polson Pier 12:00pm to 1:00pm
For more details reach out:
Web: torontodingos.ca
Twitter: @TorontodingosFC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torontodingosfc/
Email: president@torontodingos.ca
Love your work. You guys are recruiting so hard right now. I've seen you a lot on TikTok, Facebook and Reddit, too.
What are your numbers looking like at the moment? Any chance of a women's team in the future?
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Appreciate it!
Our social media team are doing a great job and have some exciting plans for the 2025 season.
Club has also started partnerships with mental health charity (HeadsUp Guys) and is hoping to launch a Mental Health round in AFLO sometime this season!
First season today there were 30 lads, including 7 newbies (only 2 were Aussies), with a number away with it being a public holiday.
Girls team has been discussed, but nothing in the pipeline as of yet. Some of the boys do train with Blues women’s team on Saturday morning so building some connections there.
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Go ahead....canucks....best season eva
A great article in the Globe and Mail (national newspaper), with an interview witu new national development manager Greg Bridges.
I believe Greg is the first national development manager to come out of the AFL Canada system. The previous one was Aussie, and the two before that were external.
I believe Greg is the first national development manager to come out of the AFL Canada system. The previous one was Aussie, and the two before that were external.
