USA qualfies for RLWC

[Yossarian]

Do you think regional leagues is the way to go Chris? On the East Coast in particular they'd even be better of running some divisions in the north east which would create more even competition. Say something like:

Premier League - DC Slayers, NY Knights, Philadelphia Flight, New Haven Warriors, Rhode Island, Jacksonville, Connecticut Wildcats, Buck County Sharks
Senior League - Baltimore Blues, Boston 13s, New Jersey Titans, Onieda, Northern Raiders, Ashton Bulls, North Virginia, Fairfield County Crocs

You'd have to include Jacksonville because they'd be far too good for anyone in the south east. I believe they are setting up a development league which could also tap into some of the AMNRL development teams:

Atlanta Legion, Jacksonville Reserves, Daytona, Bradenton Bulldogs (maybe you'd have Miami, Savannah, and places like that.

Likewise the same thing can happen over on the west coast. Get some teams up to play games, build into a season and have enough teams, have divisions based on ability and/or geography. The US being so large it may be that you play teams in your general area several times with the odd road trip (maybe 2 long trips a season max).

These things are certainly possible and in many cases are up and running or close to it. What is needed is a common body running things and a united vision.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Will you make the Squad Chris? All Expenses paid trip back to OZ!!!

 

[Chris]

Rugby League in America has so much potential yet the administrators of the AMNRL and USARL have their heads so far up their bums they havent seen the potential yet. They're too interested in starting from the top and working their way down.

For example, I wanted to kick off Rugby League here in Idaho and had a coaching clinic all planned to teach high school kids how to play, aiming this program at kids here who were rejected from their respective high school football teams and trying to give them an alternative.

Here is my personal experience dealing with both AMNRL and the USARL…..

- Sent an e-mail to David Nui head of the AMNRL
- Waited 2 months, no reply.
- Hunted him down on facebook and sent him a message on FB only to be left with "That's great!"
- Three months later still nothing from David Nui
- I then contacted Peter Illfield from USARL and for the first week, communication was great.
- He gave me approximately 20 e-mail contacts for Rugby League teams in the central and western parts of the US to try and get a West Division organised.
- I recieved approximately 17 e-mails bounce back to me and the rest went unanswered.
- I sent Peter Illfield a message asking for directions what to do next.
- A month later he sends me an agreement to sign with the USARL agreeing to things like they had full control of all our media obligations and how we should present our sponsors on our jerseys, as well as provide a club structure to them from club CEO all the way to physios. This document had to be signed by me in the presence of our version of a JP. (If anyone wants a copy of this agreement, PM me and I'll be glad to send you a copy of this. It's quite amusing if you put yourself in my situation as a single person asking for advice and direction on how to introduce rugby league into an area of people who havent got the slightest clue what Rugby League is.)
- The last piece of communication I have between myself and the USARL was September last year.

Since then, my brother-in-law directed me to Idaho Rugby website. It was there I got the contact details of a coach near my area, so I got in contact with him. I am now involved with this team on a part time basis. This is the team's first year and Idaho Rugby have supplied the team with balls, jerseys, shorts and socks. These were actually funded through USA Rugby. The junior competition here in Boise alone has 8 junior teams but if you go to bigger cities in California for example, there are literally hundreds of junior teams playing rugby.

There is also a senior competition happening in the North West here and there are hundreds of senior competitions happening all over the US.

At the moment, Rugby League has no chance of happening because Rugby has engulfed the juniors. While the USARL and AMNRL are busy fighting between themselves for control of Rugby League in the US and setting up seniors, the game will die before it is born here because the administrators in both organizations have forgotten, disregarded or didnt care about their most valuable commodity. The juniors.

 

[Chris]

Will you make the Squad Chris? All Expenses paid trip back to OZ!!!

I'm doing a Gordon Tallis and sitting on the sidelines in protest.