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Vancouver Australian Football Club (VAFC) was created on
January 15, 2001.
It was agreed by the founding members, James Lay and Stuart
Grills, that the club needed to have a visual identity that
was reflective of a power but most importantly made reference to
the Canadian territory where the club would be based. They considered
several club names and agreed that the "Cougars"
would best suit the image they were attempting tocreated.
The VAFC is represented in all media relations and club materials
as the "Cougars" and is supported by the image of the
Cougar on its official
logo.
Founding Members:
Stuart Grills - Tel: 604 876 6095 Email: stu_grills@hotmail.com
James Lay - 403-660-4738 Email: james@platypusmedia.net
Both
James Lay and Stuart Grills had played Australian Football for the
Seattle based Cats throughout 2000. During this time they agreed
that Australian Rules Football should be promoted in Vancouver as
there are many Australians visiting this city annually and there
are also many non-Australians that had shown an interest in the
sport. Stuart
had talked to Duncan McFarlane (an ex-pat Australian) about
starting a team in Vancouver and was given a great deal of encouragement
and many contacts in Australia who may be able to help.
In December 2000 James and Stuart agreed that it would take considerable
organisation to get a Vancouver Team started. Stuart had been advertising
Australian Football by placing posters on his car but there had
been no real response. In December Stuart received several emails
from Greg Everett (Junior Development Executive-CAFA) and
it was agreed that the Vancouver team would need resources such
as footballs, uniforms (jumpers) and coaching materials in order
to get the team started. Thanks to the efforts of Greg Everett and
the behind the scenes promotions by CAFA
via their website the team started to gain numbers.
Within the first few weeks of January 2001 Stuart had been contacted
by several individuals interested in playing ³footy². The very first
training session witnessed the following turnout: James Lay, Stuart
Grills, Peter Campion and Greg Everett. The seeds had been
planted and the team was growing. By mid February 2001 the official
founding members of the team were apparent. In addition to James
and Stuart, Jason Stratford and Colin Hilton had joined
the team.
Colin
Hilton - Tel: 604-857-1967 Email: hilton67@telus.net
Jason Stratford - Tel: 778-881-6775 Email: stratjas9@hotmail.com
It
was also agreed that the support and direction given to the club
by Duncan McFarlane was above and beyond any expectation and when
the club had its official Annual General Meeting at the end of 2001
it was agreed through vote to make Duncan McFarlane an Honorary
Founding Member of the club.
The
Official
2001 Team List comprised the following 33 players (36% Non-Aust).
In addition to the 33 players, the VAFC developed an email list
of more than 20 additional people who either were interested in
playing in the future, curious about the teams success or had affiliations
with the club through other teams.
Team
Colours:
The VAFC wear the same colours as its Australian affiliated club
- Port Melbourne
Football Club. The jumpers are blue and red vertical stripes.
The complete set of jumpers were donated by the PMFC as well as
a number of Australian Footballs. The PMFC will remain as the VAFC¹s
primary sister club.
Birth
Of The Cougars:
The first official team game was held on March 17, 2001. The VAFC
played an exhibition game of Gaelic Football against the Vancouver
Irish Sporting Social Club - Men and Women. It was a huge success
and even though the Irish won convincingly it developed a great
relationship with their organisation and is now scheduled as the
first event of every season - becoming a ³Cougars² tradition. |
