World Footy News

No, the Revolution aren't backing down (that's never likely), but the USAFL has held their 2008 Board Retreat, where their committee members review the organisation and plan for the future.

Some of their key aims include 10,000 participants in the next 10 years, to be the best run amateur Australian football league in the world, including Australia, and to re-invest in umpiring, player development, women’s footy and the Revolution.

Some of those are lofty goals and all are worthwhile, though a couple are somewhat subjective and so open to interpretation. For example, does 10,000 include students briefly exposed to the game in school? As USFootyKids rolls out, that could be achieved within a couple of years. Similarly it's difficult to measure whether an organisation is the best run. Nevertheless, goal setting is an important tool and it certainly seems as though the USAFL administration is becoming better each year, building on past lessons and steadily growing their network of support. At the top level, the sport in America has been remarkably stable given the geographic spread and diversity of opinions. And of course on-field, the Revolution will most likely go into the third International Cup amongst the favourites. The summary of the retreat, courtesy of the USAFL, follows.

Summary of 2008 Board Retreat

The 2008 USAFL Board Retreat was held over the weekend of February 8th-10th in Colorado Springs, the site of this year’s National Championships. As the USAFL moves into it’s second decade, this weekend was critical in future planning and continuing to work towards it’s ten year goals:

• To have 10,000 participants in the next 10 years
• To have 1 % of the US population to know what aussie rules is about
• To be the best run amateur Australian football league in the world, including Australia
• To remain community based.

The weekend agenda included:

• Meeting with USAFA on Friday morning regarding this years’ Nationals.
• Media Conference held at Penrose House within the Broadmoor Hotel estate.
• Happy Hour and meet and greet with all local business and sports representatives at Penrose House.

All day meetings Saturday and Sunday with Executive board members.

Main issues discussed and decided upon over weekend (see detailed minutes for full explanation);

• Alpha graphics – a printing program was submitted so clubs can easily have flyers, tournament programs etc. printed via alpha graphics.
• Budget – agreed any additional income this year from player registration will be re-invested into key areas such as umpiring, player development, women’s footy and Revolution.
• Key areas/initiatives for 2008 will include: redesign of website, focusing on increasing functionalities, several key initiatives were tabled and will be taken to American Advisory Council for their assistance.
• USAFL Capability model was reviewed and discussed, focusing on what priorities lay ahead for 2008.
• Nationals – Long discussion on current seedings procedure. Proposal put forth and generally agreed upon to guarantee top four s! eeds from previous year a Div I berth this year, in addition to winner of Div II being promoted. Runner up Div II will be guaranteed Div II spot this year, with winner Div III being offered a Div II spot.
• Revolution – update on progress toward 2008 International Cup
• Women’s footy – will devote funds in 2008 specifically to women’s footy.
• Umpiring – agreed needs to be a high priority for next few years, devoting more funds.
• History, current status and future of USFooty store was also discussed.
• Club communication system, newsletters, club level grading system and regional issues regarding leagues etc. were all discussed at length.
• Advisory Councils discussed (Australian and American), key initiatives achieved thus far and what we hope to achieve in next 5 years.