On October 11 and 12 2008, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs hosted the 12th annual USFooty National Championships. Unfortunately, while Colorado Springs promised beautiful surrounds it delivered a very very cold, foggy, windy and somewhat wet Nationals. A low cloud cover hang over the weekend threatening rain and actually delivering rain during the afternoon games on Saturday. The big winners on the weekend were the Vancouver Cougars who went home to Canada with the first John Harrell Memorial Trophy to cross the US’s northern border.

In second division, the Seattle Grizzlies were able to quiet the other Canadian team in the mens, the Calgary Kangaroos. The third division championship was taken by a resurgent Kansas City Power. In Division Four, the Ohio Valley combination of Louisville and Cincinnati takes home a National Championship and the big responsibility of hosting the 2009 USFooty Nationals in Mason, Ohio. In the Women’s, the Atlanta Kookaburras lost their first National Championship to yet another Canadian team, the Calgary Kookaburras.

Presentation of USFootyNews.com Goal Kicker of the Year and MVP to Chris Moerman (Nashville) and Kelly Nelson (OC) respectively. Interviews with Shane Atherton (WA Football), Jenny Sarbacker and Tina Arend (US Freedom), Ryan Richardson and Mark Lambert (KC), Andrew Donlen and Jeff Purcells (Seattle) and Rod Grljusich.

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Canadian coach Mark Block was an interested attendee at the recent US Nationals in Colorado, in which Vancouver took out division one. The Northwind's main man was impressed with talent coming through from the programs in B.C. and Alberta, and can see plenty of future Northwind potential. Here's what he had to say about the Canadian teams in the US Nationals, and a hint at a possible "Canadian Nationals" in 2009.

On October 13th 2008, the Vancouver Cougars won the Division 1 Championship in spectacular fashion at the US Nationals in Colorado Springs. I was particularly impressed by Stewart Grills who has bled blue and red for the Vancouver Cougars as one of the legends of B.C. footy. His hard work is also been benefiting the Northwind national program. There were strong performances from players like James Maitland who cleaned up in the half back line with great marks and booming clearances. Clayton Holmes applied effective pressure in the half forward line with Gareth Bowley. They also had strong performances. Congratulations goes out to Scott Sheen, (B.C.'s Assistant Coach of the Northwind) as well, for his great success as the coach of the Vancouver Cougars.

The following story is courtesy of Dan Eddy from the Ontario AFL.

Toronto, Ontario, October 4th – In one of the greatest Grand Final’s in the 20-year history of the Ontario Australian Football League, the Etobicoke Kangaroos have taken out their first Premiership in stunning fashion by defeating the Toronto Eagles by just one point. The victory stopped a run of two consecutive Conacher Cups for the mighty Eagles team.

The day began with an exhibition match between a metro team and a team from outside of Toronto, with the metro squad too strong in the end to the tune of 97 points. That was then followed by a junior match with students from Red Willow public school in Brampton. This was a success as the kids soaked up the chance to learn the skills of the game on a League oval in front of a big crowd.

With a junior program in the works for next season, we may see these kids playing in the OAFL before too long. It was then time for the big match, and after opening speeches from representatives from League sponsors Crown Point (Martin Walter) and the Trillium Foundation (Vincent Conville), as well as the Canadian National Anthem, the game got under way.

The Vancouver Cougars kicked three goals with the strong breeze and one goal against to take a solid victory over the Baltimore Washington Eagles who were only able to kick two goals with the wind. The talls of Vancouver dominated the game, particularly in defense. The Eagles stuck to their game plan of precise passes, but they weren't precise enough and turn overs led to goals in the first half.

It was a pretty big day for Canadian football, with the Calgary Kookaburras beating the Atlanta Kookaburras in the Women's National Championship.

It wasn't all one way for Canada, with the Seattle Grizzlies defeating the Calgary Kangaroos to take the Division II National Championship.

The Division III Championship was won by the Kansas City Power and Division IV winners were the Ohio Valley combine team.

Story by Chris Adams for USFootyNews.com.

The following article Australian Rules Football reaching many new heights by Justin Pederson appeared in local Colorado Springs newspaperThe Gazette and the original article can be viewed online here.

An Australian Rules Football game at an elevation of 7,000 feet against a backdrop of mountains is an unusual sight considering the sport's origin on a continent known for coral reefs and sandy beaches.

Nonetheless, the 2008 U.S. Australian Rules Football League National Championships kicked off Saturday at the Air Force Academy athletic fields. The league's first tournament - in 1998 - consisted of eight teams. This year's event has 30 men's teams in four divisions and six women's teams.

Colorado, hosting the event for the first time, is represented by three teams from the Denver Bulldogs Australian Rules Football club. Denver's Division I team is the defending champion and has won five of the past six national titles, including four in a row from 2002 to 2005. The Bulldogs also feature a Division III team and a women's team.