News

The Chicago Australian Football Association and Qantas Airways are pleased to announce their continued sponsorship of Chicago Footy. Qantas again has shown it is committed to supporting the local community and Chicago area business’ travel needs to the South Pacific. Qantas Airways has been a great supporter of Aussie Rules in Chicago.

With Qantas’ sponsorship spanning 10 years, we truly appreciate your ongoing partnership with the CAFA. For the latest Qantas news and fare information visit www.qantas.com.au.

The 2010 Chicago United squad has been eager to get back on the pitch ever since they were put down at Nationals by the Calgary Kangaroos. With the sour taste still fresh in their mouths United leaders took off season training to the next level.

“It’s always nice to get out and break a sweat playing basketball or hitting the gym.” said new coach of the United, Anthony Hendrie. “But our lads wanted to get the footy in their hand again, work on some footwork, and start the season off strong.”

A typically Chicago United offseason would bring the team together for some pick up basketball games, extra fitness, and the ever present night festivities. However, the club went the extra mile to rent indoor soccer space at a nearby facility. As a result, recruiting numbers are up and the United are getting an early start on their championship run.

“We made some great changes and additions this off-season. New coach, new sponsor, and some quality recruits.” President Frank Bradley explains. “We’re bringing back a lot of our starters this year. More importantly is that we’ve got some young guys who will challenge those veterans for starting spots. It makes everyone better.”

The indoor training sessions have allowed The United squad to focus on getting their mechanics back after a cold off season and several months away from a football. Back in October, the United squad faced a focused Calgary in their first Nationals is two years.

“It was a wake up call for a lot of our guys.” says veteran B.J. Gambaro. “Our pace just wasn’t there and Calgary did a good job of taking us out of our game. Regardless, 2010 is a big year for us both in the MAAFL and at the National level. We’ll be ready for Nashville.”

The Chicago United have 3-peated in the Mid American Australian Football League (MAAFL) claiming titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009. As the weather turns in Chicago the team looks to get off to a quick start and many of the new recruits will get the first taste of the big Waveland Oval. It all starts with Chicago’s own Metro Divison where the Wrigleyville Rhinos will face the defending champs, Lincoln Square Tigers, on April 9th. The Chicago United squad will first suit up for the Columbus Jackaroos on May 22nd.

ANZAC Day Commemoration 2010
Saturday 24th April, 7:00pm @ Brownstone Tavern – Buy Tickets!

“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old,
Age will not weary them, nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them,
Lest we forget”

There has been a good response so far for tickets to our Anzac Day commemeration @ Brownstone Tavern. We still have space for more. This is a main fund raising event for the club, which will benefit you come October when we head down to Louisville for Nationals; get on board lads, bring your girlfriends, wives, man friends and your family. You must purchase tickets on line.

Rumor has it that a certain Chicago player has nominated himself to eat more meat pies than anyone else! This will be a sight worth seeing (or not!). Yes the Brownstone are going to have meat pies available.

Tickets ($30), you must purchase in advance from www.chicagofooty.com to guarantee entry; includes drink package (beer, wine & soda) for 3 hours (7:30-10:30pm). Tickets are also available for $10 without the drinks package.

The big ANZAC Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood will also be televised live.

Welcome to another year of Aussie Rules in Chicago!

Time to dust off the boots and and prepare yourselves for what will be a great year of footy in this fine city! Last year’s disappointment will be a distant memory come Nationals in Louisville later this year, and will only spur us on to greater things. We are now in control of our own destiny and have a lot of work to do between now and October!

There is not much time to waste until the first game (Metro League Friday April 9th)!! Yes 4 weeks from now will be your first hit out. The harder WE work now the easier the year will become as WE progress. 

You should all have begun your own training program, bike riding, swimming, and running. Your level of fitness and endurance will also affect your mental ability during games and training. Start now!

The schedule for the next 2 months is as follows:

March
Mon 15th (6-7:30pm) – Windy City Fieldhouse – 2367 West Logan Boulevard Chicago, IL 60647, (773) 486-7300 – $10**
Sat 20th (7pm) – Metro League Launch @ Brownstone
Mon 22nd (6:30-8pm) – Chicago Indoor Sports 3900 S. Ashland Chicago IL 60609, 773-376-2900 – $10**
Mon 29th (6:30-8pm) – Chicago Indoor Sports – $10**

April
Sat 3rd (11am) – Waveland (training, weather permitting)
Mon 5th (7:30-9pm) – Windy City Fieldhouse – $10**
Fri 9th (6pm start) – Waveland (Metro League 1)
Tue 13th (6pm) – Waveland (training)
Fri 16th (6pm) – Waveland (Metro League 2)
Tue 20th (6pm) – Waveland (training)
Fri 23rd (6pm) – Waveland (training)
Sat 24th (7pm) – Anzac Day party (Brownstone Tavern – Lincoln Ave)

** please bring $10 on these nights, the club is contributing half the cost of rental.

Looking forward to seeing you and your new recruits! Send this onto everyone you know who is sick of playing mixed softball! Any questions call, email or txt me.

Cheers,
Ant

We had a very successful meeting this past Saturday at Brownstone. Pretty decent turnout of team members and a couple of new players showed up. Elections went pretty smooth and there wasn’t too much drama. The Exec Board remains the same as last year, I will be President again, VP-Disco, Treas-Al, Sec-Gordo. We will have Adrian as our Op’s mananger this year and Social will be led by Brian Hoyt and his merry men. Our new coach is Anthony (Ant) Hendrie and head trainer is Ryan Hayes. Metro co-ordinator will be Drakey and he will head the 1st Metro Draft night March 20th-info to follow in the coming weeks. The rest of the committees will be posted online and everyone is encouraged to let their voice be heard regarding any issues and goings-on of the club.

There were schedules handed out to those who attended the meeting and will be posted online soon enough. It is not set in stone but is a good template to plan around. We are still fine-tuning some games and on our plate right now is a tourney June 19th in Denver. KC/Arizona/NYC are on the short list of confirmed squads. It will be a Nationals format (2-20’s with minimum of 2 games) and most likely will be a one day event. Need to know now from the team who can make this trip. Besides Nashville at the end of August we have no other flights for the season. This would be a great weekend away and a good barometer of our talent/commitment for the summer. Go to chicagofooty.com and vote on your status for this game.

We will begin training right after St Paddy’s weekend and will have a weeknight basketball/cardio at Windy City Fieldhouse starting mid-March as well.

Brownstone will be our new home-base of operations for this coming year. They are part of the Four Corners Tavern Group (www.fourcornerstaverns.com) and we will stop by after practice/metro/MAAFL games at either Brownstone or one of the other bars under their management which include Schoolyard/Kirkwoods/Gaslight/WestEnd/Sidebar. Anthony Hendrie worked very hard to get a proposal to them and I would like to thank him on behalf of the club. They are working on a beer sponsor right now and once that is all sorted we should have beer specials. The manager at Brownstone provided some food for us on Saturday for free and will take care of us as long as we do our part and drink plenty of booze and take care of the staff.

Check the website frequently for other information and social activities. Paintball is not too far off and we might work in a bowling/trivia night soon as well. Like Fitzy said, “get your gay on” and recruit new players. Get your meathead on and start lifting and running like BJ. Take care.

Prez Ponch

The 2009 CAFA Awards were held at the Schoolyard Tavern on Southport last month. Frankie Bradley started the afternoon off irritating Bears fans by booking the entire back section of the bar…. The Bears continued that streak of irritating Bears fans by playing a game of football.  After much singing and cheesehead bashing, the awards got down to business.

The winners are as follows:
MAAFL Premiership – Chicago United
Metro Premiership – Lincoln Square Tigers
MacGlashan Medal – Rohan “Roofy” Ward
Burgmann Medal – Rohan “Roofy” Ward
Metro B&F Award – Gerard “Rooster” Forte
Rich Noty Clubman award – Paul “Oscar” Meyer
Coaches Award – Ryan “Haysie” Hayes
Best First Year Player – John Scher
Thomas the Tank Engine Runaway Train award – Adrian “Rocky” Deeham

In addition to the presentation of the club awards, the presentation of the first Life Member of the Chicago Australian Football Association was announced. Warrick Burgmann was awarded this prestigous title for his years of dedication to building Australian Rules football in the USA and Chicago.

Coach Matthew “Mustard” de Jong was awarded a service award for his coaching duties over the last three years.