Regional Conferences

[Poul]

I know it has been suggested before, and even tried to some extent with the so called Lincoln and Franklin conferences in previous seasons, but I would further suggest that this may be the way forward for the AMNRL, following the apparent inability of the Axemen to travel to Connecticut for their semifinal against the Warriors.
What I propose would be 4 conferences , each with 4 teams.
Each team would play 6 home and away matches, plus 1 cross conference match. The 4 top placed conference teams would then each play a semifinal, with the winner going on to the Championship Final.
Each conference would be based in a "relatively" small geographical area, so that all 4 teams would be in driving distance of each other.
I'm not sure of the best "geographical" names for the conferences, but for example:
New England - Connecticut Wildcats, New Haven Warriors, Northern Raiders, plus a new Connecticut team, perhaps based in Bridgeport, which lies between New Haven and Norwalk. This new team could perhaps be supplemented initially by players who may be "excess" to the Wildcats and Warriors.
Mid-Atlantic - New York Knights, Bucks County Sharks, Philadelphia Fight, Aston Bulls.
Chesapeake - Washington DC Slayers, Fairfax Eagles, ... and now comes some difficulty, 2 new teams, which I would suggest be based in Baltimore MD, and Richmond VA.
South-East - Jacksonvlle Axemen ( I sincerely hope their current difficulties are only a temporary glitch), and again ... more problems with 3 new teams required. I would go for Orlando ( yes Rugby League has been played their, I believe in the so called Sunshine State Challenge. Also I think the Lebanon v USA World Cup qualifier was played there in 2000), Tampa (although this could be Bradenton), and Savannah GA, where if I recall correctly I also believe Rugby League has been played in the past.

The New England and Mid-Atlantic teams would play their cross conference matches at War at the Shore in Sea Isle City NJ, and I would propose a "Jacksonville Magic" ( or should that be Orlando magic :sarcasm: ) cross conference match up between Chesapeake and South-East teams.

Therefore, there would only be "substantial" travel requirements for some teams on the cross conference weekend, and for the semifinals and final.
Perhaps the standard would be lower than it currently is, but it would give a bigger geographical spread to the game, yet without streching the finances of teams too far.

I'd be interested to know what "expansion" plans the AMNRL have for the game in the USA. Please feel at liberty to shoot my ideas down in flames :sarcasm:

 

[roopy]

It would be nice to have a crystal ball to see what will happen to travel costs in the future.

 

[Poul]

It would be nice to have a crystal ball to see what will happen to travel costs in the future.

Well, unless a team can get an airline as a sponsor ( that I would think would be doubtful :doubt: for an essentially amateur competition ), then I would imagine that travel costs will go up.

When Jacksonville entered the comp, I must admit I was surprised, due to the travel that would be required, but after their great performances both on and off the field, over the past 2 sesaons, my fears were allayed .... until now :shock: It would be a real shame if Jacksonville collapsed. after all the hard work that has been done there by Spinner and others. There is obviuosly a market there for Rugby League, and I believe it needs to be continued in some form at least. Hence my suggestion for regional conferences. Any comments? :?:

 

[Cheby]

This is my first post, but I've lurked here for quite some time.


I completely agree with your assessment that the league needs to focus on regional conferences in order to keep costs down until the time when the sport gains in popularity (hopefully!) to the point where clubs are financially capable of weekly long distance travel.

In the New England conference, adding a team in Bridgeport would stretch the current Connecticut teams very thin. Norwalk (where the Wildcats are based) and New Haven are only 45 minutes apart to begin with. There is also no union club in Bridgeport to draw talent from that I know of. I know there was briefly a club in Boston, perhaps reviving that would be the better option.

 

[roopy]

League rarely dies when it gets a foothold, and it has a foothold in Jacksonville.

I'll be surprized if something doesn't happen.

The very short season in the US means you don't need many teams to form a comp.

Maybe it will be a few years before we see the same quality in Florida, but i'll bet games will be played next year in Florida.

 

[Poul]

This is my first post, but I've lurked here for quite some time.


I completely agree with your assessment that the league needs to focus on regional conferences in order to keep costs down until the time when the sport gains in popularity (hopefully!) to the point where clubs are financially capable of weekly long distance travel.

In the New England conference, adding a team in Bridgeport would stretch the current Connecticut teams very thin. Norwalk (where the Wildcats are based) and New Haven are only 45 minutes apart to begin with. There is also no union club in Bridgeport to draw talent from that I know of. I know there was briefly a club in Boston, perhaps reviving that would be the better option.

Welcome to the forums Cheby
Out of interest, are you based in the US, and if so, are you a local or an ex-pat?
I admit that I am not overly familiar with the "rugby" teamscape in the US.
My suggestion for a Bridgeport based team was based on its proximity to both Norwalk and New Haven, so some of the available talent from those teams could be utilised. However, perhaps other centres could be considered. I presume Hartford is the largest city in CT, and as such is likely to have some "rugby" culture. I was aware that Boston has previously had teams in the AMNRL ( Boston Storm around the turn of the century, and more recently the short lived Boston Braves). It was my assumption that these teams withdrew mainly due to travel demands, and on glimpsing the atlas, Boston is still a fair way from the current CT teams.
I would be very interested to know the opinions of locals, both players and supporters. But, most importantly, in what direction does the AMNRL want to take the game?

 

[Cheby]

I am based in the US and a local.

In terms of traveling, I think any drive less than 4 hours shouldn't pose a problem on any weekend for most clubs. From Poughkeepsie (Raiders) to Boston is just under 4 hours. It would be a long day trip, but at least the cost is just gas. In the union world, NERFU encompasses all the way from Albany (near the Raiders) to Boston.

I don't know what the director(s) of the AMNRL having in mind for the future of the league, but I know that there is a lot more potential than what is being realized currently.

 

[stevet]

hello guys the potential is huge, but the dollar is king,the money involved just to get a team going is incredible,but can be done as we have proved, i hope we can sort this out and form some sort of league between the teams available,but the teams will have to do it themselves or it wont get done,steve@bradenton

 

[joshreading]

I have to admit - whilst I think the present leadership has done well with the AMNRL so far, change seems to be needed. There is little direction, or encouragement for new teams. (where is the link atleast to the WAMNRL?) - What about a section on setting up new clubs? (as seen on usfooty.com) You could even just link to other resources such as the USFooty link to help. What about promoting the ''clubs'' that do not yet play regularly like Chicago/Bradenton, even Boston etc?

 

[BatiFan]

The idea of a regional structure is the way forward. I hope Florida are the first to embrace such a structure with the Axemen, Bradenton, Orlando and possibly even Sarasota, Daytona and Atlanta.