USARL 2018

[East Coast Tiger]

http://www.usarl.org/news/2018/expansion-team-in-south-conference/

I was interested to see a new team this year and I thought “finally”, but then read they are replacing one that’s dropped out. The southern conference is barely a viable league with only four teams so it’s lucky there is a new team or the whole thing would fall over. Six games is hardly a season anyway.

As usual it’s been very quiet elsewhere and the draw that I’ve seen indicates only the same clubs as last year will play in the north. This comp is not growing and has not for some time. For all the upheaval and talk around the USARL takeover it has not translated into a bigger game over there. In fact numbers have dropped from 14 clubs to 12 and there’s little else going on outside those clubs. There was a club being set up in Long Island that aimed to play this year and then it all went quiet. I would have doubts about Rhode Island seeing as they really struggled to field a team last year. Even some of the traditionally solid clubs don’t put out much public information or promotion, or not as much as previously.

We can talk up Denver tests, 2025 RLWC and potential pro clubs in New York etc but the game in the US is actually very stagnant, at best. There is almost nothing to build on at the grassroots level.

 

[latingringo101]

Peter Ifield (former USARL President) was on here and explained the difficulties of running RL in USA.

From what I remember, travel time and the short season is difficult to attract sponsorship for a 8 week season.

Remember, 12 clubs is still much more than what was occurring before the split. The USARL are limited to that strict 3 month block inbetween NFL and Union seasons so in my eyes they're doing a great job despite the circumstances

Plus I read somewhere that the Great plains are joining the set up this year so it's not all bad news

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Actually before the split there were six in one comp and five in the other so 12 isn’t much better, especially when the “development clubs” have all but disappeared. We are all aware of the travel and short season issues, but these have existed for years. The game simply hasn’t gone forward as was expected and even promised.

 

[Foreign Legion]

What is a copperhead?

 

[Coastbloke]

What is a copperhead?

A snake. I thought it was a Australian snake though. Ask Steve Earle.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

What is a copperhead?

Snake.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

A snake. I thought it was a Australian snake though. Ask Steve Earle.

There are several species of copperhead in Australia but I doubt they are any direct relation to the American ones.

 

[Deeecoreturns]

Something worth bearing in mind is that the established clubs are getting stronger and stronger and it's not easy for new clubs to get in and have a go. We do badly need new clubs and the Copperheads is a tentative gamble at best but chances are they'll get smoked by 60 every week and that's if we put out weaker teams.

I strongly disagree that the clubs aren't progressing that are there now. For the first time in our history the Mayhem will launch with about 40 players signed on (11 new players have already joined this season), an American coaching staff for the first time and local players in most if not all pivot positions.

Another harsh reality is growing costs... a lot. We've had to reign it in and turn an operation that was losing 13k a year into one that should show profit this year. I can't speak for all clubs but we simply needed a couple of years of stagnation, if you want to call it that, to get our act together and progress forward.

Clubs have fallen away which is disappointing but the 'park teams' of AMNRL days have struggled to stick with the forward thinking businesses that have replaced them. Rhode Island have gone due to 'union clubs banning players if they played for them'. That was the line we were presented with anyhow

 

[deluded pom?]

Just gone through all teams on their website, FB and Twitter. Very quiet is an understatement.

 

[Stallion]

Actually before the split there were six in one comp and five in the other so 12 isn’t much better, especially when the “development clubs” have all but disappeared. We are all aware of the travel and short season issues, but these have existed for years. The game simply hasn’t gone forward as was expected and even promised.

So once again rugby league has to play outside of union season timeslots ! In Canada is the Wolfpack playing in the English Super league for this reason ?

 

[Deeecoreturns]

So once again rugby league has to play outside of union season timeslots ! In Canada is the Wolfpack playing in the English Super league for this reason ?

It's not union timeslots we avoid. It's American Football we avoid. Grounds will not give us the fields while kids are in school/college/training with school

 

[Stallion]

It's not union timeslots we avoid. It's American Football we avoid. Grounds will not give us the fields while kids are in school/college/training with school

Fair enough. Are there any rugby league school comps or junior weekend rugby league comps?

 

[Deeecoreturns]

Fair enough. Are there any rugby league school comps or junior weekend rugby league comps?

None. It's nigh on impossible to do. We run a couple of kids camps pre game per year but even that's on the dodge as we shouldn't really be doing it with no insurance.
It's a two headed problem. The claims culture in the US is huge, farcical in fact. Therefore insurance for sport involving kids is just a world away from anything we could ever afford in the near future. Secondly, lack of interest. Even if you could somehow and I mean somehow persuade a school to take up Rugby League, who would they play? The money required to get school leagues off the ground is just worlds away from anything we could afford.

The only option we could have would be to invest in U19s. We looked at it two years ago, the local Union side are huge supporters of ours and have a successful U19s program at the club. There was complete disinterest from the majority of players about getting involved in RL so we knocked it on the head. U19s and reserve grade is where we've got to get first and if it wasn't for the collapsing of the Warriors I think we'd have got there as a conference this year to be honest.

 

[Stallion]

None. It's nigh on impossible to do. We run a couple of kids camps pre game per year but even that's on the dodge as we shouldn't really be doing it with no insurance.
It's a two headed problem. The claims culture in the US is huge, farcical in fact. Therefore insurance for sport involving kids is just a world away from anything we could ever afford in the near future. Secondly, lack of interest. Even if you could somehow and I mean somehow persuade a school to take up Rugby League, who would they play? The money required to get school leagues off the ground is just worlds away from anything we could afford.

The only option we could have would be to invest in U19s. We looked at it two years ago, the local Union side are huge supporters of ours and have a successful U19s program at the club. There was complete disinterest from the majority of players about getting involved in RL so we knocked it on the head. U19s and reserve grade is where we've got to get first and if it wasn't for the collapsing of the Warriors I think we'd have got there as a conference this year to be honest.

If the union club are big supporters of rugby league then why was their zero interest in getting a side up?! That seems strange and a bit of fork tongue speaking? "We support rugby league but won't play it " Doesn't seem to add up!

 

[100%green]

What can League fans from League countries do? Is there a way to help the USARL?

 

[Stallion]

My best advice is to show past big rugby league games in Australia with big crowds. Even if its packed suburban grounds like Leichhardt Oval. Then hopefully some interest engenders a following to start developing the game. If adults want to take it up they should play on socially inclusive days like Saturday. This creates a social setting and it all grows from that. Either day of the weekend for juniors. But socially friendly Saturday is very important for both relevance and recovery time for seniors prior to working on the Monday.

 

[Deeecoreturns]

If the union club are big supporters of rugby league then why was their zero interest in getting a side up?! That seems strange and a bit of fork tongue speaking? "We support rugby league but won't play it " Doesn't seem to add up!

Just because the board of directors, coaches and first team players all support us doesn't mean the majority of 17/18/19 year old kids want to give up a large portion of their summer to try league. Some do and will go on to play for the mayhem in the coming years no doubt but you can't run an u20s etc side on 6 potentials. We are beginning to find players younger and younger and this next generation will be the ones who could potentially step up another level. Sadly under 18 there's just nowhere for them to play

 

[Deeecoreturns]

What can League fans from League countries do? Is there a way to help the USARL?

There's many ways to get involved, buying merch helps, if you want a more hands on role, get involved with a club. There's loads out there that just need time and man hours even remotely from overseas. It can become like a second full time job at times with spinner for example it pretty much was his full time job and more. You can honestly get involved as little or as much as you like. Anything from writing articles or controlling social media outlets website programming or silent investment. The new club copperheads are selling shares (albeit far too expensive in my honest opinion) for example

 

[Stallion]

Just because the board of directors, coaches and first team players all support us doesn't mean the majority of 17/18/19 year old kids want to give up a large portion of their summer to try league. Some do and will go on to play for the mayhem in the coming years no doubt but you can't run an u20s etc side on 6 potentials. We are beginning to find players younger and younger and this next generation will be the ones who could potentially step up another level. Sadly under 18 there's just nowhere for them to play

Looks like you need to get a backer and get a ground funded for rugby league use. I know its a long shot however that may be the only way. As the current infrastructure is working against the code. The code is very underated and not backed. Hope something good for you happens soon. This is where a designated rugby league development fund needs to assist and be proactive as its main charter!

 

[Deeecoreturns]

Looks like you need to get a backer and get a ground funded fir rugby league use. I know its a long shot however that may be the only way. As the current infrastructure is working against the code. The code is very underated and not backed. Hope something good for you happens soon. Thus is where a designated rugby league development find needs to assist and be proactive as its main charter!

In an ideal world we do sir. We actually looked at building our own ground a couple of years ago to be honest, wouldn't have been anything special but it would have been ours. We hit two options. Play an hour out of tampa with our own ground or stick as we were, City centre location at the mercy of others. We chose the latter and rightly so imho thing is we have money, none of us are poor but the money required to take this sort of thing to the next level just isn't there for comps like us and the demand isn't there at the moment. Going back to the original point, it's disappointing to lose clubs and it may appear from the outside that things are shrinking but player bases are growing, fan bases are growing, sponsorships are growing, merch sales are growing. It is progressing and leaving certain clubs behind but maybe not growing enough for some.