Letter from the President | August 2012
Submitted by Andy Vanica on August 1, 2012 - 12:12am

A Call for Nationals – A behind-the-scenes debate has taken place within the executive board during the past month over the location of the national tournament for the years 2013 and 2014. The USAFL has committed to holding the event in Dublin, Ohio during one of these two years and the decision, no matter where it is held, will result in a group (or groups) of unhappy people for reasons such as the distance of travel,  time change or other reasons. A few of the factors taken into consideration for this decision, in no specific order, are as follows:

  1. Location – what percentage of teams can drive vs. fly?
  2. Airport – what is/are the closest airports and what are the cost of flights?
  3. Local city support – does the local community support this event?
  4. Cost – how much will the two day event cost the league?
  5. Venue – quality of playing fields and rental expenses.

There are very few locations in the US that can hold our national tournament, especially since it has grown to a total of 5 divisions (5 fields). The league has a RFP that details our event requirements and teams such as Columbus have utilized this to vet venue locations.  We currently know that Louisville, Austin, Mason, Colorado Springs, and Dublin are all cities capable of hosting this event.

Message to consider: If you would like Nationals to be closer to you or in your region (i.e. west coast), then help the league find a venue! Use the RFP, approach your local city, search for fields, and submit the inquiry to the league. If the venue meets the initial requirements, the league will invest in a scouting trip. This process takes 12-18 months from RFP submission to the league, so if you speak up now, you could help find the location of Nationals in 2015!

Download the RFP here »

As always, thank you to your commitment in growing Australian Football in the US. I welcome feedback, questions, or thoughts, just shoot me an email or contact me via Twitter. 

Andy Vanica, President
UNITED STATES AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
president@usafl.com | @usrevo4

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