2009 Nationals Set for Mason Ohio!

1,000 Athletes Will Compete In The Sport’s Biggest Tournament in the world!

August 8, 2008 – MASON, OH - The United States Australian Football League will bring its 2009 National Tournament to Mason, Ohio next fall, over the weekend of October 10^th-11^th.

The popular event is the biggest Australian Football tournament in the world, and will attract 1,000 players, officials and coaching staff, with a total of 32 men’s teams spread across four divisions, as well as up to 6 women’s teams. The tourney in Mason, Ohio will also feature a national netball event in conjunction with the football championships.

The tournament will be held at Heritage Oak Park in Mason, OH.  Located just north of Cincinnati and south of Dayton.

“We are thrilled to bring this world-class event back to the Cincinnati area, host of the first three National Championships from 1997 through 1999”, said USAFL President Richard Mann, also organizer of those first three championships. “The National’s organizing committee would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ben Huffman and everyone at the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau, without whom this event would never have come to be back in Ohio.”

“As well as the magnificent grounds and facilities of Heritage Oak Park, the Warren County area, titled “Ohio’s Largest Playground”, has numerous attractions, not least of which is the world class indoor water park at Great Wolf Lodge (one of the host hotels for this year’s event) and Kings Island Amusement Park, which will be open during the event.  The main host hotel is the Kings Island Resort, located directly across the street.”

The USAFL Executive Board will travel to Mason, Ohio in February of 2009 for its annual retreat and strategy meetings, along with the formal announcement related to the tournament, and a reception with Mason and Cincinnati area media, sports and business leaders, and city officials.

“The fact that a National Championship of this caliber selected Warren County for their tournament is proof that we can state we are Ohio’s Largest Playground. The City of Mason really latched onto the idea and has been a fantastic partner in bringing this event to our area,” stated Ben Huffman, director of sports marketing for the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The organization hopes to have 10,000 U.S. participants in the next decade, with an entirely new generation of “Aussie Rules” football athletes, and to develop hundreds of thousands of new fans.

For more information on this world class event and the sport of Australian Rules Football in the USA, check out www.usfooty.com

Check out Ohio's largest playground: http://www.ohioslargestplayground.com/

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