Vancouver Australian Football Club (VAFC) was created on January 15, 2001.
It was agreed by the founding members, James Lay and Stuart Grills, that the club needed to have a visual identity that was reflective of a power but most importantly made reference to the Canadian territory where the club would be based. They considered several club names and agreed that the "Cougars” would best suit the image they were attempting tocreated. The VAFC is represented in all media relations and club materials as the "Cougars” and is supported by the image of the Cougar on its official logo.
Founding Members:
Stuart Grills
James Lay
Both James Lay and Stuart Grills had played Australian Football for the Seattle based Cats throughout 2000. During this time they agreed that Australian Rules Football should be promoted in Vancouver as there are many Australians visiting this city annually and there are also many non-Australians that had shown an interest in the sport. Stuart had talked to Duncan McFarlane (an ex-pat Australian) about starting a team in Vancouver and was given a great deal of encouragement and many contacts in Australia who may be able to help.
In December 2000 James and Stuart agreed that it would take considerable organisation to get a Vancouver Team started. Stuart had been advertising Australian Football by placing posters on his car but there had been no real response. In December Stuart received several emails from Greg Everett (Junior Development Executive-CAFA) and it was agreed that the Vancouver team would need resources such as footballs, uniforms (jumpers) and coaching materials in order to get the team started. Thanks to the efforts of Greg Everett and the behind the scenes promotions by CAFA via their website the team started to gain numbers.
Within the first few weeks of January 2001 Stuart had been contacted by several individuals interested in playing footy. The very first training session witnessed the following turnout: James Lay, Stuart Grills, Peter Campion and Greg Everett. The seeds had been planted and the team was growing. By mid February 2001 the official founding members of the team were apparent. In addition to James and Stuart, Jason Stratford and Colin Hilton had joined the team.
It was also agreed that the support and direction given to the club by Duncan McFarlane was above and beyond any expectation and when the club had its official Annual General Meeting at the end of 2001 it was agreed through vote to make Duncan McFarlane an Honorary Founding Member of the club.
The Official 2001 Team List comprised the following 33 players (36% Non-Aust). In addition to the 33 players, the VAFC developed an email list of more than 20 additional people who either were interested in playing in the future, curious about the teams success or had affiliations with the club through other teams.
Team Colours:
The VAFC wear the same colours as its Australian affiliated club – Port Melbourne Football Club. The jumpers are blue and red vertical stripes. The complete set of jumpers were donated by the PMFC as well as a number of Australian Footballs. The PMFC will remain as the VAFC¹s primary sister club.
Birth Of The Cougars:
The first official team game was held on March 17, 2001. The VAFC played an exhibition game of Gaelic Football against the Vancouver Irish Sporting Social Club – Men and Women. It was a huge success and even though the Irish won convincingly it developed a great relationship with their organisation and is now scheduled as the first event of every season – becoming a Cougars tradition.
