Tony ‘Coops’ Cooper to play his 100th game!

As if the Cougars didn’t already have enough to play for this Saturday as they line up vs the Delta Bayhawks for a place in the grand final.

The final will also mark the 100th game for Tony ‘Coops’ Cooper. Doing so will make Coops the first Cougar to reach the milestone.

Coops is a multiple best and fairest winner, and is an old fashioned footballer that just goes about his business. He has been president of the Vancouver Cougars Australian Football Club for many years now, and contributes a lot to the success of our club.

He has pulled the jersey on for many teams across North America, and even Japan.

A big thank you to Jill; Tony’s wife, who has contributed a lot of her time around the club over the years, including the dreaded task of washing jerseys each week.

So let’s all get that win this weekend, and make the day one to remember for Coops!

Cougars vs Bayhawks
Saturday 21st August
1pm at Burnaby Lakes Rugby Club

Round 9 – Results / Match Report

The last round of the season was the Whistler Cup. It was the second time the last round has
been hosted by the West Coast Saints up at Whistler and once again the day was a huge
success. The Saints set up a great day of football and celebrations after the games in the
village.

Unfortunately for the Cougars they were unable to reproduce early season form and they went
down for the second game in a row. The saints proved the more suited to the small field and
they took home the Whistler Cup by 3 goals.

It was a game dominated by stoppages and the Cougars couldn’t really produce any flowing
play. The saints managed to produce and convert more opportunities in the first half and they
led by 5 goals by the major break. The Cougars clawed their way back into the game in the third
quarter as they had the advantage of a significant tail wind. However, the two goal difference at
the last break was enough for the Saints to hold on to.

The game decided the Doug Vargo trophy for the highest goal scorer of the year for the
Cougars. Brad ‘Jorgo’ Jorgensen had to make up on the 4 goal advantage that Bredan ‘Noddy’
Davis had set earlier in the year before his departure. Unfortunately for Jorgo he was unable
to make up the difference and could only score 2 of the required 4 goals. Congrats to Noddy for finishing the season on 19 goals!

The Cougars still managed to hold on to the top of the table and will play against the Delta
Bayhawks on the 21st of August for a spot in the Grand Final. The Saints and Eagles will fight
for their chance to play the loser of the other game.

The game between the Cougars and Saints was also Cathal O’Loughlin last game as he heads
off to try the American life style in San Francisco. Cathal’s departure is another major loss for
BC Footy, who contributed on and off the field for the last few years for the Cougars, Harps and
Saints. Best of luck mate!

Saints 9.15.69
Cougars 6.13.49

Goal kickers: 2-Jorgo, Ash 1-Matt Harrison, Cathal Brugha

- Krazy Karl McGrath

Cougars Pub Crawl 2010

The 2010 Cougars Pub Crawl is here!

On Saturday, May 29th, we will begin at the Legion (Broadway/Alma)  for pool, darts and shuffleboard at 4pm. It is recommended you arrive well  before 4pm as penalties will be incurred any minute past 4pm.

There are many pubs and places along Broadway.

The actual itinerary will be released to all at the Legion along with the rules at each pub.

At this stage, we will finish at Lola’s around 9pm. But this is subject to change.

**** Finally you must wear your hair in a most unfashionable/crazy  manner. If you do not have sufficient hair to do anything crazy with, then you must attend in a wig. ****

BC Footy 10th Anniversary Ball!

BC Footy is celebrating their 10th anniversary in style!

A formal ball will be taking place on Saturday, June 12th at the Fire Fighters Club Banquet Hall at Metrotown, Burnaby.

All current and past players are encouraged to attend this extravaganza, along with all supporters of the league.

Tickets are $60 each, and this includes a 3 course dinner, and after dinner entertainment.

Cocktail hour begins at 6pm and goes through to 7pm when dinner will be served.

This hopes to be the biggest event ever in BC Footy history, and will include a lot of entertainment and reminiscing of the past 10 years. So make sure you’re apart of it!

For tickets, please contact Brad Jorgensen (bjorgensen@VancouverCougars.com) to arrange the purchase. We hope to have the ability to purchase tickets online up shortly, so please check back soon.

BC Footy Paintball Showdown!

Want to shoot some Eagles or Bayhawks? What about a Saint? Good news is, you’ll get your chance.

The league is heading up to North Shore Paintball (http://www.nspaintball.ca/) at 12pm on Sunday, 9th of May. Yes this is Mother’s Day, so arrange to have brunch or dinner with your moms/mums so you can shoot up the other teams in what should be a great day.

It is $35 per person and that includes rentals plus 200 paintballs. For the guys wanting to stick around longer or are trigger happy, you can get 500 paintballs plus equipment for $57.50.

*** The place only accepts cash, so make sure you bring that along. ***

The event is an open event, so bring along any friends or family who may want to participate in some paintball action. More the merrier, just confirm attendance on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=113551565350815) or directly to Brad (bjorgo@gmail.com).

Map Location: http://www.nspaintball.ca/nspb_contact.html

Round 1 – Results / Summary

Round 1 – Summary

The opening round for the season saw the Vancouver Cougars take on the West Coast Saints in the first game which was shortly followed by the Burnaby Eagles and the Delta Bayhawks. It was a clear but blustery day out at Langley for the first games of the season which made it hard for the early-season unpolished skills to get into groove.

Lorin ‘Bozza’ Thomson, the newly appointed captain for 2010, won the toss and took the wind for the first quarter which the Cougars could only capitalise with a one goal advantage after 20 minutes of play. The first half went in favour of the defensive lines as the conditions made it hard for mid-fielders from both teams to hit their targets. After 40 minutes of play only a couple points separated the sides.

The Cougars were, however, able to take advantage of the tail-wind in the third quarter with goals to Danny ‘goal sneak’ Cravino, Brad Jorgensen, Brendan Davis and Craig Hopkins. This premiership quarter effort ended up being enough of a buffer to hold off the Saints in the last thanks to determined defence from the whole team.

The highlight of the day though, came when coach Brad Jorgensen took an absolute hanger on Peter “The Stepladder” Campion’s shoulders midway through the third quarter. The mark was reenacted multiple times at the pub throughout the evening, with Scott Sheen claiming it was the best mark he’d seen in BC Footy throughout his 5 year service.

Other goal scorers for the Cougars included: Ben Vadasz and Darren Duff.

Cougars: 6-6-42
Saints: 4-7-31

Goals: Cravino, Vadasz, Jorgensen, Duff, Hopkins, Davis

In the second game the Bayhawks were too strong for the Eagles in another closely contested match.
Bayhawks: 5-10-40
Eagles: 4-8-32

Jersey Presentation / Team dinner event

After training on Wednesday 7th of April, all team members are required to attend Mahonys at UBC for a jersey presentation / announcement of the starting 18 / team dinner.

We will have food and some drinks, and players will get to select their preferred jersey number for the season.

If you cannot attend training, then we still ask that you come to Mahonys for the event.

After Mahonys, we will head to the PIT pub (uni bar) for their legendary Wednesday nights for additional drinks and fun. Attendance for this part isn’t mandatory, but it would be great to get a solid group of us there.

Remember, training starts at 6pm, so we hope to be at Mahonys around 8:15pm. Then the PIT at 10:15pm.

Membership Fees Due! – No pay, no play

With our first game less than 10 days away, it is imperative that you pay up your annual membership. You have several options to pay.

Either pay in cash/cheque to Ash Steier (Treasurer) at training or on gameday, or use the links below to pay via PayPal with your credit card. A PayPal account is NOT required to make the purchase.

If you will not be here for the entire season or cannot pay the full amount upfront, then we have other payment options/plans available. Please contact myself (Brad Jorgensen – bjorgo@gmail.com) or Ash (steier@gmail.com) for these options.

Keep one thing in mind that the league body BC Footy will not allow players to play in a game unless they have paid some form of membership due to liability reasons.

Insurance:

Liability insurance is included in your annual membership. For 2010 there is also medical insurance included should you sustain an injury from training or during a game. *This does not cover loss of wages* Athlete accident claim forms can be found at: http://bcfooty.com/forms

For all those members who plan on playing with the Cougars when traveling to the US and are not covered by travel insurance, the club highly recommends that travel insurance be purchased to cover any medical costs or assistance required.

Full Member – $150 (PayPal link needs to be updated, as it currently is for $145 – pay the extra $5 to Ash)

This membership will allow you to play in all VAFC games throughout 2010. You also receive playing shorts and socks, a training singlet and other membership privileges. Included in this membership as well is registration with AFL Canada which allows players to play in representative games and gain access to the upcoming “FootyWeb”.

Introductory Member/Student Member (Canadian Student ID Required) – $100

This is a discounted full membership for Canadian/International (Non-Australian) players who are brand new to the game of football or who are currently studying here in British Columbia.

We  ask that all players consider paying their memberships as soon as possible via the website or in cash at a training session/game. Alternatively please send your cheques made payable to “Vancouver Australian Football Club” – mailing address VAFC Clubrooms, 5655 Ontario Street, Vancouver, BC V5W 2L2

1st Practice Match – March 27th

Our first real taste of footy is here.

Our one and only practice match/day is this Saturday, March 27th at UBC Rugby Fields. Google Maps: http://tinyurl.com/UBCRugby

Schedule: (2 x 15min halves, 5 min break)

1pm – Cougars vs Eagles/Bayhawks
4pm – Cougars vs Saints
4:45pm – Northwind West vs Mixed team

There will be a BBQ on offer between the games, with drinks and food for sale.

I’d like all Cougars players to arrive no later than 12:15pm so we can get organized and be ready for the first bounce at 1pm.

If you cannot make it, please let me know.

Brad
bjorgo@gmail.com
778 318 5850

Looking for new players to play Aussie Rules Football

Want to try a new sport? Or continue playing a sport you played back in Australia?

Then we want you to come down and play for the Vancouver Cougars for season 2010.

We train out at the University of British Columbia through out the season (April->August), and are always looking for new players. Especially Canadians!

If you would like to come down and play (no try outs, everybody gets playing time) in a great, friendly atmosphere, then please email the coach Brad Jorgensen (bjorgo@gmail.com) or give him a call on 778 318 5850.

It’s a great way to meet new people, and have a good time as we frequently have club events such as hockey games, pub nights, paintball and a golf day. We also have optional road trips to places like Calgary for the Calgary Stampede, Seattle and the US Nationals.

Canadian players have the very real opportunity to play for their country at the International AFL Cup held in Australia every 3 years. The Cougars currently have 2 Canadians on the Northwind team (http://www.aflcanada.com/northwind/).

Preseason training has commenced for 2010, so don’t wait any longer!

*** Discounted player fees for new players ***

Great game play video of the professional league in Australia:

Promo video:

Next Page »