USAFL National Championships
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The USAFL National Championships is a
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
for
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and two women's divisions. The competition is organized and run by the
United States Australian Football League The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. As of 2011, there were over 1,00 ...
.


History

The first championships were held in Cincinnati in 1997, and they were won by the host Cincinnati Dockers. The Queen City would host the first three Nationals, with the 1998 edition welcoming 10 teams. The 2017 edition saw the largest turnout in the history of the carnival; 53 teams representing 42 clubs across North America took part, including a record 13 women's teams representing 27 USAFL and AFL Canada clubs. The
Denver Bulldogs The Denver Bulldogs are a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1997, the club is currently composed of a Division 1 men's team, a Division 1 women's team, and a Reserves men' ...
have been the most successful club at Nationals, winning Men's Division 1 eight times, Women's Division 1 six times, and Men's Division 4 once. The
Austin Crows The Austin Crows is a United States Australian Football League team, based in Austin, Texas, United States. It was founded in 2002. They play in the Mid American Australian Football League. The Crows are a mix of Australians, Americans and many ...
have won the second most titles, picking up their fifth Men's D1 crown in 2021. The New York Magpies, San Diego Lions and Boston Demons are the only other multiple Men's D1 winners, each having won twice. Canadian clubs were first invited to the USAFL Championships in 2006. The first Canadian champions were the
Vancouver Cougars The 'Vancouver Cougars'' are a member of the Australian Football League Canada and compete in thBritish Columbia Australian Football League (BCAFL) The club was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on January 15, 2001, becoming the fir ...
in 2008. The
Calgary Kangaroos The Calgary Kangaroos is an Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They welcome all new players, regardless of prior experience, practice at A E Cross High School in Glamorgan, play games at the Inland Athletic Park ...
have won four Division 2 premierships while the
AFL Quebec AFL Quebec is a 9-a-side Australian football competition formerly known as the Eastern Canadian Australian Football League or ECAFL. The league has both a men's and women's division and consists of teams from Montréal and its surrounding areas ...
Saints have won two. In 2005, the first USAFL Women's championships were held and were won by the Atlanta Lady Kookaburras. The Lady Kookas took home the first three premierships until 2008, when their 19-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the
Calgary Kookaburras The Calgary Kookaburras is a ladies Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They play at the Queen Elizabeth School, Hillhurst and are members of AFL Canada. They were the first women's football club formed in Canad ...
. The Denver Lady Bulldogs then won six consecutive titles from 2010–15, winning 20 consecutive games in the process until losing to the
Minnesota Freeze The Minnesota Freeze is a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 2005. The club has both men's and women's teams. It has won the USAFL National Championships The USAFL Natio ...
. Their string of premierships ended at the hands of the San Francisco Iron Maidens, who have since gone on to claim five-in-a-row of their own from 2016-21.


Format

The USAFL tournament seeding committee sets the divisions and seeding of all teams at least two weeks prior to the tournament.  Teams are placed in divisions based on season performance, regional championships performance, previous Nationals’ performance, and team player availability. Teams are then seeded within each division, with teams that are geographically close together usually separated by pool to avoid matchups during the season repeating in the group stage. Clubs that aren’t able to field full sides are combined with others to ensure that everyone is able to play. The Men’s Division 2 was created for the 1999 tournament, and has been used since 2001.  Men’s Division 3 was introduced in 2002, and Division 4 was added in 2007.  A standalone reserves division was used in 2017 and 2018.  A second women’s division was created to accommodate combined teams in 2015, though the women’s competition reverted to one division in 2021 due to reduced numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Matches at Nationals are 40 minutes long, which is half the length of a typical full Australian football match. Usually, matches are played as two, twenty-minute halves with no time on. For the 2021 tournament this was changed to four, ten-minute quarters to allow for restrictions surrounding water runners as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Finals matches that are tied after forty minutes of play are decided by a five-minute extra time period, followed by golden point rules if the match is still tied. Each team is guaranteed three games on the weekend, usually two on Saturday and one on Sunday.  Each division’s Grand Final is played on Sunday afternoon, with the Men’s Division 1 Grand Final being the final match of the weekend.     The top three men's divisions and women's Division 1 are played as 18-a-side. All teams in Divisions One and men's Division Two must be single entity squads; they may not combine with other teams. Men's Division Three is played as 16-a-side if both teams agree. Division Four is played 14-a-side or 16-a-side, and women's Division two is played 14- or 16-a-side. As of 2017, in all divisions each team is permitted to dress a maximum of 24 players. All Divisions are subject to the "50-50 Rule", which requires at least half of the players on the field at any one time to be "nationals" of the country that their team represents. Players of other origin are considered "non-nationals." Prior to 2009, the players were designated "Australian" and "non-Australian", with at least half of the players on the field needing to be "non-Australian." In addition to premiership medals, awards are also given to outstanding players in each division. The Paul Roos Medal, named after the former
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
player and coach and former US Revolution coach, is awarded to each division's Best and Fairest. The Coopers Medal goes to the most consistent player in each division, while the Geoff Cann Medal goes to each of the Grand Final MVP's. The umpires of the Grand Final in each division are each awarded the
Hayden Kennedy Hayden Kennedy (born 16 October 1965) is a former Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL) and is also a teacher at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne. After five AFL Grand Finals and a then-record 495 ga ...
medal.


Locations

The USAFL had previously attempted to keep Nationals in the Midwestern part of the United States in order to keep travel costs down for teams on the East and West coasts, and for all teams to be able to bring as many players as they can. At the league's 2014 annual general meeting, USAFL president Denis Ryan stated that he wanted to have the three regions, East, Central, and West, alternate hosting duties. The 2020 Nationals tournament, originally scheduled for
Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
the weekend of October 10-11, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. * 1997
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
* 1998
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
* 1999
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
* 2000
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
* 2001
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
* 2002
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
* 2003
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
* 2004
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
* 2005
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
* 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
* 2007
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
* 2008
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
* 2009
Mason, Ohio Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, approximately north of downtown Cincinnati. As of the 2020 census, Mason's population was 34,792. Mason is home to Kings Island amusement park and one of the largest tennis stad ...
* 2010
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
* 2011
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
* 2012
Mason, Ohio Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, approximately north of downtown Cincinnati. As of the 2020 census, Mason's population was 34,792. Mason is home to Kings Island amusement park and one of the largest tennis stad ...
* 2013
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
* 2014
Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly Mem ...
* 2015
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
* 2016
Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
/
Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
* 2017
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California * 2018
Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
*2019
Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
/
Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
*2020 ''Cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
'' *2021
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
(Onion Creek Sports Park) *2022
Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
(Silverlakes Sports Park, Norco)2022 USAFL Nationals
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Yearly Results


List of USAFL National Championship Premiers (Men)


List of USAFL National Championship Premiers (Women)

*In 2016, the Bulldogs finished second in a round robin where no Grand Final was played.


See also

*
US Footy The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. As of 2011, there were over 1, ...


References


External links


About the USAFLUSAFL Nationals
{{USAFL National Championships Australian rules football competitions
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
Sports competitions in the United States Australian rules football competitions in the United States