Some of the workshop participants discuss options for the 2012 season at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry.
On Saturday 17th September 2011, the Irish American Football League (IAFL) held a meeting in Dublin to discuss the structure and timing of the league season going forward. This was a workshop style meeting where the participants discussed a variety of proposals and ideas before deciding on some recommendations.
Key considerations included ensuring that all teams have a competitive schedule, travel costs and future flexibility. There was a strong desire from the participants to recommend a structure that can be flexible going forward in terms of the number of teams participating and can accommodate increases in the number of regular season games played if desired beyond 2012.
The key recommendations of the workshop were as follows:
The IAFL should have two regional divisions of similar standard – IAFL North and IAFL South. Teams should play all their divisional rivals annually with the balance of games being against teams in the other division with opponents determined by the previous season’s rankings.
Consideration should be given to playing the Shamrock Bowl earlier in July, possibly to coincide with 4th July. Depending on the number of games scheduled per weekend, this may mean a earlier start to the season with some games played in February.
DV8s should be played after the end of the IAFL regular season so that more IAFL teams can enter 2nd teams in the DV8s league, thus making it bigger and more competitive.
Youth Kitted football (U19) should be played during the same timeframe as the DV8s to capitalise on synergies and make both more financially viable e.g. ground sharing for games. Initially Youth Kitted will use reduced numbers of players to allow as many teams as possible to participate.
The IAFL Board will be reviewing the recommendations and over the coming weeks and incorporating the feedback into its draft plans for 2012.
Workshop Attendees:
Carrickfergus Knights
Cork Admirals
Craigavon Cowboys
Tullamore Phoenix
West Dublin Rhinos
UL Vikings
IAFL Board Members
Dublin Rebels also forwarded feedback.
