Australian Rules Football

AGSA Goes to Austin for the United States Australian Rules Football National Tournament

October 25, 2021 by Tara S

From October 13th to October 17th, the American Gold Sports Alliance leadership team traveled to Austin, Texas to help umpire the United States Australian Football League National Tournament! The Onion Creek Sports Complex was filled with 50 teams and over 2,500 athletes who competed from around the country for a chance at victory. This was their first Nationals since 2019.

The United States Australian Rules Football League was founded in 1997 and is the sole representative of Australian Football within the United States. The USAFL is a grassroots, amateur sports organization dedicated to the development of and participation in Australian football. The organization is focused on the promotion and awareness of Australian Football and Aussie culture and has created a sense of community among USAFL clubs and club members. Since its inception, the USAFL has grown to include more than 50 teams across 25 states with four men’s divisions and one women’s division with more teams being created every year.

While AGSA’s Director of Operations, Tara Miller, was just being introduced to the sport during this tournament, AGSA’s President, Sid Caesar, has been a part of the Umpire’s Association for over 15 years. In fact, he is now the treasurer of the United States Australian Football League Umpires Association. The team at AGSA is honored to be a part of this ever-growing sport.

In order to continue to support this sport, AGSA has embraced the efforts of the United States Australian Football League Foundation. The USAFL Foundation was launched in 2020. The Foundation’s mission is to provide ongoing financial assistance for the development of Australian Football in the United States. The Foundation will act as an annual funding mechanism to the USAFL, a USAFL emergency fund for extreme situations, and to support the growth of Australian Football in the United States. Their goal is to raise over $2.5 Million over the next three years to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the League in 2022, starting with raising pledges, in 2020, for $1M. Each year the Foundation will support development activities, identified by the USAFL Board, that support the USAFL’s mission of growing Australian Football in the USA.

If you are interested in Australian Rules Football, you can visit their website at www.usafl.com. To donate to the USAFL Foundation, please visit www.agsa.org/donate.

The American Gold Sports Alliance is a 501(c)(3) Sports Foundation dedicated to identifying, encouraging, and supporting student-athletes to excel at their chosen sport, irrespective of their financial status. We strive to assure that dedicated athletes have the ability to receive the support and opportunities they need to succeed.

Tara Miller Tries Australian Rules Football

October 25, 2021 by Tara S

Director of Operations Tara Miller traveled to Austin Texas to umpire in the United States Australian Football League National Tournament.
Despite being new to the sport, everyone involved in the tournament was extremely helpful and welcoming.
If you are looking to get into a new sport, or just want to be a part of a great community, definitely look into Australian Rules Football.

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Retiring Premiership Skipper Gets Fairytale Finish

April 19, 2021 by Tara S

RETIRING Brisbane captain Emma Zielke knew before last week’s preliminary final win over Collingwood that a premiership on Saturday would signal the end of her AFLW career.

The 32-year-old told coach Craig Starcevich she would retire on 41 games if the Lions made it into Saturday’s NAB AFLW Grand Final – but only if they won it.

“I said, ‘If we win, I’m out’,” Zielke said, after their 18-point win over Adelaide.

“It was a fairytale ending. The decision was made for me.”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.452.0_debug_en.html#goog_1851872480Play Video

AFLW GF Highlights: Adelaide v Brisbane

06:37APR 17. 2021. 4:10 PM

The Crows and Lions clash in the 2021 NAB AFLW Grand Final

Zielke admitted she didn’t know what she would have done if the Lions had lost their third Grand Final and was glad she wasn’t in a position where she had to find out.

Instead, she gets to leave the game on the greatest high possible; a premiership captain after three attempts.

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Secure Our Future

December 14, 2020 by Tara S

The USAFL Foundation was launched in 2020. The Foundation’s mission is to provide ongoing financial assistance for the development of Australian Football in the United States.

The Foundation will act as an annual funding mechanism to the USAFL, a USAFL emergency fund for extreme situations, and to support the growth of Australian Football in the United States. Our goal is to raise over $2.5 Million over the next three years to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the League in 2022, starting with raising pledges, in 2020, for $1M.

The league has evolved over the last twenty plus years. Our first decade was “Building the Foundation” of the game. We were young and brash and made it up as we went along. We quickly grew from a handful of founding clubs to over 20. We launched the men’s national team, the Revolution, in 1999. Our second decade was all about “Growing the Sport”. Nationals had become too big for host clubs to manage so the league took on running the Nationals and it has ballooned into the biggest single weekend footy carnival in the world (including Australia). We launched women’s footy which has grown significantly and along with that came the women’s national team, the Freedom.

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