- Ontario Australian Football League
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Ontario Australian Football League Current season or competition:
2011 OAFL season
Sport Australian Football Founded 1989 No. of teams 10 Country(ies) 
CanadaMost recent champion(s) Central Blues The Ontario Australian Football League is the largest Australian Football league in North America. It is currently composed of teams from the Greater Toronto Area, Southwestern Ontario and the National Capital Region, who play off for the Conacher Cup (named after Lionel Conacher), presently awarded to the winner of the annual OAFL Grand Final.
In 2009 the OAFL established a second tier competition known as OAFL Division 2. The teams in this division compete for the Mike Pyke Cup (named after Mike Pyke) the first Canadian to play in the AFL.
The OAFL, along with the North West Pacific Football League is a member of AFL Canada, the governing body for the sport in Canada.
In 2006, the OAFL had around 330 senior players consisting of over 170 Canadian nationals.[1]
Contents
History
The league began as the Canadian Australian Football Association in May 1989. Two teams were formed that year - the Mississauga Mustangs and the Toronto Panthers, with a draft of interested players prior to a three game season and Grand Final. The coaches of those inaugural teams - John Pearson (Toronto Panthers) and Terence Wallis (Mississauga Mustangs) brought a significant amount of experience from playing at a high level in Australia. An interesting fact is that the first Grand Final was attended by a number of AFL executives including Ron Barrassi and members of the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne Demons. A number of the founding members of the origninal competition included: Kingsley Ellis (ex-Fitzroy VFL - lead central Umpire, founder of the Hamilton Tigers), Terence Wallis (founded & coached the Mississauga then Toronto Dingos), Bill Frampton (Mississauga then founded the Brampton Bulldogs), Sandro Mancino (Toronto Eagles, Scarborough Rebels and then founded the Balmy Beach Saints). These pioneers set the foundation for the current competition. Also during the early years CAFA played a number of International games against visiting teams from Australia (Balmain FC, Golden Oldies touring team) as well as the team representing the Australian Rules league in England. The Canadian team narrowly missed beating the touring Australian teams over the years, but soundly defeated England on the four occasions that it played them (1990 - 1996) culminating in a strong win by the touring Canadian team in London (1996).
Premiers
Year Premier Runner-up Division 2 Premier Division 2 Runner-up 1989 Toronto Panthers Mississauga Mustangs 1990 Toronto Panthers Mississauga Mustangs 1991 Toronto Panthers Scarborough Rebels 1992 Scarborough Rebels Mississauga Mustangs 1993 Lawrence Park Rebels Toronto Panthers 1994 Mississauga Mustangs Lawrence Park Rebels 1995 Toronto Eagles Broadview Hawks 1996 Toronto Eagles Hamilton Wildcats 1997 Toronto Eagles Lawrence Park Rebels 1998 Toronto Eagles Lawrence Park Rebels 1999 Toronto Eagles Broadview Hawks 2000 Toronto Dingos Toronto Eagles 2001 Lakeshore Rebels Toronto Eagles 2002 Toronto Eagles Toronto Dingos 2003 Toronto Dingos Etobicoke Kangaroos 2004 Toronto Dingos Toronto Eagles 2005 Toronto Dingos Lakeshore Rebels 2006 Toronto Eagles Broadview Hawks 2007 Toronto Eagles Etobicoke Kangaroos 2008 Etobicoke Kangaroos Toronto Eagles 2009 Toronto Eagles Etobicoke Kangaroos Quebec Saints Broadview Hawks 2010 Toronto Central Blues Toronto Dingos Quebec Saints Toronto Central Blues 2011 Etobicoke Kangaroos High Park Demons Etobicoke Kangaroos Broadview Hawks Clubs
Current Clubs
Club City Website Formed Premierships Broadview Hawks Toronto broadviewhawks.com 1989 Central Blues Toronto bluesafc.ca 2006 1 Etobicoke Kangaroos Etobicoke roosafc.ca 2003 1 Guelph Gargoyles Guelph guelphgargoylesafc.com 2001 Hamilton Wildcats Hamilton hamiltonwildcatsafc.com 1997 High Park Demons Toronto highparkdemons.com 1989 1 Ottawa Swans Ottawa ottawaswans.com 2007 Toronto Downtown Dingos Toronto torontodingos.ca 1996 4 Toronto Eagles Toronto eaglesafc.com 1989 12 Toronto Rebels Toronto rebelsfooty.com 1990 3 Affiliated / Formation Clubs
None
Past Clubs
Club Cities London Magpies (2003-2005) London Windsor Mariners (2002-2005) Windsor Brampton Wolverines (1993-1999) Brampton Balmy Beach Saints (1992-1997) Toronto Principal Venues
- Margaret Green Park, Guelph - Home of the Guelph Gargoyles
- Mohawk Sports Park, Hamilton - Home of the Hamilton Wildcats
- Rideau Carleton Raceway, Ottawa - Home of the Ottawa Swans
- Humber College North, Toronto - Home of Toronto Dingos, High Park Demons, Toronto Eagles, Toronto Rebels and Central Blues
- Humber College South, Toronto - Home of the Kangaroos
- University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto - Home of the Broadview Hawks
See also
- AFL Canada
- Australian Football in Canada
- North West Pacific Australian Football League
- US Footy
- AFANA
- List of Australian rules football leagues outside Australia
External links
References
Ontario Australian Football League, 2010 Past OAFL clubsBrampton Wolverines · Balmy Beach Saints · London Magpies · Windsor MarinersOAFL seasons Australian rules football in Canada Governing Body Promotional Bodies National teams Major representative competitions Stampede Cup • West Coast ChallengeMajor leagues AAFL • NWPAFL • OAFLMetro Footy leagues Southern OntarioWomen's leagues Canada Women's Australian Footbal LeagueCategories:- Ontario Australian Football League
- Sport in Ontario
- Australian rules football leagues in Canada
- Australian rules football stubs
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