User:Captainfooty/Seattle grizzlies

The Seattle Grizzlies are members of the United States Australian Football League and compete in the North West Pacific Australian Football League.

The club was founded in Seattle, Washington, USA on Grand Final Day, September 1998.

History
Initially, the Seattle Football Club was formed on Grand Final Day 1998 (September) after a discussion between a few Australian’s that lived in Seattle and wanted to bring the excitement of Australian Rules Football to the Pacific Northwest. Over the following three months the club recruited heavily resulting in over 40 people on member roles. On December 13, 1998, the first game was played.

The next February an official supervisory committee was elected and The Seattle Jets was decided upon as team name. A second game was played the same month. In mid-March the club name was changed to the "Geelong Football Club of Seattle" upon gaining sponsorship from the associated professional club located in Australia, The Geelong Cats. In early April the club made a trip down to Santa Cruz, California for their annual Anzac Day tournament and played their first games against other US clubs. Seattle won their first two games and but were defeated by a slim margin in the championship game.

Subsequent years saw the development of national clubs in both Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon. The addition of the Vancouver Cougars and Portland Power has given all squads regular, high-level competition. The stiff local competition has arguably makedly increased the teams' performance, evidenced by Vancouver and Seattle's performance at the 2008 USAFL National Championships. In 2008 the Grizzlies won their first national premiership at the US Footy National Championships is Colorado Springs, Colorado, by defeating the Calgary Kangaroos in the division two grand final. In addition to this "first team", Seattle travelled to the nationals with a roster of over 40 players and fielded a combined Seattle/Portland squad that reached the division four grand final.

Local Competition
The Seattle Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) is broken down further into two local sides, the Westside Saints and the Seattle Tigers, in order to facilitate regular local competition. These Metro Footy matches provide players with opportunity for game experience outside of high-pressure national matches, and allow the coaching staff to evaluate player performance for selection to the national touring squad, the Seattle Grizzlies.

Community Activity
The Grizzlies have made a name for themselves locally and beyond due to their fundraising activities. In early 2009 during the Victorian bush fires, the club organized an event to raise funds for the Australian Red Cross. In the span of one evening, thanks to the collective effort of many persons and businesses, a total of 24,000 USD was raised. In an article featured on the Australian Football League's website Coach Andrew Donlen stated, "Its a healthy thing for us to do - to be concerned and involved in our communities... It's always been our intention that the Grizzlies promote an identity beyond football - and things like this take us a step toward that idea of community, that we are a bunch of people who get together who just happen to like Australian Football, as opposed to a bunch of footballers."

Club Sponsors
In addition to continued sponsorship from Seattle's Kangaroo and Kiwi Pub, 2009 saw Glaceau Vitamin Water added to the major sponsor list.

Premierships and Club Records
NWPAFL Premierships:
 * 2003
 * 2005
 * 2008

Portland Invitational Australian Rules Football Tournament:
 * 2009

USAFL National Championships Premierships:
 * 2008 - Division Two

Links

 * Seattle Grizzlies Website
 * US Footy Website

Related Pages
Australian Rules Football in the United States USAFL AFANA North West Pacific Australian Football League