Well this week was a quiet one from me with articles. Not that there was nothing to write about but that I was completely tied up with my job. However, now with a bit of time on my hands, I am amazed how much has been happening. From the Americas where there is news from Jamaica and the USA. Serbia and Lebanon also have news about their up coming competitions. So here I will give some of the Press releases I have received and a summary of other news.
Jamaica’s first professional rugby league franchise, Hurricanes Rugby League, has been officially launched at GC Foster College during a weekend of competition on the island.
The franchise is owned by ex-professional Australian rugby league player Dane Campbell, who intends to see the outfit competing against American or Canadian clubs by 2013. The idea is as novel as it is bold and Hurricanes General Manager is Roy Calvert, who is also the vice-captain of Jamaica’s national team.
The announcement was part of a weekend of 13-a-side activity which included the Fourth JRLA High School 9s which included first time entrants Anchovy High alongside Greater Portmore High, Spanish Town High, St. Georges College, Campion College, Calabar High, Vauxhall High, Tarrant High and Edith Dalton James High.
In the senior 9s, Pembroke Hall Rookies made their debut competing against traditional powerhouses, JDF, Duhaney Park and Vauxhall Vultures. Others competing included; Spanish Town Vikings, Greater Portmore Eliminators, Gregory Park Maroons and GC Foster College.
Contact details: Romeo Monteith, JRLA Development Officer, Email: romeocbar@yahoo.com, Website: www.jamaicarugbyleague.com
The USARL last week announced that they have signed Vanguard Rugby as their official brand of ball for their inaugural season. Also Akuma Rugby Has been selected as the USARL’s league wide kit supplier. So all teams will be kitted out in Akuma Rugby gear.
The Serbian Rugby League Federation (SRLF) has announced that two new clubs have joined their domestic competition. Leskovac-based Morava Cheetahs and “Sokó́” (Falcon) from Vranje are the debutants after both clubs played in youth tournaments, nines competitions and friendlies last year.
SRLF Board member Radoslav Novaković helped in the establishment of new entrants, whose participation was formally accepted at the governing body’s recent AGM.
“We are very proud of last year’s results, both on and off the field,” he said. “Our national team won an international competition, new centres were established in the south, more and more young people participated and for the first time we have been categorized in the system by the Sports Association of Serbia, which were our goals when we held last year’s AGM.”
Also at the meeting Aleksandar Mitrović, a director at RLC Red Star Belgrade, was elected as a new Board member.
Contact details: Nebojša Sretenović, Email: ragbi@verat.net, nebojsas@sbb.rs
The Lebanon Rugby League Federation has announced the 2011 Lebanon Cedars squad after its inaugural representative tri-series last month.
The train on squad is completely drawn from the Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship except for Hilal Kaarali, an Australian based player from the Australian University National side.
LRLF Chief Operating Officer Remond Safi commented, “It has been an interesting and difficult process selecting the squad. For the players chosen it will be a fantastic chance to challenge for a spot on the final Cedars selection that will be participating in the upcoming 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualification campaign later in the year.”
2011 Lebanon train on squad:
Paul Khauli, Kamal Ali (AUB); Hilal Kaarali (AUN); Ahmad Masri (AUST); Ghassan Dandach, Pierre Nasr, Youssef Helou (Jounieh); Ahmad Fadallah, Allen Khoury, Bahige Saridar, Hassan Shaheen, Jad Hachem, Mazen Knio, Mohamed Jamel, Robin Hachache, Rudy Hachache, Walid Yassin (LAU); Rony Akel (USJ); Allen Soultan, Gaton Osman, Jonathan Finanous, M. Elias, Riad Khoury, Samer Negme, Youssef Chargory (UOB); Jad Abi Nassif, Mego Kychian, Monir Finan, Nemer Saliba, Ray Finan (Wolves)
Contact Details: Faysal Jaber, Email: faysal@lebrl.com
The NZRLs finances have shown further improvement in their finances for 2010. The NZRL recorded a profit of $315,000 which is an increase from 2009 when they recorded a profit of $158,000. This profit is quite encouraging since the expenses of the NZRL also rose from $4.29 million to $5.59 million. This rise in expenditure was due to increased spending on game development and the support of personnel throughout the country, the new National Competition and community programmes.
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