Toronto & Niagara Falls

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DAY 7 - THURSDAY 26 AUGUST

Arose at 3.30am, albeit not voluntarily. Dean drove me to the airport just after 4am, it was strange seeing little traffic on LA streets. Boarded the 6.30am American Airlines flight to Toronto, via Chicago. Sat next to a Scottish bloke who is living in LA and coaching an under-17 girls soccer team. Another example of the globalisation of sport.

Got into Chicago at 12.30pm before changing planes for a 1.20pm departure to Toronto. I had been to Auckland and LA before, but not Toronto or even Canada, so I was pretty excited about the whole thing. They put me in reverse business class again, great to see.

Arrived in Toronto and was introduced to the whims of Canadian customs, which consists of a series of checkpoints. After the first checkpoint they let most people through to collect their luggage. Those that don?t answer certain questions a certain way, such as yours truly, are taken to a second checkpoint to enjoy a long wait in a slow moving queue, before being asked some more questions. After this you are taken to a third checkpoint, where a gloved person goes through your luggage and asks you even more questions, who won the Brownlow in 1970 not being one of them. The gloves were making me nervous and I was relieved to be finally let through. Welcome to Canada.

Bruce Parker, President of the Canadian Australian Football Association (CAFA) was at the airport to greet me (sorry about the wait mate) and we proceeded directly to Centennial Park, CAFA headquarters, to inspect the playing surface. Centennial Park is actually a huge sporting complex, with Canadian football, soccer, Gaelic football, cricket and hockey fields. The CAFA plays on a cricket oval with an astroturf pitch. This is covered with a large piece of carpet when they play footy. It is a good sized ground and the fact that they have permanent steel goal posts is very impressive. They have had a running battle with the cricket people, mostly Windies and Pakis, who don?t want Australian football on their field. Bruce is trying to find a field they can call home.

Had a look at Centennial Park headquarters, a building with excellent facilities such as offices, change rooms, an indoor hockey rink and a bar. The bar is superb and is the usual venue for the CAFA grand final after-match function.

Bruce lives in the city centre with his wife Jen, dog Bear and two cats. Went there and talked some footy with Bruce before jet lag set in again.

Bruce, 29, is in his second term as President of the CAFA. A Canadian, he has also played for 6 years with the Mississauga Mustangs. How de he get involved in footy? He used to work in an indoor shopping mall, where he was employed as a video producer to program what the shoppers would watch. He was just out of college and was looking for a team sport and had been thinking about playing lacrosse. Some Canadians asked him to play ?This is Australian Football? video as part of their efforts to recruit new players. Bruce signed up as soon as he saw the video and has never looked back.

He found the game very confusing at first as he knew the basics but not much more. He learnt positioning and how to play from the Australians.

In 1996 he stepped into an executive role with the Mustangs, becoming their Secretary. In 1997 he took on the added responsibility of league Secretary. In 1998 he became both Mustangs and CAFA President. In 1999 he is still the Mustangs President but in a much more diminished role. Some would perceive that as a conflict of interest but he always puts the league first. For example, if a player is required to boundary umpire (each club supplies boundary and goal umpires) and does not show up, he is automatically suspended for 2 games. On one occasion Bruce couldn?t make it and suspended himself for 2 weeks.

CAFA History

The CAFA was established in May 1989. Two teams were formed that year, the Mississauga (say it quickly) Mustangs and the Toronto Panthers. On October 12th 1989, during half time of an exhibition match between Melbourne and Geelong in Toronto, footy jumpers were presented to the team captains of the Mustangs and Panthers. Two days later the Panthers defeated the Mustangs 65 to 48, winning the inaugural Conacher Cup.

In 1990 the league doubled in size with the addition of the Scarborough Rebels and the North York Hawks. That year the Toronto Panthers went undefeated and won their second straight Conacher Cup.

In 1991 the league saw growth to the west with the creation of the Hamilton Wildcats. Hamilton had the advantage of having its own field. The Toronto Panthers won their third straight Premiership by defeating the Rebels.

1992 saw expansion again with the formation of the Balmy Beach Saints. The North York Hawks relocated and became known as the Broadview Hawks. The Scarborough Rebels defeated the Mississauga Mustangs in a thrilling match to win their first Conacher Cup.

The Brampton Wolverines, the league?s seventh team, was formed in 1993. The Scarborough Rebels relocated and became the Lawrence Park Rebels. The Rebels won their second straight Premiership defeating the heavily favoured Toronto Panthers. The Panthers had been undefeated for the season. The CAFA tasted international competition when the British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL) played a Canadian All-Star team. The Canadian team defeated the British by a twelve goal margin.

1994 was a successful year with the Mississauga Mustangs finally winning their first Premiership. The Mustangs? win over the Rebels ended their quest for a third straight Conacher Cup. The British sent over another All-Star team, only to meet with the same fate as the year before. On the bright side they only lost by a five goal margin this time.

1995 was the year that the league received its greatest media coverage. Two of Toronto?s dailies and local radio stations carried the leagues scores and several stories. Hamilton cable TV covered several of the games played in Hamilton. On July 28th the Hamilton Wildcats played a CAFA ALL-Star lineup in front of 21,000 fans at half time between the Hamilton Tigercats and Edmonton Eskimos (Canadian Football League). That same year CAFA sent a team over to England. The CAFA squad proved to the British that home soil had nothing to do with the previous two victories as they defeated the Brits by three goals. The Toronto Panthers had been reborn prior to the 1995 season as the Toronto Eagles. This change saw the Eagles go undefeated the entire year and win their fourth Premiership.

1996 saw the Downtown Dingos form, proudly wearing the Essendon colours. It is believed that the 1996 season was the best in CAFA history. It was the most competitive season ever, with six teams fiercely contesting the four playoff spots. The season saw the seventh ranked Balmy Beach saints ending the Toronto Eagles two year winning streak in a close match, only to lose to the eighth ranked Brampton Wolverines the following week. The Eagles went on to win their second consecutive Premiership.

1997 started badly with the collapse of the Balmy Beach Saints. After many meetings to discuss the future of the league the few remaining players joined the Hawks and a few other teams. The Lawrence Park Rebels dominated the ladder that season, going undefeated. At the league?s annual Canada v. Australia All-Star match the Canadians defeated the Australians for the first time in CAFA history.

The Grand Final saw the Canadian All-Star side take on the visiting Diamond Creek Football Club from Australia. The Australians had spent the week touring Southern Ontario seeing as many sights as they could. They watched a leaf practice (ice hockey) and received a tour of the Maple Leaf Gardens. They went on a tour of the SkyDome and practised with the Toronto Argonauts (Candian football). They were also on CITY TV?s Breakfast Television modelling swimwear and CFNY?s Humble and Fred morning radio show where they sang the Demons club song. A great time was had by all.

Diamond Creek had an entertaining match against the Canadians and won easily. They were then shown the greatest grand final in CAFA history. The Toronto Eagles defeated the Lawrence Park Rebels for their third straight Conacher Cup. They came back from a four goal deficit at the half to win by a solitary point at the final siren.

1998 saw strong competition from all teams. The Rebels once more dominated the league in the early stages, with the Eagles coming on strong in the second half of the season. The grand final was a repeat match up from the previous year. The Rebels fought a hard battle but could not match the Eagles depth. The Toronto Eagles won their fourth straight Conacher Cup. The Eagles/Panthers have won the Premiership seven times in the league?s ten year history.

Unfortunately all has not been rosy in 1999. Both the Brampton Wolverines and the Mississauga Mustangs had problems with playing numbers. As a result both teams merged, playing under the Mustangs banner but with a majority of Brampton players. On a more positive note, the Boston Demons visited Toronto in May for a match against the Toronto Eagles. Canada also travelled to Chicago for a match against the USA, which was played on 1 August. Final scores: USA 10.15 (75) defeated Canada 8.7 (55).

Under the Constitution of the CAFA the objectives are:

To establish the sport of Australian Rules Football throughout Canada and provide an opportunity to play and/or support the game. This includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Establish a competitive football league.

2. Work closely with local amateur sporting authorities to mutual advantage.

3. Provide educational seminars and programs to schools and universities.

4. Operate a national football competition.

The rules in regard to player eligibility are as follows. Each team can have no more than 16 players on the field, although the playing squad can be larger. Australians can only constitute a maximum of 50% of the playing squad. So if there are 16 players, for example, no more than 8 can be Australians.

There is also an interesting adoption rule. If a team only has 12 players show up for a game, they can adopt 4 players from any club to make up the numbers. Only 2 of these can be Australian. It?s perhaps easy to criticise this rule from afar. Personally I think it?s a great rule, as some footy is always better than no footy.

In regards to operating a national football competition, Bruce hopes to introduce footy into other cities such as Ottawa and Montreal. He has been contacted by a teacher in Calgary who has already introduced Australian football into the school system.


DAY 8 - FRIDAY 27 AUGUST
Dropped at the bus terminal by Jo, Jen?s sister, for my trip to Niagara Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It?s about 1.5 to 2 hours from Toronto, depending on traffic.

Sat next to an old bloke called Murdo who told me a lot of interesting info about Toronto and Niagara Falls. At Niagara I hooked up with Lawrence and his son Jason, from England. Got to the Falls and was blown away. They were simply awesome! I had read a bit of background info but was still amazed at their sheer power and beauty.

I decided to go on a boat, Maid of the Mist, which goes right into the falls. They give you a flimsy blue raincoat to wear as you can get a bit wet. This was an incredible experience and one which I would recommend to anyone. After disembarking we crossed the bridge which links Canada and the US, hoping to make a quick visit to the States. I thought it would be pretty cool to walk from one country to another. The strange thing is you have to pay a quarter to leave or enter Canada, but the US charge is $6.00, which we discovered upon our arrival at US customs. At about $10 Australian we decided it wasn?t worth it and headed back. The yanks never miss an opportunity to make money.

Caught the shuttle back to the Niagara Bus Terminal for the return journey to Toronto, arriving back at 5pm. Met two brothers from England on the way back, one of them very keen to emigrate to Toronto. It?s certainly a great spot.

Had a guided tour of the Toronto nightlife afterwards by Bruce. Jen works at a Gothic nightclub, Savage Garden, so went there for a beer. It was certainly different. There are heaps of clubs in Toronto, most of them within walking distance of each other. The bars close at 2am so got back at a reasonable hour.

DAY 9 - SATURDAY 28 AUGUST
A day of dramas as the 3pm scheduled start for the 1999 CAFA Grand Final was delayed. At one stage it appeared as the game might not be played at all.

The problem was a game of cricket was in progress when we arrived. Unfortunately the ground had been double booked and the cricketers (mostly Pakistanis and Indians) did not want to leave. As mentioned previously, the cricketers have never been too keen to see Australian football played on ?their? oval.

One team was willing to stop playing, but the other was not, so we had an impasse. Some time passed and tempers were approaching boiling point. Another game of cricket was being played at an adjacent oval and so we approached the umpire and asked when their game would be finishing. He said about 5.30pm, so we then approached the first group of cricketers and asked if they would move their match to the other oval if the other match finished earlier. They were agreeable so at least we had got to first base.

We did not have to wait long for the home run. On the other oval a very enthusiastic LBW appeal by a Pakistani bowler was turned down by the West Indian umpire. The bowler did not like it all and a scuffle ensued, during which the umpire grabbed a bat and tried to hit the bowler. Game abandoned, bad for cricket but good for the footy. The first group of cricketers shifted their match and the grand final finally got underway at 5pm.

This was a great game. The Toronto Eagles were seeking their fifth consecutive Premiership and seventh overall (having won two as the Toronto Panthers), whilst the Broadview Hawks were after their first. The Hawks were favourites, having defeated the Eagles in all 3 matches between the clubs in 1999.

There was a strong breeze blowing across the ground, with no great advantage to either team. The Eagles opened the scoring with a behind, but it was the Hawks who scored the first goal of the match, courtesy of a strong mark in the forward pocket by John Kolstra. The Eagles replied through Mick Pearson?s long bomb, but the Hawks were full of running. Goals to Bobby Day and Marcus Minouge saw them take a handy 11 point lead at the first break, Hawks 3.1 (19) to Eagles 1.2 (8).

Unfortunately the quarter was marred by a nasty injury to the Eagles? Dave Poya, who slammed his head onto the cricket pitch and was taken to hospital. Everybody knows the pitch is there and a large piece of carpet is placed over it, but it?s still a potentially very dangerous situation. The sooner the CAFA can get their own field the better.

The Eagles came out firing in the second quarter, but the Hawks? Steve Dickers and fullback James Embelton were rock solid in defence. Bobby Day?s second goal resulted from a strong rebound in defence after Eagle Dave Cowling (DC) played on and was pinged after marking within range of goal. The Eagles hit back through a goal to ?Sauce? but were troubled by inaccuracy, kicking 2.4 for the quarter. At half time the margin had been reduced to 7 points, Hawks 4.1 (25) to Eagles 2.6 (18).

The Eagles kicked the first goal of the third quarter, courtesy of a great snap on the run by Mick Pearson. The windy conditions were having an impact, as is demonstrated by the following passage of play. An out of bounds shot for goal was followed by an out of bounds kick out, which was followed by an out of bounds shot for goal. To their credit the Hawks did not panic and steadied with goals to Alan Paulson, Steve Dickey and Brad Hilbers. Having all the momentum and leading 7.4 (46) to 3.7 (25) at the last change, the Hawks looked home.

It was a very exciting last quarter. The Eagles played like men possessed in the final term, with Justin Goulds and ?Sauce? kicking the first two goals. DC?s goal generated much excitement amongst the Eagles as the margin closed to 1 point. The intensity lifted and it was great footy - both teams were giving their all and throwing themselves into every contest. A free kick in front of goal to Troy Marsh resulted in the Eagles hitting the front for the first time since the first quarter. And that?s where they stayed, scenes of jubilation erupting as they held out for a nailbiting 3 point victory.

1999 CAFA Grand Final
Final scores:

Toronto Eagles 1.2 (8) 2.6 (18) 3.7 (25) 7.10 (52)
Broadview Hawks 3.1 (19) 4.1 (25) 7.4 (46) 7.7 (49)

Umpires: Greg Everett, Peter Gordon
Crowd - 100

During the match I spoke to a few players from the Hamilton Wildcats team, blokes such as Reuben Sculthorp, Jeff Fish, Blair Huffman, Pat Maloney, Mark Boverhof and John Steinhoff. The impressive thing about these blokes is that they are all Canadian - there is not one Aussie on the Wildcats team! I was intrigued by this and asked them what they liked about Australian football. As most of them play ice hockey they agreed that they were attracted by the speed and hitting of footy, which are both attributes of ice hockey. Further, as the hockey season is from September to April and footy i, renaming them the Broadview Hawks. Started umpiring in 1990 and has been the league?s Director of Umpiring ever since, although Kingsley Ellis took it over for one year about 5 years ago. Peter believes that footy?s biggest problem in Canada is a lack of volunteers to make the league work - umpires as well as administrators. He has often umpired games with no other umpires, whether field, boundary or goal.

Presentations were made to the winning team, each player receiving a Premiership medallion. I presented the Rookie of the Year trophy, pity he wasn?t there to receive it.

Afterwards went out with Bruce to meet up with Greg Everett, Craig Howard and Ben Milham (also hails from the Gold Coast, it?s a small world). It had been a long day and it was good to have a few quiet ones. Another 2am close so another early night.

DAY 10 - SUNDAY 29 AUGUST
After the near disaster of almost not playing the CAFA grand final, Greg, Bruce and myself arranged to meet at 11am to have a look at a few potential grounds for the 2000 season. The most impressive was McCleary Park, which is situated in downtown Toronto. Although it has an old cricket pitch and two baseball diamonds, the field is large enough to allow a fully sized ground. The surface needs a bit of work but I think the time has come for Canadian footy to have its own headquarters.

Trying to work in with the cricket has certainly been tough. Under the terms of the Permit from the City of Toronto, which allows CAFA 18 matches and 14 practices, ?all games must end by 11.45am). As a result CAFA games are played at 10am. If there?s a doubleheader, however, the earlier game is played at 8am!

Thankfully there is another field available at Humber College, although it does contain a cricket pitch as well. In summer the sun sets at approximately 8.30pm, so games are played here on weeknights (Wednesdays or Thursdays) between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.

After meeting Greg?s wife, Greg and I went to the Skydome to watch the baseball with Craig Howard and Marcus Minogue. The Toronto Blue Jays, who were ?World Champions? in 1992 and 1993, were hosting the Texas Rangers. I was surprised by the cost of the ticket, only $6. The Canadian and Aussie Dollar are virtually equal so it?s a pretty good deal.

Enjoyed a hot dog from a mobile stand before entering the stadium. These stands are all over Toronto and are an absolute bargain. Included are many different types of sauces, mustards and toppings, and piling them on is the way to do it here. You can?t go wrong for $2.

Had a few beers at the game as we watched baseball but talked footy. I?ve heard cricket described as baseball on valium but give me cricket any day. For starters there?s a lot more skill involved, not just hit and hope. Still, it was an enjoyable experience and I resolved to do a tour of the stadium the following day.

I had an interesting conversation with Marcus Minogue, who had been on the losing team the previous day. Marcus has travelled extensively and used to be a boundary umpire in the VSFL in Australia. He?s also the cousin of Kylie and Danii.

After the game (which Toronto lost 4-2) we went to Planet Hollywood next door, which is managed by one of the Canadian players. Had a beer, of course, and then went to the water closet. I had been forewarned about this bloke but was still very surprised to see the toilet attendant. This bloke will turn the tap on for you, wash your hands and then give you paper towelling to dry them. When he offered me some cologne I was out of there. I wasn?t hanging around to find out if he offered any additional services.

Walked back to Bruce?s place and after dinner had a kick of the footy with Bruce. Went through some boundary umpire drills with him before calling it a night.

DAY 11 - MONDAY 30 AUGUST
Woke up realising I had to leave Toronto and really sorry to go. It?s a great place and the people are fantastic. I found Canadians very similar to Aussies and hope to come back, although not in winter! It gets bloody cold here.

I had this day earmarked for sightseeing as my flight was not leaving until 6.15pm. Started off at the CN Tower, which is one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. It?s also the tallest free standing structure in the world (553m), with the highest viewing platform on the planet. And if you?re afraid of heights, don?t stand on the glass floor.

After descending the tower in 58 seconds, at 22km per hour, it was next door to the Skydome. The one hour tour of the world?s first fully retractable stadium was quite good, if you enjoy that sort of thing. It will be interesting to see how Docklands shapes up in comparison.

Went down to the waterfront to check out the vastness that is Lake Ontario. It?s easy to forget it?s a lake and not actually a sea, it?s huge! The waterfront area is great, with many fine restaurants, bars and cruises available.

I proceeded to the Air Canada building, where the Toronto Raptors (NBA basketball) and Maple Leafs (NHL ice hockey) jam the boards and slap the puck. Didn?t have time to do the tour but came across Toronto?s PATH network, a huge underground system that connects most of the downtown area. Akin to a vast rabbit warren, the PATH network can be accessed directly from office buildings and is filled with shops and eateries. And it?s a great idea. In the dead of winter it must be great to be able to go to lunch without risking severe frostbite.

Went back to Bruce?s and packed before Bruce arrived to take me to the airport. Caught a British Airways flight to London, which departed at 6.15pm. Watched My Favorite Martian but couldn?t sleep (who can on planes?) so ended up watching another movie

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