Ottawa and New York

[wiganermike]

11 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

They are going hard on the French thing, it seems. Maybe there’s a grant in it somewhere (which would be a smart move)?

I would think that with Canada being a bilingual country and with Ottawa being close to the provincial border with Quebec that it is more to do creating an affinity with and attractiveness to the whole of the community of the surrounding area than any possible grant money. It seems a good way to proceed given one of their stated aims being to embed themselves and the sport in the community in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Hopefully it works in that regard.

[Man of Kent]

1 hour ago, wiganermike said:

I would think that with Canada being a bilingual country and with Ottawa being close to the provincial border with Quebec that it is more to do creating an affinity with and attractiveness to the whole of the community of the surrounding area than any possible grant money. It seems a good way to proceed given one of their stated aims being to embed themselves and the sport in the community in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Hopefully it works in that regard.

And a grant wouldn't hurt either.

[wiganermike]

4 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

And a grant wouldn't hurt either.

Certainly, all money helps, if such grant money exists I doubt they wouldn't try to access it I just think that creating affinity with the Francophone community as well as the Anglophone one is what will be behind the recruitment of a French coach and a French player in a prominent position for the team. Particularly as the owners of Ottawa are a group with experience of establishing sports teams in the area and what is required to succeed when doing so.

[Oldbear]

Definitely an attempt to appeal to the large French speaking population just across the river and why not, a new team is going to have to reach out as far as it can to build a solid support base. There is also the likelihood that Eastern Ontario, with its proximity to Quebec, will be much more appealing to French players, and therefore meaning these players may be more interested in sticking it out for a longer term and not succumbing to homesickness, therefore helping build a more permanent base in Canada.

[Whippet13]

Matty Fozard close to signing, will be a good acquisition:

https://www.totalrl.com/ottawa-aces-recruitment-to-continue-with-london-ace/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ottawa-aces-recruitment-to-continue-with-london-ace

[wilsontown]

9 hours ago, wiganermike said:

I would think that with Canada being a bilingual country and with Ottawa being close to the provincial border with Quebec that it is more to do creating an affinity with and attractiveness to the whole of the community of the surrounding area than any possible grant money. It seems a good way to proceed given one of their stated aims being to embed themselves and the sport in the community in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Hopefully it works in that regard.

It's a bit more complicated than Canada being a bilingual country. Over vast swathes of it, only one language is spoken. The only bilingual province is New Brunswick, where I lived for a while. The whole province has something like 700,000 people, and most of those live in cities that are more or less monolingual (the exception being Moncton).

Quebec is officially French-speaking, and everywhere else is English. There are bilingual cities, Montreal is one and Ottawa (by virtue of being the seat of the federal government) is another.

[Big Picture]

4 hours ago, wilsontown said:

It's a bit more complicated than Canada being a bilingual country. Over vast swathes of it, only one language is spoken. The only bilingual province is New Brunswick, where I lived for a while. The whole province has something like 700,000 people, and most of those live in cities that are more or less monolingual (the exception being Moncton).

Quebec is officially French-speaking, and everywhere else is English. There are bilingual cities, Montreal is one and Ottawa (by virtue of being the seat of the federal government) is another.

You've oversimplified matters there.  Apart from the west part of the island of Montréal, the eastern townships and few other places here and there Québec is entirely French-speaking.  Les Promeades Gatineau is a big shopping mall just a short drive across the Ottawa River not even 10 km from Parliament Hill where you'll barely hear a word of English spoken.  I well remember how surprised I was by that even though I shouldn't have been having lived in the Moncton area before moving to Ottawa almost 30 years ago now.

To say that "everywhere else is English" is wrong.  I can still recall to this day when it dawned on me a month or two after moving to the Moncton area that a conversation in an adjacent office cubicle which I could hear was in French rather than English.  Among the Francophone colleagues with whom I worked in Ottawa was a Franco-Ontarian from a town a bit east of Ottawa whose English had a noticeable French accent; from him I learned to appreciate the amazing beers from Unibroue like la Fin du Monde and la Maudite, man they pack a punch.  Years earlier in southern Ontario I worked with another Franco-Ontarian from Oshawa (just east of Toronto) whose husband was a Franco-Ontarian from Sudbury in northern Ontario and when they met he didn't speak a word of English so they communicated in French at first.  So albeit below the radar of most anglophones in Canada, French is definitely more prevalent than is commonly thought.

That said, whether a Francophone coach and some Francophone players can get Canadian Francophones in the Ottawa-Gatineau region interested in a team playing in an English league against a bunch of teams from England remains to be seen.

[CanadianRugger]

4 hours ago, Big Picture said:

You've oversimplified matters there.  Apart from the west part of the island of Montréal, the eastern townships and few other places here and there Québec is entirely French-speaking.  Les Promeades Gatineau is a big shopping mall just a short drive across the Ottawa River not even 10 km from Parliament Hill where you'll barely hear a word of English spoken.  I well remember how surprised I was by that even though I shouldn't have been having lived in the Moncton area before moving to Ottawa almost 30 years ago now.

To say that "everywhere else is English" is wrong.  I can still recall to this day when it dawned on me a month or two after moving to the Moncton area that a conversation in an adjacent office cubicle which I could hear was in French rather than English.  Among the Francophone colleagues with whom I worked in Ottawa was a Franco-Ontarian from a town a bit east of Ottawa whose English had a noticeable French accent; from him I learned to appreciate the amazing beers from Unibroue like la Fin du Monde and la Maudite, man they pack a punch.  Years earlier in southern Ontario I worked with another Franco-Ontarian from Oshawa (just east of Toronto) whose husband was a Franco-Ontarian from Sudbury in northern Ontario and when they met he didn't speak a word of English so they communicated in French at first.  So albeit below the radar of most anglophones in Canada, French is definitely more prevalent than is commonly thought.

That said, whether a Francophone coach and some Francophone players can get Canadian Francophones in the Ottawa-Gatineau region interested in a team playing in an English league against a bunch of teams from England remains to be seen.

Lived in Moncton eh?  I'm from Bathurst myself

[Eddie]

12 hours ago, Oldbear said:

Definitely an attempt to appeal to the large French speaking population just across the river and why not, a new team is going to have to reach out as far as it can to build a solid support base. There is also the likelihood that Eastern Ontario, with its proximity to Quebec, will be much more appealing to French players, and therefore meaning these players may be more interested in sticking it out for a longer term and not succumbing to homesickness, therefore helping build a more permanent base in Canada.

Is there much affinity between France and French speaking Canadians (serious question)? I was surprised to hear you say that French players wouldn’t get homesick, any more or less than English players wouldn’t get homesick in English speaking areas of Canada - both of which are completely different to Northern England and SW France?

[Bleep1673]

Neither team will happen under virus restrictions, abandon now, and plow the money into established clubs that need the emergency cash

[Hela Wigmen]

5 minutes ago, Bleep1673 said:

Neither team will happen under virus restrictions, abandon now, and plow the money into established clubs that need the emergency cash

What money? 

[Pulga]

2 hours ago, Bleep1673 said:

Neither team will happen under virus restrictions, abandon now, and plow the money into established clubs that need the emergency cash

Imagine pitching that to the owners of Toronto and Ottawa...

"How about you give millions of your money to fading industrial town's rugby league teams with a less than zero chance of ever making it back and no way to grow their brand?"

[TIWIT]

2 hours ago, Pulga said:

Imagine pitching that to the owners of Toronto and Ottawa...

"How about you give millions of your money to fading industrial town's rugby league teams with a less than zero chance of ever making it back and no way to grow their brand?"

Pretty much what they did to Argyle and we've seen how that turned out.

[silverback]

Were do i grab one the TWP heritage shirts.before the brand gets too expensive

[Oldbear]

12 hours ago, Eddie said:

Is there much affinity between France and French speaking Canadians (serious question)? I was surprised to hear you say that French players wouldn’t get homesick, any more or less than English players wouldn’t get homesick in English speaking areas of Canada - both of which are completely different to Northern England and SW France?

1. Gotta be easier if people around you speak the same language.

2. I was also thinking that the French guys, being able to converse with locals, might be more resilient than most of the Brits who leave the UK for other shores, then run back home yearning for mushy peas!

[GUBRATS]

2 minutes ago, Oldbear said:

1. Gotta be easier if people around you speak the same language.

2. I was also thinking that the French guys, being able to converse with locals, might be more resilient than most of the Brits who leave the UK for other shores, then run back home yearning for mushy peas!

Rather than frogs legs ? 

[Oldbear]

7 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Rather than frogs legs ? 

They move too fast for me!

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

16 minutes ago, Oldbear said:

1. Gotta be easier if people around you speak the same language.

2. I was also thinking that the French guys, being able to converse with locals, might be more resilient than most of the Brits who leave the UK for other shores, then run back home yearning for mushy peas!

He's unlikely to have to move from West Yorkshire.......

[Oldbear]

1 minute ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

He's unlikely to have to move from West Yorkshire.......

Please say it’s not so, don’t we learn any lessons?

[Eddie]

4 hours ago, Oldbear said:

1. Gotta be easier if people around you speak the same language.

2. I was also thinking that the French guys, being able to converse with locals, might be more resilient than most of the Brits who leave the UK for other shores, then run back home yearning for mushy peas!

English people travel more than French people, not sure why but they do, so not sure why you think French RL players would be more resilient than English ones?

[GUBRATS]

29 minutes ago, Eddie said:

English people travel more than French people, not sure why but they do, so not sure why you think French RL players would be more resilient than English ones?

Because they're cleverer , more educated ,not like thick northerners ,they're more like Australians

[Lowdesert]

12 hours ago, Oldbear said:

1. Gotta be easier if people around you speak the same language.

2. I was also thinking that the French guys, being able to converse with locals, might be more resilient than most of the Brits who leave the UK for other shores, then run back home yearning for mushy peas!

Number 2, in my experience is valid.  

Brits seem to expect other countries to speak English.  Normally they find some more English and form a clique, when just learning a few words and a small vocabulary they could increase that circle of friends and learn a little culture.

[Steve Slater]

23 hours ago, Bleep1673 said:

Neither team will happen under virus restrictions, abandon now, and plow the money into established clubs that need the emergency cash

Yesterday's announcement from the government certainly puts a cloud of doubt over it all, but there could be some good to come out of it - When we can all safely return to normal on both sides of the Atlantic, why not put Toronto back in the same league as Ottowa to build up even more interest. If a USA club wants to join them all the better, as long as we have better management for European clubs travelling to away fixtures, such as a fixture schedule that would only require one trip across the Atlantic?

[Harry Stottle]

5 hours ago, Lowdesert said:

Number 2, in my experience is valid.  

Brits seem to expect other countries to speak English.  Normally they find some more English and form a clique, when just learning a few words and a small vocabulary they could increase that circle of friends and learn a little culture.

No need for anyone to learn a language all you need is a wifi connection, I have sat in bars in foriegn countries not being able to speak the language nor those who I was conversing with having any command of English.

Google Translate enables one to speak into their device (phone or tablet) and it will repeat the words audibly almost instantly in the chosen language, just pressing the 'reverse button' enables the other person to communicate back in their tongue and you hear it in English immediately, I have sat with people for 2 hours utilising this method, got served in shops, communicate in restaurants and asked directions, it is a really wonderful tool, it even utilises the  devices camera, it lets you focus on say a menu and you can read it in English albeit some of the interpretations are amusing when it is a local item.

Give it a try, it really works even with my Lancashire accent, so there's still hope for all those East of the Pennines

[Lowdesert]

1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:

No need for anyone to learn a language all you need is a wifi connection, I have sat in bars in foriegn countries not being able to speak the language nor those who I was conversing with having any command of English.

Google Translate enables one to speak into their device (phone or tablet) and it will repeat the words audibly almost instantly in the chosen language, just pressing the 'reverse button' enables the other person to communicate back in their tongue and you hear it in English immediately, I have sat with people for 2 hours utilising this method, got served in shops, communicate in restaurants, asked directions it is a really wonderful tool, it even utilises the  devices camera, it lets you focus on say a menu and you can read it in English albeit some of the interpretations are amusing when it is a local item.

Give it a try, it really works even with my Lancashire accent, so there's still hope for all those East of the Pennines

Err... I think I said a few words...and a small vocabulary?

If your happy to use a device, then fair enough.  I’ve never seen it though.