Professional Canadian League in 2022

[TheReaper]

1 hour ago, RP London said:

Sorry, why gridiron instead of RU does the CFL season go at a different time than the RU/RL season? i was assuming basically that all outdoor sports would have pretty much had to run to the same times of the year is this a very wrong assumption?

There are only so many people interested in playing contact sports.

Football runs when it wants to, and has always been an autumn sport - makes sense, given its UK-rugby roots. The CFL, as it professionalized needed a longer season, and we need to wrap it up by winter so now has gradually extended back to June. At the school level, both high school and college, training camp starts at or just before school starting in September, and end by the end of November like the CFL. "Club" football, CJFL etc, starts a bit earlier in the summer, and finishes a bit earlier, but it is very much a secondary option for serious players, university is the path of choice.

Rugby, being secondary to football, does avoid it at the high school level, at least in Ontario, running from April-June, basically as soon a fields thaw until the end of the school year. Lots (I'd guess a majority but not sure) of players play both, hence the split.

But by university, football players are taking it pretty seriously, and won't play both sports even if they were at different times of year. And rugby is increasingly serious at that level too, with committed players rather than sharing, and so university rugby runs in the same traditional fall window. 

Club rugby, is almost entirely based on working around the combination of winter and university. Preseason in April as soon as fields are dry(ish!), regular season May-August. Club leagues wrap up by mid-August, as players return to school for their university training camp. Club rugby does continue in the fall with province-wide McCormack Cup play, with many players playing two games a week, one club one uni, until their club is knocked out (the final is in October). Of course many don't, and the Cup is a test of club depth apart from the prime university aged players.

So, with two established "contact football" sports, they somewhat manage to split the year, but the higher you go, the harder it is to do both. Leaving not a lot of room for a third sport to come in, without convincing entirely new players to join. When ORL started, they pushed the season very early, preseason was indoors by necessity, and games were on artificial turf in kind of terrible spring weather, in order for the bulk of the (pretty short) season to be played before union got started. They had all games on Sunday, because the bulk of the players were/are playing both. Then the ORL moved to a later season, still with Sunday games, and the number or teams they were able to sustain dropped in half.

I played part of a season when ORL had the early schedule, 2015 I think, and even then when there was nominally 4 clubs, I spent more time being "donated" to the opposition than with my own club. I joined primarily because I wanted to play more rugby, at my union club's level we only play 10 games or so.

Offering "more rugby", while scheduling in a way that allows players to continue with their union clubs, will be CCCRL's best way to bring in amateur players. Offering actual money will change things in that regard, but I don't know how much is realistic for them to offer. I think it will take actual money to bring in the post-university football players - football is very much focused on making it as a pro or nothing, compared to rugby's focus on lifelong involvement.

 

[Jayme2020]

On 16/03/2021 at 07:32, Eddie said:

They’ve already said both Alberta and Sasektchuwan (no idea how to spell that) will provide two of the initial clubs. As I recall there was also one from BC, one Quebec and two from Ontario. 

It sounds like a very strong plan.

[Gomersall]

 

[GeordieSaint]

19 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

 

I presume one of those Ontario’s is Ottawa…

[Cumbrian Mackem]

22 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

I presume one of those Ontario’s is Ottawa…

It would appear that Toronto and Hamilton are the Ontario teams.

[GeordieSaint]

2 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

It would appear that Toronto and Hamilton are the Ontario teams.

Noted. Completely misread it! 

[Lowdesert]

That 2nd paragraph gives me a lot of hope for the Canadian game.

[JM2010]

I agree and I hope foundations can be laid beneath the competing clubs, such as regional junior leagues, school and college leagues etc.

I wonder why Ottawa aren't included

[Big Picture]

5 hours ago, Gomersall said:

 

Whoever wrote that doesn't doesn't seem to know much about the geography of Canada.  Toronto, Hamilton and Montréal aren't anywhere near the east coast.

[CanaBull]

Haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere on here but the Toronto Wolfpack announced the other day that former Canada Wolverines captain Matt Wyles will be their new head coach.

[Omott91]

I just wish all of these competitions would cooperate and pool their resources together. No point having multiple teams in the same city in different competitions fighting over the same fans and corporate dollar.    

[Cumbrian Mackem]

4 hours ago, Big Picture said:

Whoever wrote that doesn't doesn't seem to know much about the geography of Canada.  Toronto, Hamilton and Montréal aren't anywhere near the east coast.

Eastern conference.

[Big Picture]

41 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Eastern conference.

I know already, but they sure aren't "East Coast cities" — Montréal is more than 1200 km from Halifax and anyone in the media here knows that — so it's an elementary mistake to make, and more to the point one which a Canadian would not make.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

22 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

I know already, but they sure aren't "East Coast cities" — Montréal is more than 1200 km from Halifax and anyone in the media here knows that — so it's an elementary mistake to make, and more to the point one which a Canadian would not make.

Just re-read it and you’re right. Are all 3 cities described as eastern cities by Canadians?

[Big Picture]

3 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Just re-read it and you’re right. Are all 3 cities described as eastern cities by Canadians?

That depends on where they live.  East of the Ottawa River it's rare (and unheard of in the Atlantic provinces) to hear Ontario described as eastern, but out west it's common.  Even so, even out there I'd think that they know that none of the listed cities are even in the same time zone as our east coast.

[Gomersall]

 

[Gomersall]

 

[Gomersall]

 

[Gomersall]

 

[Kayakman]

6 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Just re-read it and you’re right. Are all 3 cities described as eastern cities by Canadians?

Central Canada.

[DlEHARD]

I hope some cohesion can happen between them and CARL and the Wolfpack and Aces. I don't know what to think. 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

I'm guessing this is an amateur competition running before the level the Wolfpack are hoping to be competing in next year?

[Whippet13]

5 hours ago, DlEHARD said:

I hope some cohesion can happen between them and CARL and the Wolfpack and Aces. I don't know what to think. 

I understand the CARL are fully supportive of the CCCRL competition which will run over consecutive weekends in each of the 6 member cities and will be scheduled to not take players or resources from the existing CARL club games. CCCRL say 10% of any profits they make will be donated to the CARL, that may not be much but it all shows they are working together.

[Whippet13]

1 hour ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

I'm guessing this is an amateur competition running before the level the Wolfpack are hoping to be competing in next year?

The CCCRL will be semi-pro I believe, nothing to do with the Wolfpack or NARL. Although sone player crossover wouldnt suprise me if the seasons dont overlap. I think NARL is looking at running in spring 2022 and CCCRL summer 2022.

[Gomersall]