New Website in Progress!

The new Calgary Kookaburras website is under construction. Visit www.calgarykookaburras.com to view the progress. Full website launch will be announced on the blogspot webpage.

Name the new Calgary AFWL team

Calgary will enter a third club in the Alberta Footy Women's League for the 2010 season. We need your help naming the new team!

The AFWL is our local 9-a-side competition incorporating teams from Calgary and Edmonton. Each Calgary Kookaburra and Edmonton Emu is allocated to a local team to help further their footy development and to promote local matches and rivalries across Alberta. The Calgary-based Hillhurst Nighthawks are reigning Premiers.

The new Calgary club will be named after the Crossroads community, which is the location of our new game-day footy field in the city's northeast quadrant. Vote below on your preferred nickname for the team!

Calgary signs new coach and first import player

The Calgary Kookaburras are abuzz following two recent signings.

The Kookaburras announced via Twitter feed last week that Danny Reid has been appointed Head Coach for 2010. Danny was an assistant coach of the club during the 2008 season, when Calgary first won the US Nationals in Colorado Springs, and he brings a wealth of footy knowledge to the role. Danny played 15 seasons of junior and senior football with Montmorency FC in the Diamond Valley FL (Melbourne, Australia) before playing stints with Golden Point FC (Ballarat FL - 1 season), Macleod FC (DVFL - 2 seasons), Panton Hill FC (DVFL - 1 season) and Calgary Kangaroos AFC (2 seasons). Danny knows many of the Kookaburras veterans and looks forward to meeting the club's new players when pre-season commences in the first week of March.

Club President and former coach Jake Anson spoke about Danny's appointment. "I'm rapt to have someone with Danny's depth of experience take over the role," Anson said. "Our players need a change of direction to keep footy fresh, and Danny is an exemplary footballer and leader."

Interested new and returning players are invited to meet Danny at the club's event this week:

Calgary Kookaburras 'Kick Off 2010'
Where: Bottlescrew Bill's Pub (140 - 10 Ave SW, Calgary)
When: Thursday, February 25, 2010 @ 7 pm.

In a second exciting announcement to start the footy season, the Kookaburras have signed Alice Broughton as the club's first import player. Alice will arrive in Calgary at the beginning of March and become the first women's footballer to be deliberately recruited from Australia to join a footy club based overseas. In doing so, Alice will bring considerable experience and leadership skills to the Kookaburras' player development programs. Hailing from Belconnen FC (Canberra, Australia), Alice has played eight seasons of footy in the ten-team ACTWAFL and has been selected in the ACT representative side six times to compete at the Australian Women's National Championships. Furthermore, Alice has twice been selected to the All-Australian Team, which places her within an elite group of Australian women's footballers.

"Recruiting Alice is a huge coup for the club," stated Anson. "Part of improving our players' skills involves enabling them to play alongside and against better-skilled footballers. Alice will train with our squad, compete in our local league competition and I'm sure will add another dimension to our team in games against other cities. We had nearly a dozen Aussies express interest in the role, and I believe we signed the pick of the bunch."

The Kookaburras are arranging accommodation and employment for Alice, and providing assistance in arranging a Canadian visa and flights. The playing season schedule will afford Alice many weekend opportunities to travel around North America during her stay in Calgary.

The Kookaburras are always interested in hearing from women who are keen to play with us. Email us via the link to the left for more information.

Gurba Carries the Olympic Torch and Other Kookaburra Happenings

The Kookaburras have kept busy during the off-season and have a couple of news clippings that will interest our supporters.

Leslie Gurba was the pride of the club when she was selected to run with the Olympic Torch when it passed through Canmore on January 20th, 2010. Gurbs entered a Coca-Cola competition and was selected from among thousands of applicants for the privilege. The weather could not have been better for Gurbs' run and she was cheered along by fellow Kookaburras Lesley "Zed" Zmurchuk and Ciara "Lanners" Lanigan. Gurbs is an accomplished sportswoman, having represented Canada at Australian football and having played and coached top-level women's rugby for a number of years. Her sporting achievements, including her participation with the Kookaburras were mentioned on the Coca-Cola Torch Relay website. Congratulations Gurbs!

Former Kookaburra Kylie "Smiles" Clancy has returned to Sydney and is lacing up her footy boots with the newest club in the Sydney Women's AFL. Smiles got her first taste of Australian football playing with our club in 2009 and becomes the third Kookaburra to play footy with a club Down Under. We wish Smiles and the Southern Power good luck in their first season competing in our sister league. For more coverage, read this article from the St. George & Sutherland Shire Leader newspaper.

Six Kookaburras joined Australian football representatives from the Calgary and Edmonton men's and women's clubs in Canmore on January 30th for the inaugural Alberta Footy Summit. The purpose of the meeting was to plan a schedule for the 2010 footy season and to workshop ways in which the Alberta clubs can better work together to improve our footy competitions, social events, junior development programs and to acquire permanent fields. The summit was declared a success by all who attended, and the 2010 season looks set to be the most-exciting and best-organized yet. Stay tuned for further info in coming days.

Lastly, the Kookaburras are now on Twitter. Click on this link to go to our Twitter page. To launch this new feature, we will be announcing the appointment of the 2010 Head Coach and making a second exciting announcement on Wednesday, February 10th!

Kookaburras Coaching Position Available

Long time Kookaburras Head Coach Jake Anson is looking to stand down after three seasons at the helm, to better focus on off-field administration and coaching the Canadian national team. The Kookaburras are consequently in search of a new coach for 2010 and beyond. Jake has built a successful squad that has won both the Canadian and US National Championships over the past two seasons, and one that boasts a host of national team players. This is a huge opportunity for the right person to step in and keep the Kookaburras among the elite women's footy teams in North America.

The chosen candidate will be financially compensated by the club, taking into account relevant experience and commitment. If you are interested please apply by emailing calgary.kookaburras@hotmail.com and please include details of your Australian Rules Football experience to help us narrow down the candidates.

Thank you,
Calgary Kookaburras Committee