Calgary Kangaroos AFC President’s Report - 2020
2020 was certainly an interesting year for footy in Calgary. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in restrictions that limited team sport until July. Despite this, we were able to reshape our calendar into a successful season, both on and off the field.
Membership in the city grew when compared to the previous 12 months. The club welcomed 53 paid-up members, compared to 45 in 2019. Despite the challenges surrounding the pandemic, we maintained the support of our loyal members.
We were able to achieve ten full-contact games of footy, which we believe to be the highest volume of footy played in Canada in 2020. We were able to formulate and publish the AFL Alberta return to play guidelines within days of the announcement of a return to team sport. This is a testament to the hard work of the board and staff member Jarrod Moore, which ensured we kept our members safe and comfortable during training and game days. We also played the maiden game at our new, upgraded home, AE Cross School. Feedback from members has been extremely positive with regards to our new location.
The triumphs were split between our two local clubs; the Cowboys took out the summer cup, while the Bears were successful in the fall. Unfortunately, with inter-provincial and international travel restricted, many of our annual tournaments had to be cancelled. We’re looking forward to clashing with our Canadian rivals next year.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, our junior participation decreased compared to 2019. For our in-school programs, for the most recent school year (2019-2020), 9,022 students participated in a session. For the year prior (2018-2019), this number was 27,112. For our Auskick programs, we had four centres in 2020, versus ten in 2019. Participation was 52, compared to 221 in 2019. We’re confident this number will rebound once the pandemic restrictions lift.
Philanthropically, in partnership with the Calgary Kookaburras AFC, the club raised over $17,000 for the Australian Black Summer bushfire appeal, all of which was donated to the Red Cross. We were able to achieve this in an extremely short period of a few weeks, while still adhering to strict AGLC guidelines regarding licensed raffles. We received very positive feedback on our effort from both ticket purchasers and prize donors.
On the fundraising front, the club held a successful casino event, ensuring the financial stability of our restricted account, which our treasurer Andrew McLean can speak to shortly. We expect to hold our next event in the latter half of 2021, although this may be delayed given casinos were shut down for a period of time early in the pandemic. We also successfully negotiated sponsorship deals with the Unicorn, Richmond’s Pub and Last Best Brewing and Distilling.
Socially, the club held a very enjoyable trip to Hawaii, a built a strong relationship with the club there. We hope to one day host them in sunny Calgary. Additionally, we held our Australia Day party, Winter Classic hockey, online trivia nights, summer fitness challenge, Gran Fondo bike ride, cricket evening, rookie party, awards presentation afternoon, and AFL grand final brunch. While many of our traditional events had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, the club was able to pivot to more informal gatherings to keep our members engaged.
The club grew our online footprint considerably in 2020, with an upgraded website and online shop. We also grew our social media reach and increased the frequency of our posts, and emailed monthly newsletters. There is no doubt that our members and followers were seeking more online engagement with the club given many of us were at home, and I believe we delivered in this area.
While 2020 has been challenging in many respects, I believe that, as a club, we have risen to that challenge. We have maintained engagement with our members and provided a physical and social outlet when these were often scant. I wish to thank the board and Jarrod for all their hard work this season. I encourage all members to maintain communication with the board, and provide us with any positive or constructive criticism you may have; this can only help to grow the sport in Calgary.
On a personal note, I wish to thank the board for their confidence and support over the past three years. Working with you all has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I also wish to thank my fiancée Dee for all her love and encouragement, plus the frequent, unsolicited, feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing how far this great club can go in the coming years. Go Roos!
Daniel “Norry” McLeod
