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  1. #1
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Default Netherlands Rugby League

    As some of you might know, I am involved with the Rugby League development programme in the Netherlands. As of March 1, I will enter the board of directors, taking care of any (financial) administration, changing my position from co-developer.

    I thought this would be a good moment to post a new thread about all developments in Rugby League in the Netherlands.

    Position of the Netherlands in League
    As we are basically starting from square one since we joined the RLEF last year as an 'observer member', although we are linked with the French in status.

    Dedication issues
    What is most troublesome in the Netherlands, is the lack of spirit and dedication. As with most European countries, the League vs Union war is ongoing. Despite many guys out here know about League, they cannot afford to play league due to a variety of reasons, ranging from no official help or board (rubbish), no dedicated league clubs, no competitions available (that's true since there are no full teams) and most of all, a tight schedule in conjunction with the Union competition.

    In here, the Union season is typically from late August to late March. Most of our League players are in fact Union players, so the schedules more or less collide and overlap. As we have had a harsh winter again, with plenty of snowfall and frozen pitches, many union games have been postponed, effectively barring our tight schedule for late March-late August.

    The chicken and egg problem

    So we do have some troubles:

    We cannot properly organize competitions if we do not have sufficient teams and players. The teams and players won't come if there are no matches to play, and if there is no proper infrastructure.

    This has led to a development programme we have to comply with. We have to attend several training, coaching and ref courses in Europe, and show progress on recruiting members, as such. We also have to organize several of those courses ourselves, too.

    Recruitment is always a bit troublesome, since rugby (both league and union) has no big meaning in the Netherlands (yet), it is simply overshadowed by the major sports of soccer, tennis, hockey and swimming (and in a lesser extent gymnastics and speed skating). It maybe explains why we have been given an even harder time, although that shouldn't stop us.

    Point is that any player (or any affiliated ref/coach) is still too tightly connected with the union world usually. We do have to focus on separate league clubs, instead of being departments of existing union teams, but as said before, that will be challenging. This approach has been used over the last few years, and yielded about 30-35 players nationally, so that ain't much at all.

    Current focus
    Our current focus is to develop eligible teams in the west of the Netherlands. Right now, we have two teams, although again they are linked with the Union clubs: Dordrecht (my native city, just 20km south of Rotterdam, which in turn is 70km south of Amsterdam), and Capelle, adjacent to Rotterdam itself. In both cases we would like to see dedicated league clubs, rather than being dependent on union.

    We have someone who is recruiting members in the province of Zeeland and in the West of the Brabant region, basically covering the entire south western half of the Netherlands (which ain't that big, but okay). So that's a first step, in creating a domestic competition with four teams with 9-a-sides, to be held in May and June.

    Next, in July and August, the national team (which is odd, since they are not affiliated with league teams!) will play a few matches, including vs Oxford.

    Some other remarks:
    • We also approached Belgian and German players and teams, but I don't know what the result is yet.
    • We have tried to set up a students competitions via any universities (both academic as applied sciences) throughout the country, without success so far.
    • We have consulted various sports ambassadors in several city councils. They are willing to help us, but they need teams/clubs as an entity - which we do not have yet.
    • We have successfully introduced league at several high schools in the region of Rotterdam, and it was well received by all students. Again, we have some issues in establishing league teams, but this approach seems to be promising for the long term.


    So that wraps it up for now. I hope I have correctly portrayed the situation in the Netherlands, and we do have a lot to learn, so any suggestions are most welcome. At the moment it is still a bit of a touch and go, but hopefully we'll manage to get through it.

    So far, I freely advertise and spread the word League exists everywhere, by wearing my Titans gear outside (note: I cannot wear the orange national jerseys outside since orange is a common colour here, people will think we play soccer in orange jerseys... People won't even notice you that way.... Fortunately, Azure Blue and Goldish yellow attracts a lot more attention in here, as I have experienced that multiple times by now - I recruited fellow mates in the gym that way ).
    Last edited by Chaserz; 27-02-13 at 08:46 PM.
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  2. #2
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Have you looked at tapping into expats and tourists? Particularly from Oz and NZ?
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    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
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  3. #3

    Default

    Congratulations on your appointment. I do not post on this forum often but, for what it is worth, our family has a close Norwegian friend who comes out to Australia at least twice a year.

    My daughter has him set up in Titan's gear and he has introduced himself to the Norwegian league fraternity.

    Maybe an introduction to Thore might help you as he might be the go between the Netherlands and Norway. I am sure both Countries face similar problems.

    I am sure that Norway are approachable people judging from Thore's experience.

    If you would like to take this further please let me know and I will see what can be arranged.

    Pete

  4. #4
    Coach Steve's Avatar
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    Brad's got a great idea. Maybe you could even organise an ex-pat team to challenge the locals.

    Maybe even look at getting something like tag rugby league into the schools.

  5. #5
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Hmm, a NED-NOR meet would be a cool idea! And thanks for your suggestion, maybe we should try to focus a bit on the ex-pats too!
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  6. #6
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Default

    Wow, it has been a while since I have posted anything about rugby league in my country (and vicinity), but I have been extremely busy with many things in my private life, so yeah .

    Anyway, here goes:

    2013 was the year the Dutch Rugby League had to start from square one in many ways, but we have successfully reinstalled a national team. There was no domestic competition, but it is a start . We have played Belgium, Germany and Oxford university (from the latter as a development match). Despite the losses we have faced, the RLEF was impressed with the general improvements we made in contrast to previous years, and as such we now appear in their rankings.

    Talking about square one, we also renewed the board. As Diehard mentioned earlier, I also play a role in the board (mainly assisting the others), and I'm mainly concerned with helping establishing a framework, as well as any administrative matters, so this is why I am capable of bringing you news what is going on in the Low Countries when it comes to rugby league .

    2014 will be the year we will further formalize matters, and at this stage, we target at the establishment of four teams/clubs (and encourage our current players to start one), and try to help them as well. This will be quite a challenge, in a soccer-mad country, where you may already praise heavens when somebody knows rugby in some way. We hope to reintroduce our first domestic championships (for this time being nine-a-side, although we hope to start with full teams ASAP), along with the usual national matches.

    Moreover, it is about time we get a HQ too (which I believe, will happen this year!) . Meanwhile, we do get some emails from time to time from people who would like to help develop the sport, which is a good thing. We are just a bit concerned about how rugby union will affect us in many ways (such as our calendar, our union teams 'seizing' our players and coaches et cetera), so that ought to be a challenge. As a result, our intended focus region will be South (West) Netherlands for the time being (since Central and Northwest Netherlands is the rugby union heartland in our case).

    There are some ongoing plans to forge some sort of cooperation with our southern neighbours in Belgium, such as the establishment of a national competition including Belgium, and maybe Luxembourg and Germany. From our talks with the Belgians, and by the looks of their players, Belgium is really up and coming. As for Germany, I have heard things aren't going well out there. Unfortunately, at this stage these are just rumours we heard, so I cannot confirm anything. And, as already mentioned, we established some good contacts with Norway as well.

    So, lots of things to do, and of course, I try to help wherever I can, but as far as I can see, things are looking good .
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  7. #7
    Immortal Titanic's Avatar
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    Nice to see you back Chaserz ... I was in Amsterdam/Utrech late last year and will be back again mid this year, so if you are around we may be able to catch-up and watch a Titans game or something.
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

  8. #8
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Thanks for the news! I've often wondered how things are going. Sounds very good. 9 a side is a good start and timely with the new NRL9s making it more of a fixture in our game. And a HQ? Wow. Well done. Few RL bodies have a HQ.

    I'm sad to hear how things have gone in Germany. I used to follow it closely and we delighted with the growth a few years ago. Seems things went down hill after the RLEF appointed a dev officer.

    But please keep us up to date with a the news.

    Do you think there is value in trying to find rugby league lovers in the Netherlands? Maybe in Facebook. Even if they are just supporters.

    I think it's a good tactic starting with a national team. Look how far Canada have come starting with a national side.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
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  9. #9
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Whoa Titanic, that would be awesome. I feel so lonely here!

    Yeah Diehard, as far as I know, we are already about to launch a FB campaign to find rugby league lovers .
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  10. #10
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Let us know what the fb page is when the time comes.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  11. #11
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Some minor news from this part of the world in the Low Countries:

    Upcoming two weeks, the NRLB will be organizing some tutor and match official courses, as regulated by the RLEF. The RLEF is very pleased with our progress we have made in 2013 (see http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/...eague-plan-big), and we hope rugby league will gain its much needed attention. Myself, I will probably see some of the RLEF coming over, as I will be assisting the match official course, in terms of organization (as I am a board member).

    Meanwhile, last week we have seen the official establishments of the first two clubs, namely the Rotterdam Pitbulls and the Amsterdam Cobras, and there is a third one on its way (in Gouda). And by official, we mean, officially registered with the Chamber of Commerce, in accordance to the Dutch Law. Naturally, much work needs to be done, including attracting facilities, coaches, officials, players, and good governance. From my position as a secretary, I have to file a lot of paperwork, so I hope I can help all clubs as much as I can .

    Oh I almost forgot. The NRLB has an official and unofficial FB page :

    The official FB page can be found here, and the unofficial FB page can be found here.
    Last edited by Chaserz; 02-04-14 at 06:38 AM.
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  12. #12
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    I've liked the pages, very interested about the new clubs! Impressed to see so much work going into it. I wonder what the 3rd will be called.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  13. #13
    Junior Chaserz's Avatar
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    Last weekend, Netherlands Rugby League hosted the first international in the region, which was Netherlands-Germany. It was the last match for coach Dan Stokes from the German side, who also played himself. Full time score: NED 16 - 70 GER.

    More info: RLEF.EU.COM.
    Photos: here.

    Certainly beat the crap out of the Dutchies!

    Closely related to the development of the sport in the Low Countries, we successfully hosted RLEF-compliant coaching, tutoring and match official courses. Myself, I participated in the latter one, although I was injured and couldn't really do much in the practical part. Still it was fun with the coach of the French National Team, and with a Super League ref around . They (the RLEF members) were very impressed with our progress, and we received even compliments from other countries... So I suppose and hope RL will develop even further on mainland Europe .
    Last edited by Chaserz; 07-05-14 at 10:50 PM. Reason: Added URL
    Aiming for the title farthest away fan

  14. #14
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Excellent mate, one step at a time and the RLEF and anyone else will value and appreciate your growth and scalability.

    I often get tempted to look into helping start Rugby League in HK, but I think my girlfriend would murder me. It's a tough assignment and that is why you have much respect from me.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  15. #15
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    I just liked the official page using the International Rugby League facebook page. I will try to share some news with the 80,000 people on that page from the Netherlands Rugby League sometime soon!
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER


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