| |  | The AmbushA monthly newsletter from the
Centennial Tigers Australian Football Club |
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|  | | Tigers wrap up 2021 season |  | The 2021 season has officially ended—and the year was full of learning, friendships and fitness. We started the season off in full swing, anticipating bringing a full squad to the USAFL central regional tournament and the USAFL national tournament, but safety concerns surrounding COVID-19 in the state of Texas forced us to withdraw from both.
Nonetheless, we traveled with a full team to San Francisco in mid-July to take on the five-time national champion Iron Maidens in our first-ever game as a club. We then hosted the Denver Bulldogs in August, held the largest women’s only tournament in the nation in September and faced off against Denver again in October.
The Tigers are only in our infancy, and we have accomplished more than anyone could have expected. Thank you to everyone who put in the time, money and miles to make this team a success! Our end-of-season awards banquet will take place in mid November, so look out for a text from Carly with event details—this is open to current players and their family. We have a lot to celebrate! | | President’s Message | | My idea for the Centennial Tigers started many years ago. As a former member of the other local team, I always thought it would be beneficial for the sport to have more than one team per U.S. city.
For one, it would improve the game locally, and I could see a domino effect happening with the local level improving the regional level play and eventually improving the national level play. Having multiple local games also makes the sport more affordable and fun.
I formally requested Centennial’s access into the league two years ago (almost to the day) and was met with a lot of hostility. But I channeled that energy into a mentality to not only make this team a success but also to make it a thousand times better than I initially planned. |
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| We had support early on, with a special donor in Australia fully funding our uniform cost, friends and sponsors coming in from abroad and locally and a core group of women determined to make this club a success.
From hearing grumblings and bets of “$1,000 the Tigers will fold” to us hosting the largest women’s only tournament in the history of the league in less than two years has been more than satisfying. The Centennial Tigers fielded two full squads (16 v 16 with interchanges) at the Invitational, and we have the 8th largest club in the nation—for women and men.
This year we worked hard recruiting and retaining members; building local, national and international relationships; and growing this unique sport. 2022 looks bright, and I can’t wait to see what we can do as a collective next year and in the years to come.
Sara Rohner, President | | Indoor coed touch leagues starts ThursdaySouth Suburban Parks and Recreation District officially added footy into its adult sports lineup at the recently completed Sports Complex. Limited spots remain, so make sure you register as soon as possible. The league will consist of four set teams, six regular season games, and two playoff games. Games will be every Thursday night at either 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. Teams and the schedule will be announced soon! |  | | | First annual Centennial Invitational a success | | As part of our goal to grow women’s football in the U.S. and empower women through sport, the Centennial Tigers worked tirelessly to host the largest women’s only Australian football tournament in the history of the USAFL.
On Sept. 18, four teams competed throughout the day (DC Eagles, Centennial Tigers Div. 1, Centennial Tigers Div. 2 and the OC Giants (all comers). Each team played three games with the Centennial Tigers Div. 1 team going undefeated and winning the hardware.
We appreciate all the representation from across the league with players traveling in from San Francisco Iron Maidens, OC Giants, Arizona Hawks, Wasatch War Gulls, Centennial Tigers, Denver Bulldogs, North Texas Devils, North Star Blue Ox, Minnesota Freeze, Chicago Swans, Cincinnati Dockers, Philly Hawks, DC Eagles and RVA Lions.
Thank you to Jonathan Mills from St. Louis, Adam Alvarez from New York, Tom Ellis of Denver and Bruce Durrell of Denver for providing phenomenal umpiring!
We had a wonderful video note provided by |
| AFLW Carlton star Lucy McEvoy, thanks to The Footy Factory, and we had AFL cult heroes John Ironmonger and Dannie Seow present supporting the women of the USAFL. A very special thank you to our tournament sponsors Ting Centennial Fiber Internet and Clock Tower Grill. And thank you to Aussie Sports USA for providing our prizes in the form of Burley footies. Thank you also to 5280 Functional Medicine, StretchLab Lone Tree, massage therapist Mattie Tezak, medic Ashley Cowan, Marc Williams with On the Marc Photography, Peter Holden from Women's Australian Rules Football Radio for hiring videographers, face painting by Jackieolove, tournament shirts from Tongue Tied Design, food from Outpost Kitchen and cool treats from Mile High Kona Ice. Without all this amazing support, this tournament never would have been possible. We’ll see you all next year at the Annual Centennial Invitational Tournament! |
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| | Get Footy FiT! | | Dannie has graciously offered to run a weekly Footy FiT skills and fitness session! Currently, we are meeting Tuesday nights 6 p.m. - dark at Wash Park near the Lawn Bowling area. Bring your friends and family, and come get fit while having fun and refining your skills! As daylight wanes, we will work to find a day/time/location that works for most! Keep an eye out for further communications. |
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| | Official Tigers’ brew releasedThanks to our amazing partnership with Resolute Brewing, the Tigers launched our official beer Sat., Oct. 9 in Centennial! The Ambush — A Bloody Good Wheat is a blood orange wheat brewed in house by Resolute. Get in and purchase your four-pack, as supplies are limited. The Tigers will receive a portion of the sales as a fundraiser! |
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| | Order Tigers gear! |  | We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with SquadLocker! Check out the new team store where you can order Tigers-branded gear. Select from over 60 items ranging across genders and ages (infant clothing available, too!). Items are custom printed/embroidered and shipped within a week. Want something you don’t see on the store? Email info@centennialtigers.com with your request(s)! Use the code CTAF10 to get 10% off on your orders through Dec. 31. | | Promoted Sponsor of the Month | | Ting Fiber InternetTing provides fiber internet to Centennial residents and are passionate advocates of the principles of net neutrality. We support a free and open Internet in word and deed. Ting will never block, throttle or otherwise interfere with the online access of our customers. |
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| | Join the Tigers on Strava |  | Fitness and endurance are a huge part of footy. Being at altitude, if we’re fit, our stamina may be all we need to overcome a deficit! Join our club on Strava! | | Footy 101: Kicking |  | | | |
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