Victorian Country Football League
Encyclopedia
The Victorian Country Football League (often abbreviated to VCFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in Victoria
outside of metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often arbitrates disputes in areas such as player clearances and club movements between country leagues, and may also be called upon as a higher authority of appeal.
Victorian Country Football League aired telecasts beginning in 2010 on C31 Melbourne, along with Geelong Football League
and Geelong & District Football League
. The women's netball
coverage also was broadcast on community TV in 2010.
Pool A Winners:
In 2006 the Ballarat Football League
, the Goulburn Valley Football League
(the 2005 champion), the Ovens & Murray Football League
and the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League
competed in Division One of the championships. Due to their performance in 2005, the Geelong Football League
was eligible to enter a side but declined to do so, citing logistical reasons.
Leagues not represented in the top four pools of four may participate in other interleague matches organised by the VCFL.
, as well as the Australian Country Football Championships.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
outside of metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often arbitrates disputes in areas such as player clearances and club movements between country leagues, and may also be called upon as a higher authority of appeal.
Victorian Country Football League aired telecasts beginning in 2010 on C31 Melbourne, along with Geelong Football League
Geelong Football League
The Geelong Football League is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia. It is the highest quality league in the Geelong area, with numerous former AFL players playing for various clubs.-History:...
and Geelong & District Football League
Geelong & District Football League
The Geelong & District Football League is the oldest surviving football competition in Victoria . It is one of three Australian rules football leagues in the Geelong area, the others being the Geelong Football League and the Bellarine Football League....
. The women's netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
coverage also was broadcast on community TV in 2010.
Victorian Country Championships
It also organises the interleague Victorian Country Football Championships, which is organised on a divisional system. Since 2004 each pool has been decided at a carnival round-robin competition at one venue over a single weekend, with each of the four sides playing the others in matches of two twenty-minute halves. The team on top of the ladder, based on points (4 for a win, 2 for a draw) and then percentage (points scored over points conceded) after these three matches, was declared the winner. The winning league earns the right to hold the Ash-Wilson Trophy.Pool A Winners:
- 2003: Goulburn Valley FLGoulburn Valley Football LeagueThe Goulburn Valley Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia...
- 2004: Geelong FLGeelong Football LeagueThe Geelong Football League is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia. It is the highest quality league in the Geelong area, with numerous former AFL players playing for various clubs.-History:...
- 2005: Goulburn Valley FLGoulburn Valley Football LeagueThe Goulburn Valley Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia...
(venue: Kardinia Park, Geelong) - 2006: Ovens & Murray FLOvens & Murray Football LeagueThe Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League...
(venue: Lavington Sports GroundLavington Sports GroundLavington Sports Ground is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hamilton Valley, a suburb on the north-west fringe of Albury, New South Wales, Australia. The capacity of the venue is estimated at around 20,000...
, Lavington, New South WalesLavington, New South WalesLavington is a suburb of the city of Albury, New South Wales, located north of the Albury Central Business District. At the 2006 census, Lavington had a population of 12 477....
)
In 2006 the Ballarat Football League
Ballarat Football League
The Ballarat Football League is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia.The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football League in 1908 and was briefly known as the Ballarat-Wimmera...
, the Goulburn Valley Football League
Goulburn Valley Football League
The Goulburn Valley Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia...
(the 2005 champion), the Ovens & Murray Football League
Ovens & Murray Football League
The Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League...
and the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League
West Gippsland Latrobe Football League
The Gippsland Football League , is an Australian rules football League in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia...
competed in Division One of the championships. Due to their performance in 2005, the Geelong Football League
Geelong Football League
The Geelong Football League is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia. It is the highest quality league in the Geelong area, with numerous former AFL players playing for various clubs.-History:...
was eligible to enter a side but declined to do so, citing logistical reasons.
Leagues not represented in the top four pools of four may participate in other interleague matches organised by the VCFL.
Representative Sides
On occasion, a VCFL representative side may be selected to play in one-off fixtures against other representative teams such as their intrastate counterparts or the Victorian Amateur Football AssociationVictorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria...
, as well as the Australian Country Football Championships.