News — Club News

You might have noticed that there have been a bunch of changes to the look and feel of the club this year. In addition to some new faces on the team, the Chicago Swans website and logo have received a face lift. Thanks to the hard work of our marketing committee and others, we’ve carved out a look and feel for the club that is unique to our Chicago club while paying homage to our Sydney Swans roots.

The website has undergone the most drastic changes. Thanks mostly to the hard work of Oscar Meyer the site has become simpler and a much more engaging experience overall. We’ve collapsed the navigation tabs and created scroll over drop down menus that allow users to navigate more easily. We’ve created a carousel which highlights the most recent posts. We’ve increased the visibility of key features like the schedule, sign up and social media. Finally, we’re working on developing more robust content like the history of the club. It’s still in it’s beta phase, meaning there are more changes still to come. Anyone interested in submitting content (articles and the like) please content Oscar Meyer or Betty Palmer.

The 2013 season sees the launch of a new club logo. Although affiliated with the Sydney Swans, it is important for our club to have a distinct identity of it’s own. The foundation of the new logo is the iconic Syndey Swans V (stands for Victoria) and swan head/opera house used by their club for years. In order to make it unique to our club, the new logo draws inspiration from the Chicago flag by incorporating horizontal stripes and four six point stars. The result is a simple, yet elegant combination of two of these cities most recognizable symbols. In addition to the primary logo, there is also a secondary logo featuring “Chicago Swans” in a bold simple typeface underscored by the Chicago stars.

Our branding efforts don’t stop there. In addition to a new club logo, for the first time ever we have a suite of logos for our metro clubs. The metro clubs are the backbone of the CAFA. They are where we learn the game, hone our skills and act as the feeder system for our MAAFL squad. With renewed emphasis on building a successful metro league, we felt it was important to enhance each of the teams unique identity. The addition of strong branding should help develop a stronger sense of team pride and fuel the rivalries that currently exist between the teams. Ultimately, they are something tangible that team members can rally around.

Thanks to the entire Oscar and the marketing committee (Fitzy, Dauds and Betty) for spearheading these efforts. Additional thanks to Dougy Fresh and others who provided guidance and council. Finally, thanks to the exec team for their sponsorship of the project.

Well we’re well and truly into Preseason 2013 with only a few weeks to go before we start our Metro Season in May. Numbers so far have been very encouraging with many new faces as well as a few of the older ones coming back to see what’s left in their tanks.

The less than fabulous Chicago Spring weather may have slightly dampened the field at Waveland but it certainly hasn’t done the same to the enthusiasm shown by the Swans on the track.  We’ve been able to take advantage of the open ground to work on full ground ball exercises while adding to our base fitness in this early stage of the season.

A couple of big “Atta boys” to Pony Boy on his recent Revolution selection and also to Super Dave Grzesiak on his most impressive results at the AFL Combine in LA this week.  We congratulate you both on your fantastic achievements.

If you haven’t signed up for Metro please contact Metro Comish’ Brian Hoyt (vp@chicagofooty.com) – hopefully he’ll check his email – and let him know you’re in.  Not long to go with May 3rd as the kick-off round for 2013.  This is when the real fun starts.

Also Saturday, April 27th the Chicago Swans will be hosting an ANZAC Day celebration at Bar Forza.  A replay of the Swans vs St Kilda match played in New Zealand will be televised…and possibly the Pies victory over the Bombers if time permits. For the drinkers.. $38 gets you all the draft beer, Oxford Landing Estates wine and well drinks you can handle from 9pm to midnight. $4 Cooper’s all night is also up for grabs.

If you haven’t already join us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news and updates.  If you think you might want to join us for a kick come on down and see what it’s all about.

We’ve only just started…but already 2013 looks to be a huge year as we begin our journey to Austin in October.

Cheer, cheer the Red and the White.

The USAFL held a training camp in Los Angeles back in March to build the USAFL Revolution squad for the upcoming 49th Parallel Cup between the US and Canada in August and looking forward to the 2014 International Cup in Australia.  Our own Jason “Ponyboy” Wilhelm took part and recently received notice that he has been selected on the USAFL Revolution squad.  This marks a busy year for Jason as he spent last summer in Western Australia honing his skills with the Gingin Eagles and returning in time to help Chicago secure victory in the USAFL National Division III competition.

Club legend Al Macglashan had this to say, “The enthusiasm and effort shown from Jason the past couple of seasons has been second to none. His hard work and personal sacrifice has paid off and has been duly rewarded with his National selection.”

From Pony himself, “This accomplishment is only the start of something great, not only for myself but for footy in Chicago as well. I plan on being a major part of our team not only this year but many more years to come, and I am always going to think of myself as a Swan first, and a Revo next! … I would have never accomplished this feat without all of you that have helped me learn this game over the years, and a big special thanks to Coach Hendrie and Al MacGlashan for aiding in my growth as a player and as a representative to the sport”

The club congratulates our newest USAFL Revolution squad member, Jason “Ponyboy” Wilhelm.

The Chicago Swans will be hosting an ANZAC Day celebration at Bar Forza on Saturday 27th April (9pm start). A replay of the Swans vs St Kilda match played in New Zealand will be televised.

$38 (includes tip) and gets you all the draft beer, Oxford Landing Estates wine and well drinks you can handle from 9pm to midnight. $4 Cooper’s all night is also up for grabs.

Footy on the big screens, beers and good company… what more do you need!

As we awake from another delightful midwest winter, it is time to look forward to the footy season.  We have a lot to build on after last years victory at the USAFL Nationals Tournament and there is a lot going on and off the field this year:

» The season schedule has been released.  You can view the full season schedule via the “events” tab above.
» Pre-season training kicks off the first week of April… I bet everyone’s hamstrings are looking forward to kicking a footy after a long winter.
» This year the CAFA will be throwing an ANZAC Day event.  Details about that are on the website.

To all the players, make sure you are working on your base fitness and spreading the recruitment message to all your mates.  Sure they may be the king of the 16-inch softball diamond but maybe its time to man up and give footy a try!?

Stay tuned for updates on the season and the club… make sure you “like” ChicagoFooty on facebook.  Folllow @ChicagoFooty on twitter and check the website regularly.

Join your fellow Aussies, fans of Aussies or just people looking to escape from the frozen streets of Chicago and “throw a shrimp” on the barbie to celebrate Australia Day!  Come celebrate whats good about being (or knowing) an Australian!