Touch Football Australia
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| Sport | Touch Football |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | National |
| Abbreviation | TFA |
| Affiliation | FIT |
| Chairman | Anita Hagarty |
| CEO | Stephen Mitchell |
| Official website | |
| touchfootball | |
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Touch Football Australia (TFA) is the governing body of touch football in Australia. It is a member of the Federation of International Touch (FIT), the sport's international governing body.
History
There are over 400,000 registered members and 500,000 children who participate in Touch Football. It is among the top participation based, organised sports in Australia.
NRL Touch Football
On August 13, 2013, Touch Football Australia and the National Rugby League announced a joint-venture partnership between the two organisations to work together and form the largest sporting community in Australia[1]. The NRL Touch Football partnership resulted in a major boost to funding and promotion of touch football across the country, with an aim to boost participation rates of both sports.
National Teams
- Men's Open
- Women's Open
- Mixed Open
- Women's Over 27 Years
- Senior Mixed
- Men's Over 30 Years
- Men's Over 35 Years
- Men's Over 40 Years
- Men's Over 50 Years
Domestic Competitions
National Touch League
Founded in 1997, the National Touch League was the only domestic competition for touch football in Australia, until the formation of the sport's first national home and away competition, the NRL Touch Premiership, in 2018[2].
NRL Touch Premiership
In May 2018, in partnership with the National Rugby League, Touch Football Australia launched the NRL Touch Premiership. The competition features six touch football teams aligned to NRL teams.
The inaugural teams include[3]:
- North Queensland Cowboys (North Queensland Cowboys)
- Gold Coast Titans (Gold Coast Titans)
- Brisbane Broncos (Brisbane Broncos)
- Newcastle Knights (Newcastle Knights)
- Parramatta Eels (Parramatta Eels)
- Wests Tigers (Wests Tigers)
The competition is divided into two conferences - Queensland (Cowboys, Broncos, Titans) and New South Wales (Knights, Eels, Tigers) - during the regular season, and culminates in the first placed teams from each conference competing in the grand final.
All matches are played prior to NRL matches with coverage being provided by broadcast partners Fox Sports Australia[2].
International Competitions
Australia participates in the Touch Football World Cup at an international level. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1988 they have won 332 games out of the 362 they have played.
At the recent World Cup that was hosted at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium in Coffs Harbour Australia won eight of the nine categories they competed in.[4][5]
Membership
There are eight member associations in each state:
- Touch Football ACT
- New South Wales Touch Football
- Touch Football Northern Territory
- Queensland Touch Football
- Touch Football South Australia
- Touch Football Tasmania
- Touch Football Victoria
- Touch Football Western Australia
Hall of Fame
Australian touch football Hall of Famers:[6]
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References
- ^ "An Historic Day for Touch Football! – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- ^ a b "NRL announces historic Touch football premiership competition". National Rugby League. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- ^ "The NRL Touch Premiership clubs have been announced! – Touch Football Australia". touchfootball.com.au. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- ^ touchfootball.com.au (7 May 2015). "Australia wins the 2015 World Cup!". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ Ben Harris (3 May 2015). "Aussies dominate gold medals at Touch World Cup". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ touchfootball.com.au (2015). "Hall of Fame". Retrieved 12 May 2015.