Hamilton Wildcats

This article is about the Australian rules football club. For the Canadian football club that merged with the Hamilton Tigers, see Hamilton Wildcats (Canadian football).

Hamilton
Strip
Full name	Hamilton Wildcats AFC
Nickname	The Wildcats
Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1990
League	Ontario Australian Football League
Home ground	Mohawk Sports park
President	Tim Wilson
Head coach	Matt Lowry
Black with yellow diagonal claw marks (based on the Richmond Tigers)

Formed in 1990, the Hamilton Wildcats are a member club of the Ontario Australian Football League (OAFL). Currently the Wildcats boast a playing membership of some 32 players who are drawn to the unique game of Australian rules football from many regions of southern Ontario, Canada. Currently, the Hamilton team continues to develop in strength both on and off the football field as the team is backed and encouraged by loyal supporters, families and sponsors.

Club history

The Hamilton Wildcats was founded by Bill Frampton who took a keen interest in Australian football and was inspired by the rapid growth of other OAFL teams throughout the GTA in the late 1980s. Following local promotion and recruiting, the Wildcats established a team of keen ground-roots players who played their OAFL inauguration match in the 1990 summer season.

In response to enormous efforts made by the club's governing body, the Wildcats grew in strength during the early 1990s and hit new peaks in the seasons of 1995 and 1996. In July 1995, the Wildcats demonstrated the game of Australian rules football in front of a crowd of 21,000 during a half-time break of a CFL match; following this, they established a deal to broadcast home games for the 1995 season on a local cable TV channel. Local support and tangible success was carried through to the 1996 season, where the energized team went on to become runner up in the league's premiership season.

International competition

Since this time, the OAFL has grown in scope and depth; in the face of increasingly tough competition from teams in the GTA, the Hamilton Wildcats has proved its mettle. Hamilton has had local players such as Charles Thompson, Reuben Sculthorp, Nick Dirago and Justin Settle selected for Canada's men's national Australian football team, Northwind (Australian rules football team), and Kendra Heil, Jodie Fluit, Candace Kwan and Danielle Comolli selected for Canada's women's national team, Northern Lights. These national teams have played in many widely attended international series at home and abroad such as the Australian Football International Cup and the 49th Parallel Cup. Furthermore, the men's team reached the OAFL final series in 2007 and the women's team has reached the OAFL grand final all 3 years of its existence 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Wildcats today

The Wildcats continue to foster new local talents in this burgeoning game. Club members relish the opportunity to teach game skills to newcomers and are strong proponents of Canadian players of Australian rules. As a club that values community and team spirit, the Wildcats hold several annual events including the Sponsor's and Family Appreciation Day, the Jumper Presentation Night, and the Final Presentation Night, and it is an active contributor to local food-banks such as Neighbour-to-Neighbour.

The season commences every May with the Grand Final being played in September. The Wildcats home oval is Mohawk Sports Park.

Recruiting

The club is always looking for new recruits to join the team. Players have come from a variety of athletic backgrounds including soccer, rugby, basketball, volleyball, and track and field. The 2015 Pre-season training starts in January 2015 and rookies train for free so check out the website or the Facebook or Twitter pages for up-to-date information.

External links

Ontario Australian Football League, 2010

Past OAFL clubs

Brampton Wolverines Balmy Beach Saints London Magpies Windsor Mariners

OAFL seasons

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Sports teams based in Ontario

Australian football	A.F.L.O. Broadview Hawks Central Blues Etobicoke Kangaroos Guelph Gargoyles Hamilton Wildcats High Park Demons Ottawa Swans Toronto Downtown Dingos Toronto Eagles Toronto Rebels

Baseball	MLB Toronto Blue Jays Can-Am Ottawa Champions ICBL Barrie Baycats Brantford Red Sox Burlington Bandits Guelph Royals Hamilton Cardinals Kitchener Panthers London Majors Toronto Maple Leafs

Basketball	NBA Toronto Raptors NBA D-League Raptors 905 NBL London Lightning Niagara River Lions Orangeville A's Windsor Express

Football	CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ottawa Redblacks Toronto Argonauts NFC Oakville Longhorns Sarnia Imperials Sault Ste. Marie Steelers Sudbury Spartans Toronto Raiders Toronto Titans Tri-City Outlaws CJFL Burlington Braves Hamilton Hurricanes London Beefeaters Northern Clansmen Ottawa Sooners Toronto Junior Argonauts Windsor AKO Fratmen QJFL Cumberland Panthers Ottawa Junior Riders

Ice hockey	NHL Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leafs AHL Toronto Marlies ECHL Brampton Beast LNAH Cornwall River Kings OHL Barrie Colts Belleville Bulls Guelph Storm Hamilton Bulldogs Kingston Frontenacs Kitchener Rangers London Knights Mississauga Steelheads Niagara IceDogs North Bay Battalion Oshawa Generals Ottawa 67's Owen Sound Attack Peterborough Petes Sarnia Sting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Sudbury Wolves Windsor Spitfires CWHL Brampton Thunder Toronto Furies

Soccer	MLS Toronto FC NASL Ottawa Fury FC USL Toronto FC II League1 Ontario ANB Futbol Cataraqui Clippers Durham United FC Master's Futbol Academy Oakville Blue Devils Pro Stars FC Sanjaxx Lions Sigma FC Toronto FC Academy Vaughan Azzurri Windsor Stars Woodbridge Strikers CSL Brampton City United Burlington SC Kingston FC London City Milton FC Niagara United North York Astros SC Waterloo Region Serbian White Eagles Toronto Croatia Winstar Shooters FC York Region Shooters PDL Forest City London K-W United FC Toronto FC Academy Thunder Bay Chill

Lacrosse	NLL Toronto Rock

Roller derby	WFTDA Border City Brawlers Forest City Derby Girls Greater Toronto Area Rollergirls Hammer City Roller Girls Renegade Derby Dames Rideau Valley Roller Girls Toronto Roller Derby Tri-City Roller Derby

Rugby union	CRC Ontario Blues NWL Ontario Ontario U23 Ontario U20

Ringette	NRL Cambridge Turbos Gloucester Devils Ottawa Ice Richmond Hill Lightning Waterloo Wildfire Whitby Wild

Canadian Inter- university Sport	Brock University Badgers Carleton University Ravens University of Guelph Gryphons Lakehead University Thunderwolves Laurentian University Voyageurs (Men's)/Lady Vees (Women's) McMaster University Marauders Nipissing University Lakers University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Queen's University Golden Gaels Royal Military College of Canada Paladins Ryerson University Rams Trent Excalibur University of Toronto Varsity Blues University of Waterloo Warriors University of Western Ontario Mustangs Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks University of Windsor Lancers York University Lions

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, October 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.