Its do as I say but not as I do at Vikings…
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Vikings Nationals 2012
For a long time Vikings have pushed the line of being all inclusive when it comes to Futsal. An organisation dedicated to Futsal and to ensuring everyone can play. They have done a great job spreading the joy of Futsal to areas where traditional FIFA sanctioned bodies were too lazy to get involved or just disinterested in the benefits of the sport overall. Just look at the number of articles on Futsal4all that are from Vikings competitions and players.
Recent correspondence we’ve seen regarding the upcoming Vikings and FFA Nationals raises questions that Vikings seem unwilling to address and are passing the buck about. The correspondence relates to players who wish to play a both the FFA Nationals and the Vikings Nationals. Yes this would be a very small subset of the elite players, but highlights an issue that is certain worth covering in Futsal Rant.
Vikings NSW (known now as NSW Futsal) have chosen to exclude female players from the Vikings Nationals who have also been selected to represent their state at the FFA Nationals. Rather than give clear answers, they have passed the buck to the head of Vikings, who in turn has passed the buck back to Vikings NSW. Vikings NSW in the meantime have then gone silent.
Some facts to build the picture :
- Numerous players participating in the Vikings Nationals representing ‘NSW regions’ are registered with FFA to play endorsed comps all year round and have been for many years without any issues
- Based solely on FFA Nationals participation a player has not only been denied Vikings Nationals participation but refused registration all together
- Players have participated in both FFA and Vikings Nationals in past years, but a recent decision to change policy for playing eligibility is restricting players from doing both. The most recent (September 2011) policy on tournament regulations publicly available: http://futsal4all.com/2011/12/vikings-national-futsal-championships-2012-draw/ does not state any such changes.
- Vikings teammates and FFA teammates are happy for players to play at both Nationals
- FFA and Vikings are completely separate organisations therefore ‘dual registration’ or ‘sanctioning’ a players release is not an issue
A quote from the head of Vikings before an International Womens Tour was :
It’s not about FFA verses Vikings, we’re not trying to take away anything from you girls playing futsal in your state. It’s all about PLAYING futsal and having the best of opportunities
This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case here anymore for Vikings. In fact the traditionally stubborn FFA affiliated organisations from what we have been told are happy to let their elite players compete at the Vikings Nationals if they choose to do so.
So why exclude the players Vikings? If they are eligible, are registered for your organisation, and their team are happy for them to attend the FFA Nationals, why have you excluded them from the Vikings Nationals?
Things seem to be heating up in the Vikings camp when it comes to keeping their players in-house. We also have independent word of a particular top level Mens player who has been strongly ‘advised’ to not get involved in the FFA Nationals.
Whilst on the topic, another interesting note came out of the correspondence. Participation in the NSW Futsal Association State Titles held in November 2011 was ‘compulsory’ for players to be eligible to trial for the NSW team for the Vikings Nationals. Many existing players were unaware of that, and found that it was disregarded later anyway in allowing players to successfully submit a team for registration in the Vikings 2012 Nationals under a NSW name. This seems to fit what we’ve seen in the team lists for Vikings Nationals up to this point.
There is plenty of room for all sorts of organisations to offer Futsal to the community, the policies in place just need to be more transparent for everyone involved so we don’t get these sorts of situations.
Come on Vikings, especially NSW Vikings, lift your game as this doesn’t cast you guys in a good light!!
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24 Comments
Jan 6, 2012, 4:24 pm
How could they play in both tournaments anyway. Two days overlap?
Jan 6, 2012, 5:46 pm
Futsaldad, its rather simple. You play FFA until your team is no longer successful. That could either be on Thursday after pool games or semis depending on your teams success. Or you leave FFA on Friday after you play in your final. If the team/coach of the later tournament are happy for you to join them a few days into the tournament there is no problems. Myself and another women’s player did it last year. We played Vikings first and came down to Canberra on the Tuesday. I think some junior players may have done this as well last year.
Jan 6, 2012, 6:37 pm
Tani, I heard that the two of you were excluded for consideration for the Vikings National Women’s squad because you played in both tournaments; is this correct?
Jan 6, 2012, 8:00 pm
Hey Simon,
Yes you are spot on. However, regardless of that the main purpose of us two doing that last year was so we could play as much futsal at the elite level as possible available to us.
I know first hand that players wanting to be included in the Vikings nationals are not wanting to play just because there is an AMF World Cup later this year. Players want to participate in the tournament regardless of National squad selection. It’s to be able to play against the select competition that you know are good enough or if not better than what you can come up against in Canberra. It just goes back to the wanting to play the most futsal available scenario
Jan 6, 2012, 9:45 pm
What’s the problem here? The more competition the better. One should not be competing with the other. The more bodies that get invovled, the more futsal there is for our kids. AND that is a good thing.
It’s never good to have one body control anything. And the politics in sport can be nasty.
Kids should have freedom of choice to play wherever they want without judgement. The more they play, the more they will develop and that is good for the sport!
Jan 7, 2012, 12:27 am
Charise, the problem here is the head of NSW Futsal Association (aka the organisation that replaced Vikings NSW and is now the affiliate Vikings organisation) does not allow your kids or us adults the opportunity to be apart of their tournament if we decide to be in Canberra.
My question is does it really matter if a player is missing for the first two days of competition if their team is ok with it?? It’s no different if perhaps an adult player could not get the time away from work and was only available for the games played at night or on the weekend of competition…
Jan 7, 2012, 12:34 am
I would also like to point out, I’m very grateful for the opportunities I have been given by Vikings, but this situation is just ridiculous when we went through the same thing a few years ago, but back then it was FNSW in the spot light and they openly admit what occurred was wrong and to an extent brushing the illegal side
Jan 7, 2012, 6:09 am
Im not suprised at all, its typical vikings making up the rules as they go and as for passing the buck, they do that all the time! If you are obeying by the rules (which by the sounds of it you are) then there should be not reason for you not to play.
One would hope that if they have done this to you then they are doing this to eveyone else? you cant be the only one that is attending both. Also, from a admistration side of things, wouldnt it be hard to monitor? They would need team list from FFA (which i doubt they have) to prove that you have played in their tournament.
Sounds like it could be more of a personal attack than anything else.
Jan 7, 2012, 6:39 am
tani in reply to your question does it really matter if a player is missing for the first 2 days of the comp if the team is ok with it. firstly lets generalise this, what about the player that missed out to allow the superstars to turn up later secondly how do you really know all the team is ok with it i know i would not be especially if players have been needed{ injuries} etc. it also shows a lack of commitment regardless of what sport. we work because we have to there is a difference ,
Jan 7, 2012, 6:42 am
futsallover the media guide for ffa nationals shows all the squads names
Jan 7, 2012, 7:33 am
the media guide has listed my team , the 12 boys (vic), youth woman magic, and they still have our open womans listed incorrectly. i don’t believe that it would be a valid way of saying they definitely played :)
Jan 7, 2012, 8:03 am
FNSW is just as bad. They stated, quote “you need to play in our state championships to be selected for the national team”.
They have one player that I know of who has been selected in a team and HE DID NOT compete at the state championships. How do I know this? I know the boy.
Secondly, two coaches (who I also know of), invited kids to come and trial who did not compete at their state championships. They know these kids did not compete as those kids were invited as they could not get the numbers.
So you see, all bodies change their own rules at their discretion.
It happened with P22 as well. The rules of that program changed all the time and some kids were allowed to train at other acadamies and they turned a blind eye to it and others were harshly dealt with it.
It’s all the same – political!
Jan 7, 2012, 10:07 am
Charise, what you say about FNSW is nothing new and has probably been going on for years. However, the expectation has been that Vikings are a cut above all that given their committment to the development of Futsal. Sadly it appears that their hierarchy has turned a blind eye to rogue coaches and officials.
Jan 7, 2012, 10:53 am
Charise, the inviting players who haven’t competed at state titles to trial or play has gone on forever.
If after 2 trials there are still spots to be filled to make 2 teams, then I can see why they would invite players. However if there are enough to make up 2 teams, then there should be no others invited.
Jan 7, 2012, 11:32 am
IN this case others missed out due to the spot being filled! It should not be allowed. Why do they say it is the rules then break it! Who is going to respect that.
It’s not fair other kids participate, go to trials and miss out because they chose some-one who didn’t attend as they weren’t happy with the position they were going to play!
Jan 7, 2012, 12:52 pm
How was your boy/girls team selected Charise? Performance a State Titles? Open Trials? or a combination of both?
Jan 7, 2012, 1:23 pm
This article isn’t about me. After last years incident I gave Vikings nationals a miss this year.
To your question about the team being happy, well that’s about being mature adults and not sooky children. As you get older as a player many friendships are developed. By coming late your not asking for big court time, its about being there for your mates and your team and helping out.
Do you think a few years ago the matildas squad got all cut up and jealous that babieri missed out on the first few days of an intense training camp because she was playing in the futsal nationals for Victoria.. seriously if your doing the hard yards with the team prior to the tournament and for Vikings nationals in seniors there is no selection process in NSW its grab your mates and put a team together.
Jan 7, 2012, 1:35 pm
I can completely understand things being different in junior age groups though.
For those that say rules are always broken.. sometime we may not always know what really happens. Many would think FNSW did this for me and another women’s player last year as we were not at state titles. (the only pathway for state team selection) but only the FNSW office and ourselves know what process occurred.
To enlighten ill share the process.
1) We were in Malaysia
Jan 7, 2012, 1:45 pm
Apologies, I’m on my phone and it keeps posting onto the thread before I’m finished.
1) We were in Malaysia on a Vikings tour competing in the Vikings Women’s World Championships when State titles were on
2) We had to call the head of FNSW Futsal. At that time Troy McColl was in charge with Damian as his right hand man. We were then advised we had to write a letter of consideration to be given the opportunity to trial and be eligible for selection.
3) We were granted the opportunity to go to the Women’s trial.
4) We were both selected in the Women’s team and were both granted permission from the FNSW officials/Coach & Team mates to join the team once our vikings commitments were complete.
Feedback from our team on arrival to Canberra was warm and welcoming and there was a great team morale for the entirety of the tournament.
5)
Jan 10, 2012, 9:25 am
I would have to agree with Brainsnap here.
It’s not about ‘being there for your mates’ as such – if you were to do that, simply go and watch and support your mates, while they play the game that we all love.
To be able to go through the first two days with your team, putting in the hard yards, and then expecting to share game time with players who have already played 5 days of futsal, it seems a little unfair doesn’t it? Fair enough you want to play as much futsal as possible, but so do those players that you are taking the spots of. Sure maybe a few players in your team may be okay with it – but I would put a bet on that not the whole team would be happy with that – especially in a team that would most likely consist of 10 to 12 players already.
I alway believe in the saying ‘make a decision and stick with it!’ – you know you can’t always have the best of both worlds. This is exactly the case with Vikings and FFA, choose one or the other. That way you have one team, and you can commit whole heartedly to them! This sport is very much a team sport, and loved by a lot of people in this country, it is about being there for each other throughout the whole tournament, whether that be for Vikings OR FFA.
When it comes to the ‘rules’, an association always bend them when they know they can get ‘the best players in the state’ by doing so. I believe, in either association, it’s wrong, why make them if you aren’t going to follow them? Why allow players to play if they haven’t played state titles etc? Personally, I think Vikings and FFA should sit down and revise their rules, especially if they are always going to be bent consistently.
Overall, futsal is a game we all love. Whether that’s FFA or Vikings, everyone is getting an opportunity to participate in a tournament of the sport they love, representing their state and playing with their mates. I think everyone really needs to get off their high-horses and focus on their own games. Choose an association and stick with that. No need to banter about the other, please tell me what good that does? By choosing one, you are giving others opportunities to participate in the other. It’s not always about yourself and how much you get to play. Think of it like this – there is now more people representing the best state in Australia, NEW SOUTH WALES. The more players that get chances to do that, the more titles we can bring home.
That’s my ‘rant’ about this ‘rant’ – so good luck to all in FFA & Vikings – I hope the tournaments run smoothly and that NSW dominate….as usual! Enjoy!
Jan 25, 2012, 10:56 am
why does every one of these rants focus around vikings at some point?
Jan 25, 2012, 1:44 pm
Who writes the articles? Any-one know. Obviously pro FNSW.
Jan 25, 2012, 2:44 pm
Charise, I think you’ll find the writer very even-handed and will give it to FFA/FNSW also where they feel it necessary. At least it gets everyone talking about Futsal !!
Do you believe that the writer has published anything about Vikings which is untrue?
Jan 25, 2012, 2:45 pm
Have you ever considered that maybe all the articles are about vikings because they are the ones with the most issues/problems!