Touch of the WorldThe International Touch Fraternity’s
Newsletter
Edition Number 7/2002 – March

cary@austouch.com.au

EDITORIAL

It has taken a long time torecover much of the lost datafrom my crash of November
last year. Consequently thathas been a major priority andNewsletters have fallen by theway side.
FIT matters regarding somechanges to the Constitution
have also taken priority andall Members are by now
aware of what is happening
with not only these, but new
Membership applications.
As soon as this round of votes
is finalized there will be
additional electronic meeting
to review these requests forother countries to join the
F.I.T.
Already Pakistan, India andJersey have application being
reviewed by the Executive
with several more countries
looking at preparing Forms.
This argues well for the next
World Cup with possibly up
to six new nations attending.
The first Tour of the year has
been undertaken by the ATA
with an u/18 development
squad touring to the Cook
Islands. A story appears laterin the Newsletter.
The National Championships
for most nations this year will
be a guide as to the strengthof their representative teams

at next years World Cup in
Japan. Australian hold theirs
in March, Japan in May, UK
in July, USA in September.
Apart from these Nations I
have not been informed of thedates of any other Members’
events.

of Canada and the USA. Test
Matches were played against
the Canadians in Ontario.

Japan Touch have issued aninvitation to FIT Members(National and/or club teams)
to attend the Japan Cup in
May this year. See article
later in Newsletter.

the visitors were too strong
for the locals winning all four
test matches.

USFIT have invited referees
to attend their championships
also and details can also befound in their article later inthis newsletter.

GREAT MOMENTS
IN TOUCH
From a Federation point ofview I can only write about
GMIT relative to test matchesor World Cup events. There
must be some great momentsin the birth of FIT Members
but I need you to write to me
and tell me what they are.
Until then I can only talkabout the International events
that ATA has competed inand other historic moments intheir evolution.
The third General Committee
Meeting of FIT was held in
Freemantle WA in April 1987
to coincide with the ATA
National Championships
Representatives from Canada
and PNG attended and fromthis meeting the AustralianTour of USA and Canada wasconfirmed
In October 1987 Australia
sent Men, Women, Mixed
and Masters teams on a tour

Whilst on Tour the fourth FIT
General Committee Meeting
was held in Burlington on 2nd
October 1987 with USA and
Canadian officials attending.
The outcome of this meeting
was the finalisation of thefirst World Cup to be playedin Australia on Queensland’s
Gold Coast in 1988.

GREATEST TEAMSOF THE
20th CENTURY
The Australian Mens Openteam has lost only two games
in World Cup competition.
Results of the four World
Cups played are; 33 wins and2 losses.

Editorial

1

Great Moments
In Touch

1

Greatest Teamsof the 20th
Century

1

Touch in theUSA2

Lebanon Touch
Continues to
Make noise
Australian
Arrive in Cook
Islands

2
2

FamousInterviews

3

Japan Cup

4

Your
Newsletter

4

Calendar of
Events5

Touch Web
Sites

7

They scored 421 touchdowns
for an average of 12.3 pergame and had 63 scoredagainst them.

They have played 16 tests
matches for 12 wins suffered
3 losses and 1 draw. Theirbiggest win was 29-0 against
PMG in 1995.

Page 1

Lebanon juniors were selected in the
NSW 20's squad.

USFIT
TOUCH IN THE USA!
USFIT are preparing for the Nationals in
Hawaii on September 28th, 2002.
We are looking for experienced referees
to join us for this event.
Unfortunately we cannot afford to pay
for airfares however we are offering
three nights accommodation andtransportation free - for those who would
like to attend.
An open invitation also goes out to any
other International team who would liketo take part in our Hawaiian Nationals.
Teams will be welcome to play in roundrobin play however will be unable toqualify for the play-off rounds.
However in saying that all teams that do
not qualify for the playoffs will play for
the USA Invitational Touch Cup.

LEBANON TOUCHCONTINUE
TO MAKE NOISE
Since its debut in the 1999 World Cup,
the Lebanon Touch Association has
enjoyed much success and provided
many opportunities to Lebanese andAustralian-Lebanese players. Following
the exceptional results in the 1999 World
Cup (Mens 30's - SILVER, Mixed Open- BRONZE, Mens Open - 5th), Lebanon
competed in the Youth World Cup inBoys 18's and 20's with the 18's finishing
4th in a very competitive tournament.
There is never a shortage of song, danceand entertainment when Lebanon Touchis around and the exceptional spirit andsportsmanship has infected all those
involved with the Association.
The opportunities provided to the youth
have been a constant focus of Lebanon
Touch. Many Lebanese representatives
have gone on to represent Australia
including Jason Stanton (AustralianMens Open), Tony Eltacchi (Australian30's) and Steve Tackchi (Australian18's). Most recently as many as 6

living conditions and styles of the local
Cook Islanders.

Touch is continuing to gain exposure in
Lebanon where the Beirut Phoenicians
Club competes in Touch Rugby and
Rugby Union. There are not many fields
available however the competitive natureof the Lebanese ensures there is always agame on somewhere. Even on the dirt
roads!! The standard is always improving
and with the support of the local Soccer
clubs, requests have been forwarded to
the Government for improved facilities.
In 2000, Jason Stanton was present at aSports Development meeting in Beirut,
Lebanon. Among the many guests andrepresentatives were the President of
Lebanon and the Lebanese representativeof the International Olympic Committee.
The President made a special mention of
the Australian-Lebanese community andextended his thanks to the many people
who live all over the world that call
Lebanon home. Along with its debut in
the Touch World Cup, Lebanon hascompeted in the Rugby League World
Cup as well as in the Dubai Sevens
Rugby Union.
Add to this its efforts in Basketball andSoccer and it’s easy to see that Lebanon
is getting behind its sport and continuing
to create noise on the international
sporting scene.
With a Lebanon Touch Tournament
planned in May and the possibility of a
Test Series in August, 2002 will be
another big year for the Red and Green.
So if you hear the singing and drums be
sure to buckle yourself in. it means the
Cedar boys are in town.

AUSTRALIANS ARRIVE IN
COOK ISALNDS
On the teams arrival in Rarotonga the
Cook Islands community met players andofficials. Each player was given a 'ei'(lei) of local flowers and it was a moving
and exciting experience.
In Raro (as the locals call it) the visitors
found the conditions to be extremely hot
and humid. The accommodation would
test the tourists as they experienced the

The culture of the locals was anexperience in itself. Sunday is a religious
day and is very mush a day of rest and no
sporting activities are expected in themornings. So to the beach was the orderof the day and the Cook Islands national
teams entertained the Australian.
The evening saw a competitive gamesnight between the boys and girls. The
girls victorious 2-1
The inaugural Touch Test series wasplayed at the Cook Islands National
Stadium on Thursday 21st February
2002. The Cook Islands Minister forSport and Recreation, and the Presidentof the Cook Islands Olympic Association
opened the series.
It was a historic moment - it was a big
day - the first Under 18’s test match
between the two countries. The games at
the National Stadium, which is adjacentto Terrora College, allowed all thestudents to be granted the afternoon off
to watch the test matches.
The girls played the first game and didn’t
they get a very, very warm welcome
when they all striped down to our bodysuits
The crowd went absolutely crazy withexcitement and envy. Australia won thegame 19-0, all the scorers being mainly
from the wing position. The second test
match later that night was again
convincingly won 13-1. The girls were
all happy with the day's effort, not tomention thoroughly exhausted!
The boys game was not as easy as thevisitors expected. A determined Cook
Islands side fought doggedly to restrict
the Australian to 11-0 in the first test.
Having got rid of the nerves on such anoccasion, the Australian felt very
confident of expanding their game in thesecond test. However they failed to give
Page 2the locals a copy of the script. A great
game by both teams saw Australia a very
relived 7-2 winner The third tests were
held at the Avatiu Rugby Club playing
fields on Friday 22 February.

The girls played first and as was
expected the match was tight for the first
10 minutes with the Australians showing
good ball control and composure in the
hot and humid conditions. As the pacecontinued the Australians applied morepressure and their efforts began to show
against a weakening Cook Islands group.
The second half saw the Australians
apply pressure and control the match
from the outset. Eventually the team’s
individual brilliance resulted in many
excellent touchdowns. The final score
was in favor of the Australian's winning
15 – 1.
Australia completed a clean sweep
winning all games the boys team cameup against a very determined Cook
Island youth team who had learnt muchfrom the previous day’s test matches.

winning the female player award andTroy Malcolm winning the male award.

represented his country and second only
to Scott Notley as a mens open player

FAMOUS INTERVIEWS

When did you first become involved intouch and why

This is the fifth in theseries of famous peopleinterviewed by Ian
Stanley, the Aussie
Mens Open Coach.
TV’s roving reporter
finally catches up withthe legend of World
Cup Touch, the Master himself – Bobby
Brindell.
Bobby may well be best remembered forhis magnificent efforts as amens open
player at 4 successive World Cups. In
1988 and 1991 he was the Mens Open
Player of the Series and in 1995 and1999 he was runner up.
The Australians voted him Players Player
in 1995 and Most Valuable player in
1999. Few other players match his
longevity at this level but hisachievements at winning these awards
stand his out from them.
His representative career with Qld began
in 1988 and culminated in the final
Nationals under the State v State format
in 1996. During that period he missed
only the ‘92/93 years and was player ofthe series in 1994. In 1997 the NTL wasa reality and he played for his beloved
Sharks from ’97 to 2000.
State of Origin gave the two states of
NSW and Queensland a chance to settle
old scores and Bobby went out a winnerhaving played in all Qld mens winningsides of 1995, 1996 and 1998. (NB no
SoO was conducted in’97).

The defence of the Australians wastested on many occasions and when the
Cook Islands team levelled to 1-1 earlyin the first half the Australians wererequired to kick into a higher gear.
However the Cook Islands team showed
determination and continued to pressure
the Australians.
In the end the strength and skill of theAustralians showed through and they ran
out winners - but not until the Cook
Islands showed they also knew how toscore. The final score in the match was
11-2.
The visitors dominated the Players of theSeries awards with Roxanne Winder

He represented at Queensland’s State
Championships from 1987 to 1997 being
named player of the series in 1988, 1992,
1995 and 1997 – a remarkable feat.
Bob has 35 World Cup Caps and isranked ninth in Australia with his
representative career at World Cup. Thisis a tremendous effort given he could
have played in the 30’s division at the1997 World Cup for Masters. However
he is the equally highest ranked (No.1)
mens open representative WC player(Scott Notley jointly sharing the honour)
He has 10 Test Caps and this ranks him
in tenth place for test Matches played byan Australian. Having a total of 45 Caps
for Australia overall Bobby is ranked as
the eighth highest player to have

I first became involved in Touch in 1984
– I was asked to play by an acquaintance,
loved it and never looked back. Touch
was a sport I thought of playing throughHigh School, however, I wasn’t aware
you could achieve at a National level if
were good enough
To what do you attribute your longevity
at the elite level of the sport?
My longevity in the sport of touch isprobably attributed to the absence from
representative touch during 1992/1993.
This was forced upon me mainly due towork commitments and possibly themove to 6 a side.
If you had to pick your greatest momentin your career – what would it be?
Being a part of 4 World Cups at Mens
Open level, flag bearer in the 1997 Trans
Tasman, reading the oath to open the1999 World Cup, being part of anAustralian team which had various
players from different regions, states andterritories, but I felt no fragments oroutcasts.
Once we got to that Australian level and
I commend Scotty and Bus for this; there
was no internal rivalry. The friendships I
have gained from this sport remain true
and although I have not played for two
years, we still have a social golf club ofpast, present and future players at theSouth Coast level.
What were some of your greatest
challenges and moments in Touch?
1. South Coasts dominance at a Statelevel throughout the 1990’s. Leaving
Brisbane on a winning note in 1989 andstarting from scratch with the Gold Coast
who were more interested in the double
D’s than playing Touch.
Gary Wakefield, my brother Laurie and I
set a goal of winning the State Title
within 3 years and we were lucky enoughto get there in the 3rd year winning two
drop offs, one to go into the final and theother in the final.
2. Three Losses out of 18 against NSW.
Unfortunately 2 of these losses were in
finals, however when you are playing
against the likes of Mark ‘Bus’ Boland
Page 3

and Shane Frederikson, you get in, get
the win and get out.
I felt Queensland went through a purple
patch with a few old heads in Notley, theBrindells, Pierce, Grehan and Foster andthe young guns the McDonalds, Madders
and Ward. This blend of youth and skill,age and treachery saw Queensland
dominate throughout the 1990’s.

To me, the quality of Bus was that he
was always three plays ahead of the rest.
I listened to him at training, talking tofive of us, do this, go here, hit here andthose of you who have played along sideof him will know what I mean.
Since 1993, New Zealand had either won
the first game in each series, be that
Trans Tasman or World Cup and when it
came to playing the Kiwis in the final of
the 1999 World Cup a few of us wereshit scared of not winning and not goingout on a winning note.
However the first half of touch was not
too dissimilar to the second half of touchin the final in Hawaii and eventually weincreased our winning margin from thatof 1988. This surprised me as I felt theKiwis were improving dramatically.
Players like Corey Foster could havebeen the best to ever pull a boot on – if
he knuckled down and trained – but I
suppose he still had fun. Pat Grehan wasanother. But my support goes out to theIndians, the workers, ruckers anddefenders who made it easier for theattackers to do their thing.

3. The Win against the odds in Hawaii.
Australia against New Zealand andspecifically Craig Pierce dragging
himself of his death bed and I actually
think he provided us with the drive anddetermination to win.
In our semi final loss of 6-4 to the Kiwis,
he was the only performer and he was
sick, if Craig could do it then so could
the rest of us.
Who were some of your most difficult
opponent, and why
Scott Notley (I am talking about his
attack) at his best is the best I have everseen. What puts Scott above everyone
else in my books is he has done it at 7 on
7 and 6 on 6. My first year in the State
and National sides was in 1988 and I am
not sure whether they meant to but I felt
Scott and Bus took me under their wing,
surprising from Bus considering I beathim over a 70 metre sprint before theWorld Cup was due to start.
The hierarchy chose Bus to sprint
because he was the Captain and I waschosen due to being the Grommet,
however the Kiwi streeted both of us andBus ran a very close third. (Still have thepicture)Your favorite Food
Spring Rolls made the Vietnamese way
with Rice and MinceYour favourite TV show/Movie
It’s a toss up between the Errol Flynn’s
version of Robin Hood and The Quiet
Man with John Wayne.
Who are the stars of the sport now thatyou and other have recently retired ?
Craig Madders, the McDonald boys andGarry Sonda are the backbone of theMens division at the moment. If Shane
Frederiksen returns to Australia he will
also have an impact.
Can you name some up and coming
future champions.
Some champions of the future should beyoung players like Brent Madders, Ben
Robinson, Jarrod Tump, Chris and Ash
Farrow and the Malcolm boys fromdown Sydney way.
If there were a rule to change to betterthe game – what would it be?
Not so much a rule. I would love to see
the game go to 5 on 5. People may think
this would mean the faster players would
have an advantage but I disagree. When

Queensland played NSW in the firstState of Origin, we were a bit worried
about the NSW pace; however, you can
only show your speed if you get
through. The other reason why I would
like to see 5 on 5 is because I don’t play
anymore.

Thank you Bobby Brindell – andwelcome to the Legends ClubJAPAN CUPThe Japan Cup will be conducted on 18thand 19th of May 2002. Japan Touch
invites oversea team to attend as a prewarm up to the World Cup at Kumagaya.

Some NZ teams have decided to visit
Japan for the event, and if necessary JTA
will subsidize accommodation fees. If
any Member wishes to organize someteams - Regional or club teams, whatever(but not national teams) -Mixed teams
are better - please contact Japan Touch

YOUR NEWSLETTER
Remember this newsletter belongs to
YOU - the players, officials, and all themembers of the World's touch fraternity.
Send me your snippets, your articles any
events, or your calendar, or any otheritems you wish published. The success of
this newsletter will depend upon you
submitting articles but more importantly
assisting in the circulation of each issue
to as many “touchies” as possible.

Please e.mail this on to all
the addresses in youraddress book to provide as
wide a circulation as
possible
Editorial: Cary Thompson
All articles for publication
are to be submitted to
cary@austouch.com.au
and may be edited tocomply with standards oflanguage and legal
obligations in respect ofdefamation etc.
Page 4CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2002
17/19 March

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

21/23 March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

18/19th May

Japan CupKumagayaJapan

6/9th June

Asian Touch Championships

8/9th June

Qld -v- NSW State of Origin

Brisbane

Australia

6th July

UK National Championships

Wigan

England

13/14 JulyFIT European Championships

Cardiff

Wales

18/21 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

19/21 September

Trans Tasman

Coffs Harbour

Australia

28th September

USA National Championships

HawaiiUSA

27th Sept. / 2nd Oct.

Australian All Schools (15's)

Canberra

Australia

31st Oct/2nd Nov.

Australia Cup

TBA

Australia

22/27th January

Australian Youth (20's) TourSouth Island

New Zealand

15/17thMarch

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

19/22nd March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

17/20th May

FIT Master World Cup

KumagayaJapan

22/25th May

FIT Opens World

KumagayaJapan

28th June / 12th July

South Pacific Games

Suva

Fiji

17/20 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

Sept/October

FIT World Clubs (Opens/Masters)

Various Venues

Australia

Sept/OctoberAustralian All Schools (15's)

TBA

Australia

October

FIT World Schools Championships

Cold Coast

Australia

30 Oct/1st Nov.

Australia Cup

TBA

Australia

Singapore

2003

2004
20/26th January

Australian Youth (20's) TourFiji (TBC)

12/14th March

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

16/19th March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

Coffs Harbour

Australia

June

Asian Touch Championships

June / JulyFIT European Championships

TBA

TBA

22/25 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

Sept/OctoberAustralian All Schools (15's)

TBA

Australia

28/30th OctoberAustralia Cup

TBA

Australia

Singapore

TOUCH - The sport for all

Page 5

2005
19/23 January

FIT Youth World Cup

TBA

Australia

19/22nd March

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

TBA

Australia

24/26th March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

TBA

Australia

June

Asian Touch Championships

21/24 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

Sept/OctoberAustralian All Schools (15's)

TBA

Australia

October

FIT World Schools Championships

Cold Coast

Australia

27/29th OctoberAustralia Cup

TBA

Australia

11/13 November

Trans Tasman Test Series

South Island

New Zealand

18/21st March

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

TBA

Australia

23/25th March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

TBA

Australia

June

Asian Touch Championships

June / July

European Championships

TBA

TBA

20/23 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

Sept/OctoberAustralian All Schools (15's)

TBA

Australia

Sept/OctFIT World Clubs (Opens/Masters)

Cold Coast

Australia

26/28th OctoberAustralia Cup

TBA

Australia

17/20th March

Australian Nationals (Opens/20’s)

TBA

Australia

22/24th March

Australian Nationals (Seniors)

TBA

Australia

JuneSouth Pacific Games

TBA

Samoa

June / JulyFIT Master World Cup

TBA

TBA

June / JulyFIT Opens World

TBA

TBA

19/22 September

Australian Youth Championships

Coffs Harbour

Australia

Sept/OctoberAustralian All Schools (15's)

TBA

Australia

1/3 November

Australia Cup

TBA

Australia

Singapore

2006

Singapore2007

If you wish to have any Touch event listed here then please provide details
and it will be published in the following issues.

TOUCH - The sport for all

Page 6

Touch Web Sites
Federation International Touchwww.internationaltouch.com.au

South Africa
www.touchrugby.co.za

Australia Touch Associationwww.austouch.com.au

Welsh Touch (see below also)
www.walestouch.org.uk

Chile – Santiago Touch Rugby Club
www.atamericas.com/touch

USA Touch
www.usfit.com

Richmond Touch Rugby (England)
www.touchrugby.com

European Championships 2002
http://euro2002.walestouch.org.uk

Dallas Touch Associationwww.dallastouch.com

ACT Touch
www.acttouch.com.au

St. Helens Touch - England
www.st-helens-touch-rugby.co.uk

NSW Touch
www.nswtouch.com.au

Englandwww.touchrugby.com

Queensland touch
www.qldtouch.com.au

Francewww.multimania.com/touchrugbyfr

Touch SAwww.sharks.asn.au

Fiji Touchwww.teivovo.com

Victoria Touchwww.victouch.com.au

New Zealand Touchwww.touchnz.co.nz

Western Australia Touchwww.watouch.com.au

Canterbury NZ
www.touchcanterbury.co.nz
Paradise Touch (USA)www.macatwork.com/paradisetouch/aboutus.ht
mPortugal Beach Touch Rugby
www.bdj3.pt
Rhondda Cynon Taff Touchwww.rcttouch.co.uk
San Diego
www.sandiegotouch.com
Scottish Touchwww.scottishtouch.co.uk

I wish to thank Michael Braodbent’s Photo Gallery
For allowing FIT to use his pic in this newsletterwww.sportingimages.com.au

Touch Singapore
www.touchsingapore.org

TOUCH - The sport for all

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