History
The tournament began in 1998 as the Jim Stynes Cup international tournament, named after Jim Stynes a player who had a fairytale football career, converting from Gaelic football to Aussie Rules, moved from Ireland to play with the Melbourne Football Club and later awarded the Brownlow medal as the fairest and best player in the elite Australian Football League.
This competition was founded by dedicated locals like Roger Ley and Peter Cates whose aim was to introduce the game to countries all over the world. They also identified the need to increase cultural awareness and break down barriers between races using sport as the conduit.
Recently, the competition was renamed to honour the football legend Ron Barassi a player with Italian origins who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest ever Aussie Rules identities as both player and coach. Ron Barassi is now also the patron of the organisation.
Subsequent tournaments have been held in 2001, 2003. As well as Australian amateur teams from the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and the Northern Territory other countries (depending on availability) including New Zealand, South Africa, Samoa, Denmark, New Zealand, USA and Nauru have participated.
The 2006 tournament featured teams from South Africa and New Zealand, as well as an all-indigenous teams from the Kimberleys and Kormilda College, NT and local team from the Australian Capital Territory represented. Papua New Guinea did not participate.
The 2008 tournament was cancelled after only two international sides committed to participating and a 2009 tournament was flagged instead.
Read more about this topic: Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“The custard is setting; meanwhile
I not only have my own history to worry about
But am forced to fret over insufficient details related to large
Unfinished concepts that can never bring themselves to the point
Of being, with or without my help, if any were forthcoming.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“While the Republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)