The Black Diamond Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Newcastle, Hunter Region and Central Coast regions of New South Wales.
Contents
Foundation
The league was formed in 2000 from a merger of the Newcastle Australian Football League and the Central Coast Australian Football League.
The proposition of an alternate competition started from rumblings during the 1990's that both competitions were dreadfully uneven and it was generally considered the administration, although keen and resolute, was far from what was needed to sustain a viable football league/s.
Visits from AFL executives to both the Newcastle and Central Coast took place during the 1999 season where they addressed meetings of delegates to look at alternatives to their contemporary competitions. It turns out these people were more interested in a proposed regional Club to participate in the Sydney Competition.
This prosposal didn't address the concerns of the general situation of the local competitions. As there was no follow-up by the AFL both boards issued invitations to senior officials of all clubs to discuss the options for the future. A meeting was held at Mt Penang, Kariong in October 1999 where it was decided to merge both leagues together to create a stronger more balanced competition.
The name "Black Diamond AFL" derives from the Black Diamond Cup which has been awarded to the Newcastle AFL Premiers since 1888.
League development
The Black Diamond AFL were successful in winning the Southern NSW AFL Championships in 2007, defeating the Riverina Football League.
In 2008 both Woy Woy and Singleton were removed from the First Grade competition and Lake Macquarie Crows were promoted to First Grade, meaning nine clubs competed for the premiership.
In 2011, Singleton returned to first grade, after winning the reserve premierships for 2009 and 2010. Nelsons Bay however will only compete in Reserve Grade. Woy Woy, now known as the Peninsula Swans, will compete as a joint venture with the Gosford Tigers, allowing players at both clubs to compete in First Grade, Reserve Grade and Under 18s in 2011.
Gosford left the league in 2012, competing in the Sydney AFL for the next four seasons, before returning to the BDAFL in 2016.
The Maitland Saints also entered a senior side in 2012. From 2012, the competition was restructured to allowed clubs to enter teams across Premier, 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions. This allowed smaller or newer clubs to field their firsts against the reserves or even third senior side of the stronger clubs.
Further clubs have joined the league in recent years, including Muswellbrook Cats and the The Entrance Bateau Bay both entering senior sides 2014. Muswellbrook had competed from 1988 until 1994 in the Newcastle AFL, and then later in the Tamworth AFL until 2013.
A women's competition started in 2015.
2015 Ladder
A open age women's competition commenced in 2015. Initially starting with 6 teams the competition expanded to 10 the following year.
Newcastle Central Coast Umpires Association
The Newcastle Central Coast Umpires Association provides umpires to the following competitions:
• Black Diamond AFL (Senior Football League on the Central Coast, Newcastle and Hunter regions);
• AFL Hunter Coast:
The NCCUA not only provides umpires to these competitions but provides training and support to these umpires.
The NCCUA trains at the following locations, starting at 6pm:
Tuesdays - Bateau Bay Sports Facility, Passage Road, Bateau Bay
Wednesday - Newcastle Number 1 Sportsground, Corner of Parry and Union Streets East Newcastle
The Newcastle Central Coast Umpires Association is led by President Jake Lowe, Vice President Nick Hickson, and a committee of several umpires.
The current BDAFL Umpire's Coach is Christine Burrows.
Christine works with AFL Hunter Coast Umpires Manager, Roy Reichert (NCCUA Life Member), on developing umpiring pathways from Junior to Senior Football.
There are also several people who assist both Christine and Roy in various coaching roles.