Sport Touch Football Official website www.austouch.com.au | Founded 1997 | |
Administrator Touch Football Australia No. of teams 13 Permits with teams in 12 divisions Venue(s) Quad Park, Kawana Waters, Queensland (Suncoast Home Region) | ||
The National Touch League is the peak domestic competition for the sport of Touch Football in Australia. The annual four-day competition allows 13 regional permits from across Australia to compete in 12 Divisions including Opens, Mixed and Senior categories. The competition is split into a Seniors competition (over-age divisions from over 30s to over 50s) and an Opens competition (not restricted by age, other than for the under 20s divisions).
Contents
The competition is not only the pinnacle of Australian domestic competition, but is also the primary selection event for national representative teams.
Divisions
The 12 divisions contested at the National Touch League from 1997 to 2007 were
In 2008, under the revised format, these divisions were altered to
History
The National Touch League was created to replace the 'Australian Nationals' which featured the seven Australian states. The finals of this competition were traditionally played between Queensland and New South Wales, the two most dominant touch playing states, with the Australian Capital Territory also performing strongly. The National Touch League increased representative opportunities for players from these states, while providing a more level playing field for competitors from the non-rugby league playing states. The first National Touch League was played in 1997.
While the format of the competition has had some minor amendments during the past 10 years of competition the stability of the event has led to the development of fierce rivalries between regions. The traditionally strong Touch Football regions have maintained their dominance of the competition.
At the time of its introduction the NTL was seen as being a move away from the past and step forward in the future development of Touch in Australia. Each of the 12 permit holders was to represent an equal number of registered players, making for a fairer, more competitive tournament. The playing talent is spread far more evenly and it was to give a larger number of players an opportunity to impress for higher representative honours. The NTL was also to provide the players with an important intermediate competition between local and state or national teams.
The NTL was also seen as being a marketing tool that would have significant value as a promotional vehicle. The first NTL opened up merchandising and sponsorship opportunities, and was televised on regional television networks and the Optus Vision cable network.
The NTL was also expected to deliver a strong national club structure which would engender regional identity and lead to further grass roots development within the sport.
Format and Focus
The competition was initially established to provide wide exposure to the elite competition in open divisions. As the competition evolved between 1997 and 2007 its popularity, especially with senior players, has led to the original focus being broadened to include participation.
The 1997 National Touch League was held from on October 17–19. The divisions contested were Open Men, Women and Mixed and under-20 Men and Women. Most of the 12 permit holders fielded Men's, Women's and Mixed teams. The tournament finals were broadcast on WIN Television, NBN Television and Optus vision while NBN as the host broadcaster also ran 50 television commercials to promote the 1997 event.
The 1998 NTL ran from in October. The competition was run as two separate competitions, the Open divisions and the Seniors divisions. This format would persist until 2008.
The 2008 NTL saw a significant restructuring with the Open and Senior competition being run concurrently. The Seniors competition was run from the 12th to the 14th of March, 2008, and for the first time in the events history, the Opens competition overlapped the Seniors competition, starting on the 13th and running until the 15th of March. The under-20s divisions were removed from the Open competition and will be held in conjunction with the National 18s competition held from the 17th to the 20th of September.
2010 became the biggest NTL in history, when it was opened up to incumbent NTL permits and regions / minor states in their own rights.
Results for the Open Divisions
Up to and including 2010.
Awards
Following each NTL a Player of the Series and a Player of the Final are recognised for each division. This award is chosen by the Australian Selectors and Coaches for each division.