LIFE LOVE RUGBY : May 2017

With the USARL season just around the corner, and the Toronto Wolfpack season in full swing, its time we take a look at some local League clubs in America and get some info from those involved with the USARL. Now I have reached out to the USARL and unfortunately they have no responded to a request for a Q&A, but the Mayhem have been nice enough to take the time out of there busy life's to answer some questions, now these questions where originally meant for the Atlanta Rhinos and they where submitted to someone with in the club , but unfortunately there has been no response back, luckily Chris Dickenson and CEO/Owner Billy Neilson have responded.

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LLR- Please introduce your self and how you became involved with the Mayhem and UASRL.

CD- I'm Chris Dickenson. I became involved in the USARL three years ago when I'd reached a point in my life when I wanted to do something different. I'd hit 25/26 and hit a bit of a ground hog day effect where a few years running had felt pretty identical. The years were starting to go quicker and felt I needed to do something 'different' or make a difference somewhere. I had toy'd with the idea of moving to South America, Africa or Asia for 6 months and volunteering somewhere to give something back when I remembered 'Spinner' from the USARL forums and my dad was a pretty keen follower of the USARL and the growth of Rugby League internationally. I took a punt and reached out to Spinner one cold December morning and heard something back a month or so later. I was offered three places and I said it made no difference to me where I went. It was a shock to the girlfriend when I said I was taking off to Tampa!

At the beginning of 2016 five of us purchased the club and we have been present since.

BN- I started with League back in 2008 when I lived in Daytona Beach, I attended the Axmen training camp. I was playing 7's at the time and knew nothing about League, but wanted to check it out. I was very impressed by how the Axemen ran there operations, in regard to the professional atmosphere. In 2009, again when the Axemen held camp, I went up for the fun of it since I was still active with 7's. I moved to Tampa in 2010, but played with the Daytona Gearheads in the SERL reserve grade comp and did that for a few years, then Spinner and Drew Slover from the Axemen asked if they thought I could get a team together for the reserve grade comp in Tampa. We did and Tampa competed in the reserve grade for a year. Then the following year, the Tampa Mayhem were formed along with Atlanta and Central Florida, creating the current South competition. I played and helped with the club for the first two seasons, but injuries ended my playing days. When I got the phone call about the opportunity to buy the club, I jumped at it and here we are today.

-LLR- What attempts are being made at the Under 18 level and how far off would it be to establish full contact under 18s rugby league tournaments/representative team/s. Or even semi contact from under 13's up, to get players used to basic rugby league skills and slowly feeding them through a system.

CD- This was actually something I was really keen on when I first packed my bags as per above. I quickly came to realise that it's impossible with the sport at it's current level. What a lot of people can't appreciate about the US from the outside is liability and insurance is an absolute killer. The absolute best we can do for now is take kids from 18+ and do what we can with them and try to develop them and this will work in my opinion. Even players I see in the USARL now, if we'd have gotten hold of them at 18-21 i'm convinced they could play professionally at the lower grades. Tampa only formed in 2014 so there was nowhere for younger guys in the area to play Rugby League but this is improving year on year and whereas we started with guys in their late 20s and 30s, we're now beginning to find guys interested in league in their very early 20s and I believe it won't be too long before we're producing players capable of playing at semi pro level at least. I can say that hand on heart.

We regularly run kids camps in conjunction with the local Rugby Union club which allows young kids to experience rugby and learn the basics but at this stage, I can't see where we'll progress at youth level from there.

BN- We have a great relationship with the local union club Tampa Krewe, as many of us play(ed) or coached with them, so we hold youth camps in conjunction with them. That way we get as many kids as we can with a rugby ball in their hands regardless of what code we are. I think as youth rugby in general grows, it is good for everyone. League season doesn't conflict with Union season, so it will give kids the options to play 7's or League over the summer. With that, I still think we are a few years away from any serious talk about a youth team.

LLR- Professional training: Is Tampa looking into forming closer links with professional clubs to get players some full time training experience with a professional club, the benefits of this would be enormous, and of course playing in the local league has already seen an improvement and positive outcome on both sides of the players development.

CD- This pretty much follows on from above but it was about finding better athletes younger to achieve this. In the US we have pathways available for those that want to take on the opportunity, but the reality is a guy at 28, probably college educated, long term relationship, good career, kids, isn't going to want to travel half way around the world to earn $200 a game playing somewhere. That's just a fact of life unfortunately and it's where we've been at largely. The Toronto Wolfpack experiment last year with the North V South game and professional trial ran by coaches Noble, Rowley and Finnegan was a huge success with 6 of the Last Tackle finalists chosen at the Tampa trial. Some of those were representatives of other clubs but one Mayhem rookie did travel to the UK as part of the Last Tackle documentary final. The Wolfpack is almost certainly the best route for US based players and although I can't say too much at this stage, we are hoping to replicate the weekend again as a regular fixture in the calendar.

LLR- Reserve grade: Will clubs with overflow of players definitely have a proper 9 a side reserve grade league, giving less experienced players the opportunity to experience rugby league in a somewhat competitive environment.

CD- I can't speak on behalf of the clubs in the North but in the South this is something we've been keen to establish for a while now. Last year we'd hoped to get this off the ground but I know we at the Mayhem, just didn't have the numbers. With Lance Hohaia coming in this year for training camp we've had a big boost in interest and the initial numbers on the ground would indicate that we'll be in a position to field a reserve grade this year. Nothing is set yet, we simply don't know until the numbers are either there or they're not but it is looking promising at this stage and feelers are being put out to other teams.

BN- I have talked to the other Southern teams and I think a reserve grade comp is very achievable this year.

LLR -Exposure: What efforts will be made to give rugby league enough exposure to ensure a successful tournament and successful USARL to last in the long run?

CD- Exposure is honestly a difficult one. We've really found that at the Mayhem to be frank. When I first came over it was a harsh learning curve and the average person just doesn't care. The USARL does lay ground rules but like in any league in any sport some are better at running their business than others. We can't dictate how others run their club, we can only focus on self growth and provide a platform for players to come and develop. As a club we are growing year on year, followers, sponsorship, player numbers. Every club has it's own personal battle and challenges and like anywhere, I'm sure some clubs will come and go as the years go by. Ours is bums on seats. One reality is that the USARL is not flush with money. I don't think I'm breaking any great secret when I say we and other clubs run year to year and our house has to be in order. We don't have swathes of cash to throw at marketing and we have to just focus on growing and improving year on year.

BN- With not having deep pockets, we have to find the balance in proper marketing the sport and putting out a quality product. I think the way the league is approaching things is smart. It is conservative growth, but there growth. As the teams grow, the USARL will grow.

LLR- Assistance: What current assistance is Moore Sports International providing? have they attempted to contact any of the USARL clubs and I believe they are planning to launch a professional competition in the near future, or there are professional bids in waiting to join the RFL.

CD- None whatsoever as far as I am aware. I'm not party to any conversation ongoing between Moore Sports and the USARL but as a club, Tampa have had no contact or support from the organization. Speaking as myself, away from the club I don't feel the Moore Sports idea will work. Sorry if I offend anyone and I'm all for giving it a go and good luck to them but the interest just isn't here, there's no infrastructure and as far as I can see, none of the existing clubs could step into that league bar potentially Jacksonville so they'd be starting completely from scratch. I was leaked the bid from a source prior to it going public so I have read it in detail and my personal thoughts are it will not work in that guise and if I had the time I could give you 20 reasons why. Steve Williams spoke to me last year about an idea he had regarding a club similar to the Wolfpack playing out of Orlando in the RFL system and my first thought was, no way. As he talked further I actually thought it was a fantastic idea and if I was Moore Sports I'd be speaking to him about that as it wasn't pie in the sky.

BN- haven't heard anything.

LLR- What efforts are being made to expand to the West Coast, will 9s be used as a tool to help lay the ground work?

CD- No idea. There have been mooting's of development across various areas in the states but the distances involved make it all but impossible to play in the current USARL system without serious funding. The USARL must develop outwards from it's current cities to grow further and there are beginnings of that happening as we speak. I'm pretty sure we'll begin to see new clubs emerge over the next year or two.

BN- Chicago is an area where they are trying to build the game. They have held a few local 9's games and it seems to be working and growing.

LLR- how can fans keep up with the Mayhem and fallow along during the season

CD- Our website www.mayhemrl.com has all our major stories but we highly recommend you follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/MayhemRL

We keep our fans up to date regularly on social media and I actually think it's one area where we rival some semi professional clubs abroad. People following on social media is absolutely massive to us when it comes to sponsorship and revenue so we'd ask that people follow us and like and share our posts.

BN- We will be live streaming our games this year, so that will help our fans outside of Tampa follow along.

LLR- Lastly this is a two parter, where would you like to see the state of the USARL and league in America in the coming years and also what should fans look for in the coming future from your club?

CD- It's difficult to gauge. A successful campaign in the world cup from a media point of view could be absolutely massive for the USARL. Granting of the World Cup could do for Rugby League what it did for soccer it's simply a case of getting the sport out there to as many people as possible but it's so tough without funding. Simply put though if we could get even 0.5% of the US sports market the USA would be a competitor to the big nations and that must be the aim post the 2025 World Cup.

League is growing in the USA but it's a slow process. I do sometimes think people expect miracles when from small acorns do big trees grow. Ultimately the USARL has only been with us since 2010 and the Axemen currently have more followers than many established Rugby League clubs in the lower leagues. It just takes time and effort.

At the Mayhem 2017 is all about solidarity. 2016 was our first year of ownership and we've reflected on things we did right, things we did wrong and with the latter, what can we do to fix those things. We won't be pulling up any trees this year but I expect solid growth. We're half way through a three year plan and by the end of 2018 I expect us to rival the biggest clubs in the USARL and beyond that, I think we will eventually surpass semi pro clubs around the globe.

That's my plan anyway...

BN- I want to see the game and USARL continue to grow. None of us are making a living doing this, we do it because we love the sport and want to get as many eyes as possible on it. For our club specifically we want to build our local fans base more. There really wasn't a blue print for us to follow, so it is a constant learning experience and we just try to improve things for our players and fans.

*representatives with the USARL all star game shield after the South's victory over the north last year - Billy, Josh Heath, Andrew 'Zulu' Zuluaga, Justin Branca, Travis Miller, USA International Jon St John, Owner Dan 'Otter' Slagle and Chris Dickenson

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I would like to thank the Mayhem for taking there time to answer these questions, and I do sincerely wish them the best not just this coming season but also moving forward in the ever growing history of rugby league in America.

I urge everyone to not just fallow the Mayhem but also the other USARL clubs and to find your local League club and support them as well. If there is not one near you then I suggest starting your own and since both union and league if anything barely have there seasons overlap, I suggest reaching out to union players. I think you'll find union players happy to play league in the "off-season" as do many in the USA, Canada and in Mexico currently do.

*I would like to add that recently The Rugby Channel, which is just Union based streaming channel on Roku and other devices, sent out a questionnaire on what current subscribes would like to see added on to the channel. the choices where, Aussie Football, Gaelic Football and Rugby League. There was a forth choice but I could not remember, but I did vote for Rugby League first then the AFL. So those of you who want to see Rugby League broadcasted more in the States I would suggest two things. One keep an eye out for news in the coming months from The Rugby Channel on if they will add Rugby League and I would also highly suggest doing number two, flood there twitter account and facebook account with demand for rugby league to be shown on the channel. My guess is if they do decide to add league they wont add it till after the current super league and NRL season. But I would also like to see the Wolfpack reach out and see if they can get at lest there away games loaded on there.

*Lastly if there is anyone in the Pacific Northwest who has a league club or trying to start there own competition I urge them to please reach out to me, I would like to help in any way possible and also do a Q&A with you as well.