The Swans Boardroom in Saigon

Last night, the Vietnam Swans in Saigon met to elect their City Committee for the next 12 months.

Congratulations to Derrin Limbrick for being elected as the 2009 Saigon President!

The full list of results is detailed below:

• Saigon President – Derrin Limbrick
• Treasurer – Danny Armstrong
• Secretary – Fleur Gamble
• Football Operations – Nick Shiell
• Marketing & Merchandise – Greg Armstrong
• Sponsorships – Drew Franklin & Phil Johns
• Events & Fundraising – Shannon Leahy
• Inbound & Outbound Tours – Danny Monk
• Training Coach – Drew Franklin (Match Days – tba)
• Committee Members – Larry, Damo, Gus, Big Joe

Congratulations to all people elected to the Saigon City Committee (structure of national committee and date of election tba).

Thank you to the 2008 Committee – Scott Stacey (President), Danny Armstrong, Shannon Leahy, Gus McEwin, Phil Johns & Joe Hrustinsky for doing such a great job. Two highlights in particular from 2008 stand out – the match against the HMAS ANZAC in Saigon and the inaugural Vietnam Swans 2008 AFL Grand Final Party in Saigon.

Ms Stella Pham from Flight Travel awards the winning trip to Hong Kong to Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

Remember the Vietnam Swans 2008 AFL Grand Final Party in Saigon?

The then Flight Centre generously donated a return air ticket to Hong Kong (which was won by Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!) .

Since then, a lot has happened to Flight Centre. Not only has it changed its name to the , it has also become an Associate Partner of HRG Australia.

What’s interesting about this is that HRG has recently announced its appointment “to provide corporate travel management services to Australia’s largest and most prestigious sporting body” – which is, of course,  the Australian Football League (AFL).

High praise indeed. For the full article, click .

For those in Vietnam needing airfares and corporate travel, do drop into the at 02 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1, HCMC.

The Vietnam Swans will travel to Thailand for the Tigers' annual ANZAC Day footy match

On 25 April, ANZAC Day, the Vietnam Swans will rise at 3am to attend the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at in Thailand. Hellfire Pass is the name given to the notorious railway cutting on the Burma Death Railway. During WWII, Japanese  guards forced POWs to work up to 18 hours per day to complete the cutting.

In the afternoon of ANZAC Day, we will then play the Thailand Tigers in their annual ANZAC Day footy match in Kanchanaburi.

It is  a great honour for the Vietnam Swans to be invited by Thailand to this event. This year will be particularly special as ANZAC Day falls on a Saturday which means we will play our match on the same day as the Dawn Service.

As clearly demonstrated in 2007 when the Thailand Tigers hosted the Asian Champs, the Tigers know how to organise extremely successful events. The ANZAC weekend will be no exception. Below, is the itinerary which has been prepared by the Tigers.

Friday 24^th April

A Tiger Representative will meet the Vietnam Swans to take us directly to Kanchanaburi (approx 3hrs).

Saturday 25^th April

3.30am – Depart for Hellfire Pass for the ANZAC Dawn Service. The Dawn Service will commence at approx 5.30am and will be followed by a traditional “gunfire breakfast” (full details at the Australian Embassy’s website).

2.00pm – At footy oval 15 minutes drive from Kanchanaburi, pre game announcements, introductions and National Anthem.

2.30pm – Match commences. 15min quarters and a half time kids’ match. Post Game presentations and drinks. Four ex POWs will be in attendance and shall present the award to the best player. Chicken Smallhorn won a VFL Brownlow Medal in 1933. During WWII, Smallhorn was taken prisoner by the Japanese and spent 3 years in Changi Prison – where he organised a footy competition and won a “Changi Brownlow” to add to his collection!

6pm – Pre dinner drinks before boarding a boat on the River Kwai for dinner & drinks. At 8.30pm we will be transferred to a nearby pub which televises the AFL football.

Sunday 26^th April

Depart back to Bangkok @ approx 10.30am.

This will be an amazing weekend.

Football clubs and communities

Yesterday, the official death toll from Victoria’s devastating bushfires climbed to 200. It is expected the final toll will be closer to 300. In addition, 1,800 homes were destroyed and up to 7,000 people are now homeless.

Local sporting clubs are often the heart and soul of communities. The devastated communities in Victoria were no different. Sport brings people together and provides an outlet. The sporting clubs will play a key role in the rebuilding of these communities.

Yesterday, the emailed the community of Asian footy clubs about the (YVMDFL) which covers townships such as Kinglake and Marysville.

The “YVMDFL is collecting donations from the sporting community which will be directed to specific projects that can support the sporting communities of all affected areas.” If you would like to make a donation, visit the or make a deposit at the Bendigo Bank, “YVMDFL Bush Fire Fund”, BSB: 633 000, A/c No. 132265287

The Bali Geckos have a strong relationship with their local community. Following the 2002 Bali Bombings, they established a strong connection with the local foundation,Yayasan Sri Kandhi, which assists widows from the tragedy.

On a side note, Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has written to Prime Minister Rudd committing  .

Meanwhile, tonight in Saigon, the Australian Chamber of Commerce will hold an Australian Bushfire Fundraising Event at Jaspas, 33 Dong Khoi Street, District 1 from 6 – 8pm. All are welcome.

The Vietnam Swans will play the Bali Geckos in Saigon on 28 March 2009.

Tommy Sherrin and the Asian Champs are headed for KL

There had been some discussion as to whether the 2009 Asian Champs would be held in either Malaysia or the Philippines.

The Swans Blog can now confirm that the Malaysian Warriors will host this year’s Champs in Kuala Lumpur.

While the date is still to be locked in, it is expected that it will be held on 5 September 2009.

Important to know will be the expected temperature.

The Swans Blog can report, , that the average high in September is, thankfully, just 31.9 degrees celsius. KL’s monthly averages throughout the year range wildly and erratically from 31.4 degrees right up to 33.1 degrees!

Meanwhile, on the precipitation front, expect 7.6 inches in September. That sounds like a big rain.

Good Luck to Sarge & Harbs (President and Tournament Organiser) and everyone else in organising a fantastic 2009 Asian Champs.

Images from Hanoi's Auskick program

The Vietnam Swans in Hanoi have well and truly launched the Auskick program. Willy and Potsy commenced Auskick at the Hanoi International School (HIS) (pictured above) at the end of last year.

This year, in addition to the Auskick sessions at HIS on Friday afternoons, they will also be held at the UN International School on Saturdays.

If you have a child who would like to participate, or you would like to help Willy and Potsy, please email .

Sir Lancelot spears a Swans jumper in Saigon, boards the Reunification Express and charges up to Hanoi for a drink with the northern Swannies

On 25th January, Lancelot Yu (pictured above) landed in Saigon and was keen to get his hands on one of the Vietnam Swans jumpers.

Lancelot first contacted the Vietnam Swans by posting a comment on our website saying that he would like one of our jumpers. Lancelot, a former New York Magpie, first saw our footy jumper in the competition for Australia’s Favourite Footy Jumper. Inevitably, he also saw the photo of Miss Australia, Laura Dundovic, wearing our jumper – and was hooked.

“I am on the board of the Sydney Womens AFL (yeah, it actually exists!) and used Laura’s photo posing in the Vietnam Swans jumper at the end of the 2008 presentation. It got a big laugh out of everyone!”, said Lancelot.

Accordingly and fittingly, on Australia Day (26 January), our National Treasurer Danny Armstrong met Lancelot and “did a dodgy jumper sale transaction outside Gloria Jeans in Dong Khoi Street… Thought for a moment I was a Vietnamese vendor. All good!”

Lancelot then went on to Hanoi and caught up with Swannies, Potsy, MJ and Willy at our new clubhouse, The Studio.

Lancelot said, “It was a pleasure meeting both chapters of the Club – especially visiting the new Clubhouse in Hanoi. I wish you all the best in season 2009″.

Lancelot, thank you very much for your interest in our Club and good luck to you too in 2009.

For those interested in knowing about Sir Lancelot who was one of the Knights around King Arthur’s Round Table, click on the link. Sir Lancelot was famous for his affair with King Arthur’s wife, Guinevere and the role he played in the search for the Holy Grail.

If Sir Lancelot loved the Holy Grail – as the Hoodoo Gurus nearly sung – “Do you hear what I hear”? I’m hearin’ that Sir Lancelot loved the footy as well! Hearin’ me?

Sydney Swan, Luke Ablett and the little sucker

Well, he wasn’t really stung in Vietnam. Rather, he was sucked. And that’s when he caught the fever.

An article appeared in yesterday’s about Sydney Swan, Luke Ablett’s, trip to Vietnam in November of last year where he had obviously encountered some of our mosquitoes.

Apparently, just four days after returning to Australia, Ablett’s condition deteriorated sharply. “I was just flat on my back. I felt like I was going to die. It just felt that bad”, he said.

Ablett was later diagnosed with dengue fever and shed 7 kgs in the process.

The PNG Mosquitoes after winning the 2008 International Cup at the MCG

And on the subjects of mosquitoes and swans, two players from the Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes will play footy this year for the East Devonport Swans according to the Tassie paper, .

Emmaus Wartovo and Willie Aisi were two of the stars for the PNG Mosquitoes in last year’s AFL International Cup grand final victory against New Zealand.

Devonport Swans media officer Sue Milbourne (who sounds like a Kiwi trying to say ‘Melbourne’ ) said the pair would also be involved in junior development roles at the club as well as their on-field duties.

she added.

Cricket and footy's Bushfire Appeals

As Victoria’s bushfires continue to rage and the death toll continues to climb, the AFL and the Australian Cricket Board have launched bushfire appeals.

All monies raised at yesterday’s limited overs match between Australia and New Zealand will be donated to the . All players will also donate their match payments. . Two of the Australians, Peter Siddle and Cameron White were both born in Gippsland where many of the fires have occurred.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the AFL announced that Friday’s NAB Cup match between the Western Bulldogs and Essendon will be transferred to Telstra Dome in Melbourne to support the . It will be a fund raiser for communities devastated by the Victorian bushfires.