Michael Johnston reviews last week’s Battle of the Codes Charity Fundraiser held in Hanoi which raised a total of $1,000 for two charities – Swim Vietnam and Little Tigers.

Faced with the sad news that JASPA’s Manager was unavailable due to illness on the night, 75 hardy souls decided to nonetheless press on with the Battle of the Codes Charity Fundraiser. Five Clubs were represented:

1. The Hanoi Oi’s Netball Club
2. The Dura Celts Gaelic Football Club
3. The Hanoi Dragons Rugby Club
4. The Hanoi Celts Gaelic Club
5. The Vietnam Swans Australian Rules Football Club

The objective of the evening was to:

1. Raise funds for ?
2. Raise funds for ?
3. Bringe together 4 of Ha Noi’s ball-sports codes?
4. Have a good time? or
5. All of the above?

• * See Footnote No. 1.

Following a welcome from the Ha Noi Swans Prez, Dan Hopkins, and quick chats about the charities being supported by the evening, MC Simon took over the mic.

Mind-taxing rounds of daunting questions included:

1. General Knowledge;
2. Netball;
3. Rugby;
4. Australian Rules;
5. Gaelic Football;
6. Vietnamese Sport; or
7. All of the above.

• See Footnote No. 2

In between the rounds, a number of raffle prizes were distributed and auctions conducted.  A special big thanks has to go to the organisations that donated the prizes, including JASPA’s, Green Mango Restaurant, Pots’n Pans Restaurant and the Intercontinental Hotel Hanoi.

For such a broad spectrum of questions covering many continents, sports and events, there was one popular generic answer of “F…’ed if I know”.  However, this was not the correct answer and the eventual winning team, Skowronski’s Sausages, established an early lead and was never headed.

• See Footnote No. 3

At the end of the questions, the adjoining-table teams of Celts and Dragons were tied for 2^nd (who was copying whose answers?), so a time honoured Boat Race was held to decide who took home the valuable 2nd-place handshake from Prez, cDan.  In a close fought race, the team that won had:

1. The only female Boat Race crew member?
2. The only shaven head male crew member?
3. No Irish accents?
4. Oval balls (including (1) above)?
5. All of the above?

• See Footnote No. 4.

After a great evening, Swim Vietnam and Little Tigers Orphanage will each receive $500 towards their programmes. Anyone who wants to learn more about these wonderful organisations can contact them via their web sites:

• Swim Vietnam –
• Little Tigers –

Special thanks must go to the staff at JASPA’s who did a great job without Jamie to keep the food, drinks and energy coming all night.

Thanks also to our anonymous Question-Meister, Matt Townsend, who kept everyone scratching their heads for 3 hours.

• Footnote No. 5

Footnotes:

• No. 1 = (5) All of the above.
• No. 2 = (7) All of the above.
• No. 3 = Protest Dismissed against winning team having more than 6 on their table: No provision in rules for maximum numbers on a team, and there is no guarantee that an extra embassy staff will raise the total IQ of a team.
• No. 4  = (5) All of the above.
• No. 5 = Protest Dismissed against Question-Meister for dubious round of rugby questions being NZ-centric rather than sports-focussed:  No Formal Agreement signed regarding strict question content, but QM will be under the microscope and BofTheC’s Management Committee may vet future offerings.

Photos

To view more photos of the evening taken by Michael Johnston, .

The ANZAC Friendship Match is on 21 April 2012 – that’s just 5 weeks away from Saturday.

As part of the build up for the Swannies’ biggest event of the year, we are pleased to announce that there will be an intra club match held between the North and the South in Hanoi on Saturday 31 March.

The last time we played a match in Hanoi with national representation was on 23 July of last year. And it was a mega hoot of a weekend.

31 March will be no exception!

Other Events:

• Tomorrow night, 15 March: Battle of the Codes Trivia Charity Fundraiser, Hanoi
• Saturday 17 March: Swing to Swim Charity Golf Day, Dananag
• Saturday 17 March: Inaugural Combined Gaelic/Aussie Rules Football Match, Saigon
• For other events, check out the Swannies’ 2012 Calendar (see tab at top of page)

Yesterday, the Sydney Swans jumper that was donated to the Christchurch earthquake appeal in Saigon (see Sydney Swans push Christchurch fundraiser in Saigon tonight) was hung on the wall of the Boomarang Bistro – home of the Vietnam Swans’ 2011 AFL Grand Final Party in Saigon.

The jumper was bought by the Vietnam Swans.

A plaque will be added to the framed jumper which says:

On 22 February 2011, a devastating earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand.

In Saigon, the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce responded by holding a fundraiser that raised more than USD100,000.

The Sydney Swans supported the cause by generously donating two signed jumpers for auction. The above jumper was bought by the Vietnam Swans.

Signatures: (Coach) John Longmire and (Co-Captains) Adam Goodes and Jarrad McVeigh.

The AFL’s Footy Record also ran an article in its 1-3 April 2011 issue titled, . A copy of the original article has been included with the framed jumper.

On Wednesday, Sydney Swans co-captain, Jarrad McVeigh and wife, Clementine suffered a personal tragedy when their little baby daughter, Luella, passed away. Luella, who was just a month old, died of serious heart complications.

Swans’ coach, John Longmire, said that the Club would support Jarrad and Clementine ““.

Yesterday, the Vietnam Swans wrote to the Sydney Swans to offer our deepest condolences.

Just five months ago, Jarrad was helping others in need. Jarrad had signed a Sydney Swans jumper (together with Longmire and Goodes) which was auctioned in HCMC to raise money for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

In this afternoon’s match against the Geelong Cats, the Sydney Swans will wear black armbands in memory of Luella. And the Vietnam Swans will be watching in support.

Dave Kainey is the Flyer and this week, he caught up with the Saigon President, Derrin Limbrick.

1. Dez, you have been associated with the Vietnam Swans for several years now, as a player, coaching panel member and Saigon President. How has the journey been from your point of view?

It’s been a fantastic journey so far.  Over the last three years I have been involved in many great moments.  It is also satisfying to know that I have been involved in a group which has helped the Club move forward, overcome challenges which has ultimately lead to some great success stories.  I think that our goals were pretty modest when I first became involved, and now there seems to be a collective voice throughout the Club who are hungry to achieve, which is fantastic.

Our first trip to Cambodia is what really got me hooked.  We had a small undermanned team yet still pulled together and made it though to the decider in the Indochina Cup. The camaraderie was fantastic. It was also a memorable for many other moments however those stories can be left for another Flyer Special.

Probably the highlights on the football field have included winning the Indochina Cup (2010) , the Kainey Cup (2010) and the  ANZAC Friendship Match against Hong Kong earlier this year.  However for me personally, there has been many truly great moments on the field during most of our matches.

Off the field I think that we can be very proud of the state of our football club.  We are financially strong because of ongoing support from our major sponsors.  Our membership base covers the length and breadth of Vietnam and has spread to many other SE Asian Countries, including lots of ex players who remain members and supporters of the Swans, living in Australia.

We now have strong links to the community off the field and have been passionate and active supporters of Swim Vietnam  as well as Loreto Vietnam. We also have been actively involved in several important fundraisers in the last few years which has been a demonstration of the integrity and passion of our footy club beyond the game of AFL.  We have been fortunate to have many skilled and talented Swannies to help us achieve success both on and off the field.

2. With Phil (National President), Dan (President Hanoi) and yourself (Saigon President) at the helm, the Vietnam Swans have had a massive calendar for 2011, collectively you must have had some great support?

We have had so many great contributors to the Club since I became the Saigon President.  Fabbo and Danny A were there from the start and have been the rocks that helped me evolve into my role.  Since then there are too many to name, but collectively this has allowed me to turn a lot of ideas into reality. What is particularly pleasing this year is the number of new people who have put their hand up to contribute.  We have already had new volunteers helping with Club functions, training and tours. The unsung hero behind the scenes had been my amazing wife.  She has helped me out on so many occasions and is patient enough to allow me to spend more time than I should helping run the Club.

3. You are an experienced Asian Championships campaigner. What have been the highlights?

This will be my third Asian Champs.  Last year I was enjoying the first week of my honeymoon which of course meant I could not be there. The first Champs were great for me because it was my first tour with the Swans and I had only been in Saigon for two months, even if we didn’t win a match.   Apart from that, I have had sickness and injuries to deal which have really restricted my contribution on the field, so this year I am pretty fired up to make sure it is memorable.

4. How prepared are the playing group for the Asian Championships? What can the supporters expect of the group?

The timing of the Champs has not been ideal this year because it is right at the end of the summer holidays so we have had a lot of guys away over the last couple of months.  However, in saying that, I am very happy with our preparation.  Since the trip to KL we have been planning every training session to maximize our chances at the Champs.  We have included more fitness work than ever before and I have enjoyed watching the squad improve.   I know that Dan and Adrian have been working the guys in Hanoi hard as well so I am confident that every player in the squad will give us their best effort.  That is all you can ask for.

5. What are your thoughts on the state of footy in Asia Pacific in general?

From my perspective Asian Footy is strong and will only get stronger, especially as Asia’s presence grows in the global community.  Eventually Australian Rules Football will become the number one sport in the whole of the Asia Pacific and Fabbo will become the official Ambassador for AFL in Asia.  Ok, I might be getting a bit ahead of myself there, but then again you never know.  I am looking forward to reading that 5 mins with The Flyer!

Have a great Asian Championships and thanks for being a part of ‘5 Minutes with The Flyer’.