This was the inaugral year for the Junior Jets and some information about this is also repeated in the About page.

A lot of the information to be provided in the 2000 pages has been obtained from the Innaugral Year Yearbook. The following intro has been taken from Matt's Yearbook intro.

It really is amazing to think that less than 12 months ago this junior football club did not even exist and here we are now, welcoming visitors to the club through this website as well as rewarding the efforts of 39 registered players along with coaches, managers, sponsors, helpers and our extended family of supporters.

It all started in October 1999 when myself (Matt) and Ken Zimmer from the Senior Club went along to a junior football forum to put a case for our admission to the competition. On that day a gentleman, who I had never met, said to me I'll do whatever I can to help out - his name is John Byrne.

So, how did we get to today and who should be thanked along the way?

Firstly, the senior Club and through them, the Sports Club Kaleen who guaranteed us funding to get started. We then approached the AFL Development Fund for a grant and with the support of the Junior League that was forthcoming. To the AFL and Junior League, our thanks. Solely through the efforts of Peter Nolan (from the senior club) we also secured a major sponsorship deal from the Gungahlin Market Place. Our thanks to the management of the Market Place and also Peter (who as Captain of the Reserve grade team and unfortunately his committment to that meant we didn't see as much of him as we'd like). We also need to thank others like Peter Jensen from PGK Sports and the IMB Building Society, the management of Ogilvie Automotive Services at Mitchell and McDonalds Dickson (who provided weekly awards). Finally there is Terry Greaves from Aussie Print who did such a great job in putting together the weekly newsletter and the Innaugral Yearbook.

With the money in the bank we set about getting the gear and establishing the framework to operate as a junior club. In particular, I must acknowledge the help we received from the League (Pat Brazel) and other junior clubs who all offered their help when we needed it.

Then we started recruiting. This took many forms. Newsletters in the Schools, a mail-box drop and we even got some kids together to make appearances at the Sports Club Kaleen Xmas Party, in the Canberra Parade and at half-time in a Swans v Richmond Ansett Cup game at Manuka Oval. We got the handball target out at the Market Place on Saturday mornings and as some of you may recall, Byrnesy set up a table at the Market Place on Friday nights. Our Registration Day wasn't a huge success and our first training run even worse but with word of mouth and continued efforts all of a sudden come April 1 2000 we had two teams onto the paddock.

I don't know whether it was good luck or good management but to get two coaches of the calibre of John and Jim was fantastic. I am sure they had their frustrations but I think we can all see the improvements throughout the year in individual and team skills and the way in which they have made football enjoyable for the kids and parents alike. Again we are lucky to get dedicated Managers in Mark and Priscilla for the 10's and Kathryn for the 8's. There were many other helpers and I am sure the coaches will recognise them at the Presentation Day, but one in particular I must mention is Mark Walker who looked after the 8's for us at Cootamundra. I think you all saw a bit of his enthusiasm throughout the year but you missed a real spectacle at Coota.

To Steve Crawford, our home game umpire, a real vote of thanks not only from our Club but our opposition as well. Steve never let us down and you only had to listen to him on the field to realise the part he played in teaching our players the skills of the game and sportsmanship. To the players also a vote of thanks in the way you played the game and the enjoyment you gave us in watching you. On the football side, my final thanks go to Steve Efford and all his helpers who ran our Auskick program for the year.

To our canteen staff particularly Ann, Sue, Tracey and Rick, thinks but I like my coffee a bit hotter.

Finally, to everyone. We can all be proud of the achievements of this small, infant club and the way it conducted and presented itself throughout the year. Let's not leave it at the Presentation Day and I invite you all to continue to be a part of what really is shaping as a pretty exciting future. Whether your contribution is small or substantial, contribution is the operative word.

Matt Blythe
2000 Junior Football Administrator

The Early Days Of The Gungahlin J.A.F.C.

The start of the Gungahlin "Jets" Junior Australian Football Club is only a bit over 10 months in time but so much has happened in that time that some days it seems ages ago and on other times it's only yesterday. I well remember the Friday nights when I sat and chatted about football with anyone who came along to our table at the Gungahlin Market Place prior to Xmas 1999 or in the early weeks of 2000. This had the desired effect of finalising our coaching staff for season 2000 (although I didn't realise it at the time) and also letting Gungahlin residents and anyone else who passed by know that Junior Aussie Rules in the form of the "Junior Jets" was coming to the area as the Gungahlin local junior club. March saw the day that we had Registration Day at the Gungahlin Market Place and by days end it appeared that we weren't going to get one team let alone the three we had visions of achieving before registration.

From Registration Day to the first training Wednesday we picked up a couple more players and our first training night, to use a football pun, kicked off with about 10 players ranging from Under 7's to Under 11's. Still not enough to field one team let alone the desired three, but as weeks went by and players brought along their friends, I conned any youngster that came near Ngunnawal Oval and Matt talked to Senior Jets players, officials and supporters into letting their children play and the numbers grew and grew until the Wednesday before the first game it looked like we would have an Under 8's and an Under 10's. Round 1 saw us put our now familiar teams on the ground at Ngunnawal Oval without having to borrow players from our opponents to make up the numbers to play, something that I was justly proud of considering our humble beginnings about a month earlier.

So the initial stage of our origins had been completedand the days since can be followed up by reading the Team Summary reports for the Under 8's and Under 10's.

John Byrne (Byrnesy)
2000 Junior Football Administrator

The following is a "pen pic"of the financial position of the Junior Jets. Overall, the club will turnover something like 10K plus for the year.

On the income side, we received a substantial sponsorship from the Gungahlin Market Place as well as being joined by a number of other sponsors who helped with cash or goods in kind. In addition, we received two grants, the first from The Sports Club Kaleen, the major sponsor of our Senior club, and the second from the AFL Development Fund. Both of these grants came from bodies who recognised the need to promote the game of Australian Rules in the Gungahlin area. The remaining income came from our own efforts and we must thank all of you for paying the registration fees, supporting the canteen and our other efforts.

Clearly the largest slice of expenditure went to equipment - jumpers, socks, shorts, footballs and the like cost over half our turnover. However, the ordering of jumpers and the over-ordering of various items means we are well placed if, as expected, our team numbers increase next year. We spent money on advertising, affiliation fees, administration and game day expenses and these are pretty much par for the course. The canteen was provided more as a service than as a fund raiser but will get close to break-even. The Cootamundra trip cost us a bit but was well worth it when you look at the improvement of those who attended. With some better planning next year it should be close to break-even day. The Junior club also runs the Gungahlin Auskick Centre but meets only those expenses to reward attendees with a BBQ at the end of the program. This is money well spent as we see Auskick as being a principal feeder to the Junior club.

Overall I expect that we will have a small operating profit to carry over to next year which is not a bad result when we budgeted on what was really an unknown in terms of player numbers and support.

So what about next year?

With the flow of kids from Auskick to junior football, the age profile of our existing players and some ideas already generated for recruitment we can be confident of additional teams. Clearly that means more jumpers and we erred a bit this year in not having bigger sizes. We were fortunate this year to have all our games at the one venue, whether home or away, and this meant we were able to double up on the things such as medical equipment and drink trays etc. With the prospect of teams playing at different venues next season we will need to ensure that each is adequately equipped. As the age profile of our teams increase we need to start thinking about acquiring training aids such as tackling bags and the like. Finally we need to seriously think about appointing (and more than likely reminerating) a Junior Development Officer to work with the AFL/Junior League and in the schools to attract players to the game but more importantly, to our club.

And where will the money come from?

The Senior club, through the The Sports Club Kaleen, remains committed to an annual grant. The size of that, in the early years at least, will be consistent but as the Juniors become more self sufficient, they quite rightly would want to review the amount. The AFL Development Fund assists new clubs with the costs of jumpers - while we have applied for further assistance in 2001, we are no longer 'new' and funding cannot be assured. It certainly will not be available beyond 2001. The rest will need to come from our own efforts - clearly we need to continue to pursue sponsorship dollars but at the same time offer something in return. We decided that our policy will be to charge a registration fee but again made the decision to offer something in return and keep the fee at an affordable level. In sum, there are challenges ahead and we need to start thinking beyond just next year.

Matt Blythe

Major Sponsors for 2000

Principle Sponsors

Gungahlin Market Place

Sports Club Kaleen

Silver Sponsors

Aussie Print - Civic

Ogilvie Automative Services - Mitchell

PGK Sports

IMB Building Society

McDonalds - Dickson

"Please support those who support us"

The following thumbnails represent images of photos taken from the club's inaugral Yearbook. The quality is therefore a bit suspect but nonetheless you can still make out players - if you look closely. To see the full image just click on the thumbnail.