China Arena Football League Holding Tryouts In China And US
The China Arena Football League will kick off its inaugural season in October of this year with six teams and is looking for athletes both in China and the rest of the world.
The CAFL has been three years in the making and organizers have been determined to build a solid foundation. The brainchild of co-founder Marty Judge, owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League, the league has been marching towards its historic goal of introducing professional American football to the world’s most populous nation since 2013.
“By kicking off our new professional league in 2016, we will be able to further develop our China-based player prospects, who will continue to work through our on-going training and tryout camps, as well as to further develop a strong fan base for the debut.”
The group involved includes former NFL lineman Ed Wang (VP of league development), former rugby player, coach and developer David Niu (President, AFL Global) and the head of football operations, Ken Bozarth. CEO of the CAFL is Gary R. Morris, who is president of the Judge Group.
In addition to developing a university league which held its championship in the fall of 2015, the next step is to find the players, both Chinese and North American, to fill the rosters.
The first open tryouts will be held in China in Beijing and Shanghai.
China Tryouts
April 16 – Beijing: National Olympic Sports Center – training ground on the 4th football field
April 23 – Shanghai (April 23) Luwan Sports Centre – 11-man football field
For complete information and registration forms, Chinese players should go to the Chinese CAFL website – www.chnafl.com.cn.
Through this open tryout testing, Chinese athletes will be evaluated by coaches of the league’s six professional teams, resulting in 84 Chinese athletes being selected in the CAFL draft in June.
Then in May, the CAFL takes its tryout camps to Texas and Florida.
United States Tryouts
Tryout/Combine #1
- Date: Saturday, May 14th
- Location: Lakeline Soccer Zone Cedar Park, Texas
- Time: Check -in & walk-up registration begins at 8:00 am
- Venue Info: Soccer Zone is a great facility that includes indoor and outdoor facilities. The location is not far from the University of Texas, the CAFL is excited about the opportunity to discover some elite talent in the Great State of Texas.
Tryout/Combine #2
- Date: Saturday, May 21st
- Location: Servite High School Anaheim, California
- Time: Check -in & walk-up registration begins at 8:00am
- Venue Info: Servite is one of the most prestigious high school programs in California well known for their great sports traditions and successes as well as several athletes that have gone on to achieve greatness at the professional sports level. Servite has a great outdoor facility with a new artificial surface that will provide a great atmosphere for our West Coast Tryouts.
Participants will be evaluated by coaches representing each of the six teams that will be competing in the 2016 CAFL Season. Participants will take part in drills that will test their speed, agility, ability to change directions quickly and efficiently, as well as the natural ability and instinct to play the game of American football.
Both the Chinese and US tryouts will include the following tests and maybe a few more:
- 40 Yard Dash
- Pro Agility Drill
- Standing Broad Jump
- Vertical Jump
- Position Drills
Pre-register
The league encourages participants to pre-register by going to the league website at this link. Pre-registration fee for all participants is $50 with walk-up participants paying $75. Participants who do pre-register are also guaranteed to receive an official CAFL Tryout Shirt in their selected size.
For complete information check out the league website.
For any further questions about the 2016 CAFL USA Tryouts/Combines and registration forms, please contact the CAFL Head of Football Operations, Ken Bozarth, [email protected]
