Month: September 2014

2015 Applications now being sought – 6th October deadline. Download Application form.

The IAFA is now opening applications for the 2015 season for all divisions of senior kitted football.  All teams, both existing and new, seeking to play kitted football in Ireland in 2015 must submitt a completed application form by Monday 6th October. Face to face workshop style meetings with all applicants will be scheduled to take place soon after this deadline.

The Shamrock Bowl Conference (SBC) and IAFL1 are expected to run as previously outlined, though IAFL1 is being expanded to include those teams who played IAFL2 football in 2014 who are ready to step up a level. In response to increasing club sizes, the application form now includes a provision that bigger clubs can now field multiple teams in different divisions e.g. in both the SBC and IAFL2.

Groups who are thinking of setting up a new club should start engaging with the IAFA as soon as possible so that they can be given advice on how to get going and be guided through the application process. Once the October 6th deadline has passed, the IAFA will no longer accept applications for 2015, so it is important for such clubs to apply before this date even if they are unsure as to whether or not they will be able to play next season.

All existing clubs have already been forwarded application forms by email. Copies of the 2015 application form can be downloaded at the following link:

2015IAFLteamapplicationformFinal

Junior League – Dates, Rules & Details Announced

The dates for the inaugural Junior League season have been announced as follows:

October 19th – Dublin.

November 9th – Venue to be confirmed soon.

November 29th – Drogheda.

Each team entering will have the opportunity to play two fixtures on each of the above dates. Each of these two fixtures will be two normal quarters long thus ensuring that each team gets the equivalent of one full game on each date. Points will be awarded to the winners of each shortened game. Those teams who opt to play on all 3 dates will get a total of six games. Teams not able to play a full schedule will also be catered for. A league table will be kept and the team with the most points will become the new National Champion.

Junior League will use 9-a-side rules and will be open to all players over the age of 16 who are born in the years 1995 to 1998 (as per International norms). Participation is strictly age based – both experienced and inexperienced players will be catered for.

New online Registration system.

The IAFA is piloting a new online registration system for the Junior Kitted league thus relieving team managers of a lot of the administrative work associated with collecting player details and registration fees. Players can register using the following link: [Password can be obtained from team managers].

iafajuniorkitted2015.eventbrite.ie

Junior League Playing Rules:

Junior Leaguel will be played under 9-a-side rules. Full NCAA rules will be used with the following modifications – (i) only 9 players permitted on the field; (ii) there are no offensive tackles i.e. 2 less on the o-line and (iii) no blocking below the waist in any circumstances.

IAFA granted access to Irish Sport HQ

Irish Sport HQ building

The Irish Sports Council agreed to allow the Irish American Football Association use the facilities at Irish Sport HQ at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown in Dublin.

 Irish Sport HQ, which opened only last year, is home to 19 Irish NGBs and is located at the heart of the National Sports Campus, which is currently under construction at Blanchardstown. A number of multisport pitches are already in use on the campus, which also houses the Irish Institute of Sport and the National Aquatic Centre. An extensive network of pitches and the National Indoor Area are currently under construction.  

With effect from later this year, the IAFA will have use of the conference rooms, meeting rooms and support facilities in the main Irish Sport HQ building.

The IAFA is hopeful that it’s new Centre of Excellence (‘Academy’) which is in the process of being set up to development of young players and coaches can be based on the Campus. In this regard, discussions are underway regarding storage facilities on campus for the Centre of Excellence training camp equipment for which the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport recently announced a €15,000 capital grant. 

A spokesman for the IAFA said “We are grateful to the Irish Sports Council for granting us access to the facilities and we would like to thank ISC CEO John Treacy for his support in this regard.”

Map of the finished plans for the Campus

Coaching Ireland hosting the National Coaching Forum

From the 26th – 27th September 2014, Coaching Ireland is hosting the 11th National Coaching Forum at the Institute of Technology Sligo. The Forum promises to be the biggest and most extensive gathering of professionals and volunteers involved in Sport Coaching and will attract coaches, physical education teachers, sports scientists, National Governing Body personnel and policy makers. Leading National and International presenters will take part in this event titled “Fun to Full Potential – Coaching the whole Athlete“.

The 11th National Coaching Forum will combine Keynote speakers and practical and applied sessions, with opportunities to network with coaches from different sports. Previous National Coaching Forum has welcomed up to 800 coaches, both National and international. The Forum has become a “can’t be missed” event on the sporting calendar, involving coaches at all levels from up to 48 different sports.

To book your place at the National Coaching Forum, head over to www.coachingforum2014.com and click Book Here. Accommodation is also available at the Clarion Hotel Sligo and delegates are advised to contact the hotel directly, mentioning their attendance at this event.

Brussels Tigers win EFAF Atlantic Cup

Brussels Tigers (white) - winners of Atlantic Cup VI

The Brussels Tigers won Atlantic Cup VI today with a 9-7 victory over Dutch entrants, Hilversum Hurricanes. The win means that Belgium draws level with Ireland and the Netherlands with 2 wins each since the tournament was incepted in 2009. The final was a low scoring defensive affair which was edged by the host team.

Earlier today, Ireland’s Dublin Rebels had a comfortable 20-7 victory over French entrant, the Vileneuve d’Ascq Vikings to take 3rd place in the competition. The Rebels were defeated 24-14 by Brussels in Saturday’s semi-final – with the difference between the team being some uncharacteristic costly defensive errors by the Rebels. Hilversum defeated the Vikings 16-13 in the other semi-final. 

EFAF Atlantic Cup VI Results (all games played in Brussels, Belgium): 

Sunday 7th September: 

FINAL – Brussels Tigers (BEL) 9-7 Hilversum Hurricanes (NL).

3rd PLACE – Dublin Rebels (IRL) 20-7 Villneuve d’Ascq Vikings (FRA).

Saturday 6th September:

SEMI: Brussels Tigers 24-14 Dublin Rebels

SEMI: Hilversum Hurricanes 16-13 Villneuve d’Ascq Vikings.

Atlantic Cup 2014 – Rebels seek to retain title for Ireland

The Dublin Rebels travel to Brussels today with the aim of retaining the Atlantic Cup title for Ireland. The Atlantic Cup is the official Western European Championship for amateur clubs. On Saturday they face the Brussels Tigers in their Semi-Final with the winner facing the winner of the Villeneuve d’Ascq Vikings (FRA) v Hilversum Hurricanes (NL) semi in Sunday’s Final. A win for the Dublin Rebels would give Ireland it’s third title in six years, pulling ahead of the Dutch who have also won two titles to date and the Belgians with one. The Belfast Trojans won the 2013 tournament, played at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. 

Brussels Tigers v Dublin Rebels

The Rebels finished their 2014 season as the third ranked team in Ireland, though with an impressive 7-1 regular season record (same as the Champions). The Tigers won the Francophone Conference, but lost to the Flemish Conference champions in the Belgian Bowl. They won the Belgian Bowl in 2013. As with all International tournaments at this level, the host team usually has the big advantage of having it’s full squad in situ – with simple economics/availability dictating that the travellers cannot bring every player on their rosters. While the Rebels are travelling with a reasonably strong squad, the Tigers should have the numerical advantage. The Rebels last faced Belgian opposition in Brussels in the 2010 Atlantic Cup – losing by 2 points to West Flanders in the final. The Tigers were defeated by Trinity College in the 2013 Atlantic Cup Semi-finals. While most experts would agree that the IAFL is currently a slightly stronger league than the BFL, it is likely that this game will come down to home field and numerical advantage for the Tigers versus superior talent for the Rebels. Rebels QB Andy Dennehy and RB Simon Mackey will be the key players.

Rebels in action during their last trip to Brussels in 2010

Villeneuve d’Ascq Vikings v Hilversum Hurricanes.

The addition of France to the Atlantic Cup family is expected to give the tournament a major boost in both territorial and standard of play terms. The Vikings are a significant upgrade from the normal Luxembourg entry. As they are the first French entrant, there is an element of the unknown about how they will match up. Villeneuve d’Ascq is a large club, fielding two squads at senior level, with the best of those playing in the ‘Casque d’Argent’ Division of the French League. The Vikings had an impressive 6-1-1 record, winning their conference. Like all of the previous Dutch entries, the Hilversum Hurricanes are expected to be strong. Recently promoted, they now play in the Dutch superleague which is affiliated to GFL International’s semi-pro European Football League. As such, they have been dubbed the tournament favourites and will be difficult to defeat should they reach the final.

2014 Atlantic Cup Schedule: 

6th September – Semi-Finals.

7th September – Finals & Third place play-off.

Atlantic Cup newcomers - Villeneuve d'Ascq Vikings (red/white).

IAFA in the press

On Sunday 31st August, the Sunday Times included a major feature article entitled ‘Patriot Games’ on the Irish American Football Association in it’s ‘Sunday’ section. The article which was put together by journalist Graeme Lennox, included interviews with various people involved in the sport and talked about the progress that has been made in recent years. Those interviewed included Trinity College players Dan Finnamore and Rob McDowell, Coaching Tutor Ciaran O’Sullivan, Coach Sarah Matthews and Shane McNulty of the Dundalk Mavericks and Commissioner Cillian Smith. The article describes the grassroots game as being ‘in great shape’, saying that ‘more Irish people are playing gridiron than ever before’ and gives a very positive portrayal of the sport in Ireland.

PDF scans (2 pages) can be viewed below.

Sunday Times (Page 6)
Sunday Times (Page 7)

The IAFA got a further publicity boost this week, with American Football International doing a review piece on the 2014 league season. It sums up the state of the game in Ireland as follows:

“The standard of football in Ireland is on the rise, more and more teams are applying to join the league, there is more funding available to IAFA and the level of quality in teams is greatly increasing. The 2014 IAFA season has been incredible, and although the season may be over, thoughts will already be turning to what the year 2015 has in store for Irish Football!”

and describes the 2014 season as bringing ‘great confidence and positivity that the league can once again expand for the upcoming season.”

A copy of this article can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/green-looking-back-at-2014-in-irish-american-football/

Croke Park Classic a big success for the IAFA

Last weekends Croke Park Classic game appears to have been a big success for the GAA, participating teams and the Irish American football community. Over 53,000 spectators attended the game – this a record for an American football game in Ireland – more than any of the previous NCAA or NFL games played in this country achieved. It is also believed to be a record for any NCAA game played outside the United States. What’s more, we had an exciting game, with two evenly matched teams and where the result was decided as time expired. All of the four previous top level NCAA games played in Ireland had at least two scores between the teams.

The GAA and the staff at Croke Park are to be congratulated on the excellent job they did and the hospitality they extended to the IAFA and its guests.

Thursday – Cecil Martin Clinic:

Two days before the CPC, ex-Philadelphia Eagles and current Sky Sports analyst, Cecil Martin arrived in the Dublin as a special guest of the IAFA. On Thursday evening, he ran a coaching clinic for young players at Garda RFC. There was very positive feedback from those players who attended – 10 IAFA member clubs were represented at the clinic. Later that evening, Cecil and various Irish coaches who assisted at the clinic had dinner together and swapped football stories.

Cecil Martin instructs attendees at clinic.

Friday – Pep Rallies and Formal Reception.

Friday afternoon saw the Pep Rallied for both Penn State and UCF take place in central Dublin. Volunteers provided by the IAFA assisted with these events and many members of the local American football community enjoyed the spectacle.

Also on Friday, two more IAFA special guests arrived. The first was Mr. Michel Daum, the newly appointed President of GFL International and a Board member of the French Federation. GFL International runs the major continental European Club competitions including the EuroBowl and new 5 country European Football League (Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland & Spain). Our second guest to arrive was Mr. Carsten Dalkowski who is Chair of the German league and a Board member of the German Federation (AFVD). The German Football League is the continents biggest domestic league with approximately 40% of all registered players in Europe.

On Friday evening, representatives of the IAFA and our 3 special guests attended a formal reception in the famous Stephens Green Hibernian Club hosted by Mr. Aidan J. Prendergast. Mr. Prendergast is the first ever President of the IAFA and currently does a lot of work for the NFL. Other guests included Mr. Peter McKenna, CEO of Croke Park and prominent people in town for the game.

Left to right: Michael Smith, Cillian Smith, AJ Prendergast, Cecil Martin, Michel Daum, Carsten Dalkowski, John Judge, Ciaran O'Sullivan

Saturday – Gameday.

The GAA graciously provided the IAFA with a corporate box in the Hogan Stand where it could entertain guests and organisations with whom the IAFA has a relationship. Those invited included ex-IAFA Presidents, some IAFA team representatives, the Chair of the Federation of Irish Sport, representatives of the Irish Sports Council and Local Sports Partnerships as well as prospective commercial partners and other representatives from the Irish NGB sector. Cecil Martin and Carsten Dalkowski were special guests in the box. All thoroughly enjoyed the game and the Croke Park hospitality.

IAFA guests enjoy the game.

Meanwhile, representatives of the IAFA and Mr. Daum were guests at the GAA President’s Lunch at which they were afforded the opportunity to chat to Board members and prominent alumni of each visiting college and other guests. Ambassador Dan Rooney was the special guest of Honour at this lunch.

The game programme for the event featured five pages of information on Irish American football. Two pages dedicated to the history of the domestic game in Ireland and three with information on the IAFA and it’s activities.

Many IAFA members also attended the game, enjoying the opportunity to mix with visitors from both UCF and Florida. The atmosphere was electric at times, particularly as the game went down to the wire.

 After the game, the various attendees and guests attended some of the post game celebrations taking place in the city centre.

In overall terms, the event was a big success for the IAFA and anyone connected with Irish American football.

Ex-IAFA Presidents and Mr. Dan Feaheny.
Aidan J. Prendergast and Cecil Martin.
Cillian Smith and the Dan Rooney Trophy.
GFL International President Michel Daum with IAFA President Michael Smith.