IAFA Flag Football in 2019

Flag Football General

 

 

 

 

 

IAFA Flag Football is now 5 years old this month and the interest keeps on growing. To mark the occasion we thought we’d let you know what 2019 is going to be like for IAFA Flag

Since the birth of the Emerald Bowl Conference (EBC) in 2014, teams have come and gone but the level of the game as only be raised every year making it difficult for new entrants to compete against more experienced teams and hoping to win the championship. So in order to make IAFA Flag more competitive and fairer for all we will be kicking off EBC’s 6th season with a few twists.

  • For the first time EBC will limit the number of teams participating to 12 and to start things off, EBC 2019 will be composed of the top 12 teams from EBC 2018. This also created the need for a new league for developing teams and new entrants named the Glas (Green) Bowl Conference or GBC.
  • Both leagues will be linked with a promotion/relegation scheme which will allow teams who have progressed enough to be able to compete against the best teams in the country.
  • Both leagues will run in parallel and are both mixed leagues for all players 16 years old and up. (details for registration and rules to follow).
  • All game-days for both EBC and GBC will see nine or more teams compete in the one venue in order alleviate heavy schedule and better manage possible forfeits or postponed games
  • We are also introducing another change to raise the level of competitiveness in the EBC. All EBC teams now must have at least one certified coach to be eligible to play in EBC 2019. Two IAFA level 0 coaching courses will scheduled for Flag Football coaches only in the spring (Dates and registration details to follow)

Other programmes will also be taking place this year:

  • We will open bids to host flag football blitz tournaments to be held in July and August
  • NFL Play Flag Football in School programme which will be run by NFL UK with the support of their Presenting Sponsor Subway. They are supporting schools to bring the NFL Flag programme to their school via a teacher training programme (more details to follow).
  • An inaugural Flag Football Intervarsity championship will be held in the autumn (details to follow).

We will have more detailed posts about each upcoming event in the near future so stay tuned.