London Blitz (American football)
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| Year Formed | 1995 | |||
| Team Colours | Navy Blue and White | |||
| Home Field | Finsbury Park Stadium, London | |||
| Team Motto | "Team! Pride! Blitz!" | |||
| Conference Alignment | BAFANL Premier | |||
| Head Coach | Mark Moss | |||
| Playoff Appearances (10) 1995, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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| Conference Championships (6) 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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| League Championships (BritBowls) (4) 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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| EFAF Cup (1) 2011 |
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London Blitz are a British American football team based in North London at Finsbury Park athletics stadium.
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[edit] Overview
The Blitz field a senior team in the BAFA Community Leagues Premiership as well as youth teams. The roster has included both local players as well as players from North America, Jamaica, South Africa and Uganda. The team remained in the Premier division following the 2007 BAFL re-alignment.
The team was formed in 1995 after a merger between pre-existing sides: the Ealing Eagles (1984–1994) and the Woking Generals (1988–1993). The Blitz rose from the lower divisions of the then-British Senior League to the Premier Division. They won the British national championship, BritBowl XXI, in 2007, defeating Coventry Cassidy Jets 14-6. They returned to defend the title in 2008, missing out to a field goal with 4 seconds left to play losing 32-33 against Coventry Cassidy Jets in a repeat of the 2007 match. In 2009 and 2010 the Blitz have cemented their place as the premier team in the UK by winning back to back BritBowls. In 2009 at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster they defeated the Coventry Jets 26-7 in BritBowl XXIII, then in 2010 at Sixways Stadium in Worcester facing the Coventry Jets for the fourth consecutive final they won 34-20 in BritBowl XXIV. The team participated in their sixth consecutive BritBowl in September 2011. They defeated the London Warriors 18 - 0 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London. The 2011 double triumph of EFAF Cup and BritBowl was the most successful season for a British American Football team since the achievements of the London Olympians in the early nineties.
In 2010 the London Blitz had their first venture into European competition in the EFAF (European Federation of American Football) Cup (the second highest tier of European Club American Football), the Blitz defeated the Amsterdam Crusaders in Holland and Les Cougars de Saint-Ouen L'Aumone (from the outskirts of Paris) at home in the group stage but then lost in the semi-final to the Carlstad Crusaders in Sweden.
In 2011 they again entered the EFAF Cup. They won their group matches comfortably, beating the Amsterdam Crusaders again, this time at home and then defeated the Valencia Firebats in Spain. The Blitz hosted the Danish Champions the Søllerød Gold Diggers in the semi-final beating them 23-7. The final was held at Finsbury Park on 2nd July 2011. In front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 people the London Blitz won the EFAF Cup by beating the Serbian Champions, the Kragujevac Wild Boars 29-7.
The current team captain is Roderick Bradley who appeared on television as Spartan in the 2008/2009 series of Gladiators Bradley joined the Blitz in 2005 after attending Loughborough University. The current quarterback is Fred Boyle, who joined the Blitz in 2009 after leading the Hertfordshire Hurricanes for four years at University. Both Bradley and Boyle have represented Great Britain in the sport along with many other Blitz players.[1][2].
[edit] Team colours
London Blitz play in white helmets (with navy blue oval logo), navy blue jerseys with white numbers, white pants, and navy blue socks.
[edit] Results - Domestic and European competition
| Year | Division (Domestic) | Record | Playoffs |
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| 2011 | BAFANL Premier | 9-0-1* | BritBowl XXV Champions |
| 2010 | BAFACL Premier | 10-0-0* | BritBowl XXIV Champions |
| 2009 | BAFL Premier | 8-0-0* | BritBowl XXIII Champions |
| 2008 | BAFL Premier | 6-2-0* | BritBowl XXII Runners-Up |
| 2007 | BAFL Premier | 9-0-1* | BritBowl XXI Champions |
| 2006 | BAFL Division 1 South | 8-2-0* | BritBowl XX Runners-Up |
| 2005 | BAFL Division 1-A South | 8-2-0* | Semi-Finalists |
| 2004 | BSL Division One Southern Conference | 2-7-1 | |
| 2003 | BSL Division One Southern Conference | 2-6-0 | |
| 2002 | BSL Division One Southern Conference | 1-9-0 | |
| 2001 | BSL Division One Southern Conference | 2-5-1 | |
| 2000 | BSL Division One Southern Conference | 3-5-0 | |
| 1999 | BSL Division One Central Conference | 5-5-0* | |
| 1998 | BSL Division One South West Conference | 4-6-0 | |
| 1997 | BSL Division One South West & Midlands Conference | 5-5-0 | |
| 1996 | BSL Division Two Southern Conference | 8-2-0* | Semi-Finalists |
| 1995 | BAFA Division Three South Central Conference | 8-0-1* | Quarter-Finalists |
| Year | Competition (European) | Record | Outcome |
| 2011 | EFAF Cup | 4-0-0 | Winner |
| 2010 | EFAF Cup | 2-1-0 | Semi-Finalists |
| * qualified for playoffs | |||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://eurobowl.efaf.info/index.php?Inhalt=newsmeldung&ID=1410
- ^ http://www.londonblitz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=415:the-london-blitz-take-the-efaf-cup&catid=41:game-reports&Itemid=2
[edit] External links
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