Sapphire Series

BAFA’s head of development for women’s football is Jim Messenger, a Britball veteran from the eighties, he has worked tirelessly to champion the women’s game. He has developed and implemented a structure that encourages participation, facilitates competitive play and has led to the national tackle team being invited to the IFAF World Championships being held in Canada in June, as the second ranked team in Europe. Full contact and flag competitions are in place, where teams from around the country match up in a series of regional events held between February and April. The tackle tournaments are known as the Sapphire Series, and are played on a seven a side basis in division one, and five a side in division two.

In the blue ribbon seven a side competition, 2017 sees a Northern Conference featuring the Edinburgh Wolves, East Kilbride Pirates, Manchester Titans and Leeds Chargers. It’s a difficult one to call but the Wolves may just have the edge to win-out.

In the Southern Conference, the competition is likely to be particularly intense, with the three-time champion Birmingham Lions, Hertfordshire Tornadoes, Derby Braves and London Warriors in the mix. All the teams are stacked with talented athletes and this should lead to some spectacular balling. I spoke to some of the key individuals to get their thoughts on how things will play out.

The dominant force in British Women’s Tackle Football to this point has been the Birmingham Lions. Led by quarterback Jo Kilby, they are seeking to make it four championships in a row. Their programme provides the core of the GB team and they have only lost once in the history of the Sapphire Series. Listening to Jo, you will see there is no sign of them resting on their laurels. “We’re really looking forward to kicking off the defence of our title at our home tournament. The team is ready - albeit it’s a quick turnaround from playing 9s in Finland a couple of weeks ago – and they’re raring to go.” “We have a strong squad available, including all of our active internationals, who are eager to get on the field and deliver; our rookies have been pushing the returners all season long, so we’re expecting a performance from each and all, as competition for starting spots has been genuinely fierce. We anticipate the competition to be much tougher this season, other teams have sought and capitalised on notable transfers, to strengthen their squad, and the 40+ score-lines that the Lions so often enjoyed last season should probably be a thing of the past. That all bodes well, as strong competition is what we we’re looking for, and are not shying away from. Our ambition this year is to give our players the best possible opportunity to perform, to learn and improve over the course of the Series. As a collective we only have one clear goal – to retain the British title for a fourth consecutive year.”

The Lion’s toughest test is likely to come from the Tornadoes of Hertfordshire, who have a well-balanced team featuring several GB internationals. During the off-season, they signed quarterback Sydney Green, whose big arm talent will cause opposing defences plenty of problems. Receiver Oli Davies had this to say. “We’re really excited for the start of Sapphire Series 2017. We have two tough games ahead, with defending champions Birmingham Lions in our very first game, and division 2 winners from last season, the London Warriors stepping up a level to provide us with an interesting test in game two. We know that all the teams in the league are quality opposition, and will be setting the bar even higher than last year, but that said we are feeling well prepared and confident going in. We have a number of exciting rookies, and have added three outstanding GB players to our ranks, with Sydney Green at quarterback, and Monica Lewinska and Becky Martin strengthening our D Line. Our defense as a whole has been looking very strong in our practice scrimmages, and I fully expect them to be terrorising the opposition all over the field all day long!

Having missed Sapphire last season due to my stint playing out in America for the Kansas City Titans, I can't wait to pull on the purple jersey again and help our offensive unit fulfil the potential I know that we have. We have talented players and depth in every position, but I am most looking forward to seeing our passing game flourish. With Sydney throwing, it should give our GB receivers, Jess Anderson and Sarah Glassborow the chance to really shine, and I will of course be hoping for a few catches to run in for TDs myself! Whatever the day has in store for us, I know there will be a great display of football on show. Storm Doris may have passed through this week, but the Tornadoes will be hoping to wreak a storm of havoc on the field this year!

The Derby Braves have made big strides since last year. They now have a strong coaching team in place featuring staff and players from the Tamworth Phoenix to help develop the team. With the combined football intelligence of John Maisey and Jason Scott in the camp, I think they could deliver some suprises. Team captain and receiver Adelie Hernandez shared her thoughts with me. “The whole team has been working hard in pre-season training, I am very proud to see how much our new players have grown and developed alongside our existing squad! We are excited about competing against some great teams throughout the sapphire tournaments. Our team spirit is high and we are looking forward to getting on that pitch with our shiny new uniforms!

Rounding out the southern conference will be the London Warriors. They beat all comers last year in the 5v5 competition and will be moving to the 7v7 Sapphire series with a lot of momentum. All the Warriors programmes have the upmost respect from their peers, and with head Coach Tony Allen overseeing things, the women’s team will not lack for football smarts and a competitive edge. They were looking to GB running back Melissa “Her Royal Thighness” Henry to punish the opposition and rack up the points, however, she has chosen to focus on her preparation for the World championships with the GB Lions and will skip the 2017 Sapphire series. I’m sure the Warriors will other ways to light up the scoreboard.

It’ll be interesting to see if Birmingham can have the title wrestled from them, but I feel the odds are still in their favour. Whatever the final outcome, we can be sure the Sapphire Series will deliver some top level football for us all to enjoy.

The four tournament events will be held on February 25th, March the 11th and 25th and April 8th. Check the BAFA website, Facebook or the individual team websites or FB pages for further details around locations and times.