NOTE: THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL SANDBOX. THIS PAGE IS INTENDED TO REPLACE THE CURRENT BRITISH AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PAGE WHEN FINISHED. THERE WILL BE MANY CHANGES UNTIL THEN, AND I MAY NOT ALWAYS MAKE NOTES IN THE EDIT SUMMARY — Tripleprince 15:21, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
 | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| No. of teams | 42 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Most recent champion(s) | London Olympians |
| Official website | BAFL.org |
The British American Football League (BAFL) is the primary American Football league in the United Kingdom. It's forty two member clubs are based in England (36 teams), Scotland (5) and Wales (1).
Teams from Northern Ireland are not represented in the BAFL. (they play in the Irish American Football League alongside teams from the Republic of Ireland)
The BAFL is organised into three Divisions, based on the pyramid system.
- BAFL Premier is an eight-team single Conference.
- BAFL 1 has twelve teams, split equally into North and South Conferences.
- BAFL 2 contains twenty two teams, divided into four regional Conferences: North, Central, South East and South West.
Each team plays ten games during the league's regular season, which generally runs from April to August.
Only BAFL Premier teams are eligible, via playoffs, to participate in BritBowl (BAFL's Championship game) for the Boston Trophy. BAFL 1 and BAFL 2 have their own, separate playoffs and bowl games. The league's three divisional finals are held annually over two days at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield in what constitutes Britbowl Weekend. BAFL's twenty first Championship, BritBowl XXI, takes place on September 22/23, 2007
History of the League
editFounded in 1987 as the British Gridiron Football League (BNGL), the league has undergone several name changes and structural realignments in it's 21-year history.
The BGFL was one of four/five leagues
David Quincey, Pat Meggeson?, one other?
1988 - Merger with Capital League, plus influx of UKAFA teams
62 teams in 1988
each with it's own playoff series and Championship game.
The top three ranking teams in Division 1's North and South Conferences enter a playoff tournament to determine the Championship participants that will compete for Britbowl, which is hosted at Sheffield's Don Valley Stadium.
The bottom ranking teams in Division 1's North and South Conference are relegated into Division 1A
and replaced by the top ranking teams in Division 1A's North and South Conference.
The Championship participants are promoted to the divisions above and the lowest ranking teams in each division are relegated.
2007 Expansion
editBetween 24 March and 11 September 2006, seven teams were awarded Associate Member status within BAFL. The teams were given certain criteria to meet in order to be eligible for full membership to the League. On 5 November 2006, it was announce that six of those teams, Cornish Sharks, Edinburgh Wolves, Hull Hornets, Lancashire Wolverines, Lincolnshire Bombers and Shropshire Revolution were successful. The seventh, Leicester Falcons was not.
This is the ?? straight year of expansion. Forty two clubs is the highest <<< retype
Divisional Structure
editBAFL Premier
edit | BAFL Premier |
|---|
| Birmingham Bulls |
| Bristol Aztecs |
| Coventry Cassidy Jets |
| East Kilbride Pirates |
| Gateshead Senators |
| London Blitz |
| London Olympians |
| Southern Sundevils |
Regular Season
- The four northernmost teams (Bulls, Jets, Pirates, Senators) play each other twice (once home and once away) and play the four southernmost teams once (either home or away)
- The four southernmost teams (Aztecs, Blitz, Olympians, Sundevils) play each other twice (once home and once away) and play the four northernmost teams once (either home or away)
Playoffs
At the end of the regular season, the top four team will qualify for post-season play
- 1st place team hosts 4th place team
- 2nd place team hosts 3rd place team
- Winners meet at BritBowl XXI
BAFL 1
edit Regular season
- Each team plays the other five teams in their own Conference twice (once home and once away)
Playoffs
The top three teams in each Conference will qualify for post-season play
Division 2
editRegular Season
- Teams will play the other teams in their own Conference at least once
- All teams will play at least one inter-Conference game
Playoffs
- The top two teams in each Conference will qualify for post-season play
- The two northernmost Conferences (North and Central) and the two southernmost Conference (South East and South West) will be grouped to create a Northern playoffs and a Southern playoffs
- The four teams in each group will be ranked 1 to 4 using the league's tie-break procedure
- Quarter-finals: 1st ranked team will host the 4th ranked team. 2nd ranked team will host the 3rd ranked team
- Semi-finals: Higher ranked quarter-final winner will host the other quarter-final winner
- BAFL Division 2 Bowl: Northern champion versus Southern champion