This post was originally going to be about how our camp was doing in Milwaukee, but due to some technical difficulties (I didn’t get a flight out of Germany) I won’t be able to do that. So I missed the camp and though I was disappointed I knew that we had some great coaches to make sure the players got a great experience.
Since my last post we have had one game, which we won 34-17. It was road game that required a 3.5 hour bus ride. The one thing that I have learned about my team is that we don’t travel well. We have had some long road trips and I’ve tried different things, so far I haven’t found the right way yet. Regardless, we came out on top! The win clinched our division (which turns out didn’t matter) and remained on top of the overall table (which now does matter). We also have clinched a spot for promotion to GFL 2. I will have to write about this in another post, hopefully tomorrow, but it was an anti-climatic experience. But now to the purpose of today’s post…….the World Cup, well really the World Championships.
As you know (or not) the Women’s World Cup is being played in Germany, but that isn’t what I want to talk about. Three days from now in two Austrian cities the World Championships of American Football will be played. This will be the fourth time the World Championships have been played, and the second time the United States has taken part. The United States are defending champions, defeating Japan 23-20 in double OT in 2007. That was the U.S. first appearance in World Championships.
The first World Championship was held in 1999 with Italy as the host nation. It was a 6 team tournament that was broken up into Group play, and then teams were matched up based on Group Play results. Japan took the 1st World Championship with a 6-0 overtime win over Mexico, and then would repeat four years later beating Mexico again in a 4 team tournament held in Germany. This year’s tournament has expanded to 8 teams with Canada and Austria being first time participants. They will join the United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, Mexico and France.
Team USA is a roster selected by USA FOOTBALL, the players selected come from various NCAA and NAIA programs in the United States. Team USA is coached by Mel Tjeerdsma, former Head Coach at Division II Northwest Missouri State.
Although I don’t know much about the other countries, I would have to imagine that Team USA is the favorite going into the tournament. They begin Group play on Friday, July 8 against Australia at 9:00 am EST. They will then play Germany and Mexico before moving on to the Medal Round (hopefully).
I know in Germany the games can be watched online at Eurosport2.de for about 4 euro, not sure if you can do the same back in the United States. If you can I would take the opportunity to check out Team USA. Posted below is a more links that can provide information about the World Championships and USA FOOTBALL.
History of the World Championships: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFAF_World_Cup
International Federation of American Football: http://www.ifaf.info
American Football World Championships Website: http://www.americanfootball2011.com/en/
USA FOOTBALL: www.usafootball.com
TEAM USA SCHEDULE
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| July 8 | United States vs. Australia | 9:00 a.m. ET |
| July 10 | Germany vs. United States | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| July 12 | United States vs. Mexico | 1:00 p.m. ET |
*Games above will be played in Innsbruck, Austria
2011 IFAF Senior World Championship Medal Round Schedule:
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| July 15 | Bronze Medal Game | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| July 16 | Gold Medal Game | 1:00 p.m. ET |
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