This Saturday, the Tauranga City Tridents will host one of the country’s largest single-day flag American football tournaments. Teams from eight other clubs across the upper North Island will join them at Greerton Park for an exciting tournament featuring men’s, women’s, and youth (14-18 years) divisions.
The Tridents will be participating with four teams – two in the open men’s category, and one each in the women’s and youth categories. Flag football, recently approved as an Olympic sport for the 2028 Los Angeles games, is a non-contact version of American Football. It’s a fast-paced game played with five players on each side on a 50-yard field. The sport is gaining popularity in New Zealand and globally.
The Tridents, the first American Football club in the Bay of Plenty in about two decades, held their first Tauranga Invitational Flag Football Tournament in September 2022. The event attracted nine teams from seven different clubs. Due to the sport’s growing local popularity, the club now includes a women’s and youth team. The tournament has moved from their home ground at Waipuna Park to Greerton Park to accommodate the increased number of participating teams.
Tridents President Alex Hatwell said the tournament’s size reflects the sport’s growing popularity in Tauranga. The club’s ability to run competitions for women and youth has opened up the sport to everyone. He also mentioned that their masters team will compete against the younger players in the open men’s division.
Club Head Coach Kevin Palalagi, who has been involved in American Football in New Zealand since the 1990s, is looking forward to showcasing the club’s skill level to a Tauranga audience. He said the competition will serve as a benchmark to measure their standing against other clubs, especially with the NZAFF flag football nationals just a few weeks away.
The tournament will start at 10am on Saturday, March 9, and is expected to end around 5.30pm.
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