Four champions crowned at 2012 Flag Football National Championships

Four champions were crowned on Monday afternoon at the 2012 Flag Football National Championships hosted by the Ontario Football Alliance (OFA) in conjunction with the Burlington Minor Football Association at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario.

After two days of round robin play amongst provincial champions, the top four teams in each division squared off on Monday morning for a chance to move on to the afternoon’s gold medal finals.

Defending under-18 women’s champion, Quebec edged Nova Scotia 7-0 in their morning’s semi-final tilt while Saskatchewan defeated eventual bronze medalist Ontario, 19-6 to earn a spot in the finals. Quebec successfully defended their crown shutting out Saskatchewan 44-0 to remain undefeated during the three day tournament.

On the men’s side of the U18 draw, Manitoba also remained undefeated with a 35-12 semi-final win over Saskatchewan and a 35-0 shutout against host, Ontario in the finals. Second ranked Nova Scotia overcame a 19-6 semi-final loss to capture bronze against Saskatchewan, 25-6.

In the under-16 girls division, Nova Scotia defeated top seeded PEI 7-0 to advance to the finals where they met second seeded Saskatchewan who knocked off defending champion Quebec 32-20 in their semi-final matchup. Saskatchewan went on to earn gold with a single point 25-24 victory over Nova Scotia while Quebec bounced back from their semi-finals loss to capture bronze.

Finally in the under-16 boys division, Quebec was the third national champion to remain perfect after following up a 35-6 semi-final victory against Ontario with a hard fought 39-34 finals win against Manitoba. Ontario captured bronze on home soil with a 38-27 win against Saskatchewan.

Webcasts of all four gold medal finals are achieved for viewing here, www.ssncanada.ca/media/2012_flagfootball.html

Time (ET)/ Temps (HE)	Field 1/ Terrain 1		Field 2/ Terrain 2		Field 3/ Terrain 3		Field 4/ Terrain 4
	U16 – M		U16 – F		U18 – M		U18 – F
	Home / Domicile	Away / Visiteur	Home / Domicile	Away / Visiteur	Home / Domicile	Away / Visiteur	Home / Domicile	Away / Visiteur
9 am/ 9h	(5)NS/ N.-É.-0	(6)PEI / Î.-P.-É.-42	(5)MB-7	(6)ON-12	(1)MB-35	(4)SK-12	(1)QC-7	(4)NS / N.-É.-0
10 am/ 10h	(1)QC-35	(4)ON-6	(1)PEI/ Î.-P.-É.-0	(4) NS/  N.-É.- 7	(2) NS/ N.-É.-6	(3)ON-19	(2)SK-19	(3)ON-6
11 am/ 11 h	(2)MB-32	(3)SK-6	(2)SK-32	(3)QC-20
1 pm/ 13h					Bronze		Bronze
					SK-6	NS / N.-É.-25	NS-0	ON-20
2 pm/ 14h					Gold/ Or		Gold/ Or
					MB-35	ON-0	QC-44	SK-0
3 pm/ 15h	Bronze		Bronze
	ON-38	SK-27	PEI/ Î.-P.-É.-6	QC-12
4 pm/ 16h	Gold/ Or		Gold/ Or
	QC-39	MB-34	NS/ N.-É.-24	SK-25

Flag football is a 5-on-5 non-contact brand of football which requires cloth flags to be worn at player’s sides. Offensive players are down at the point in which one flag is lifted from their side by a defensive counterpart. The game is played on a 70 by 25 (U18) or 60 by 25 (U16) yard playing surface which includes 10 yard end zones. The offense begins at their own 5 yard line and has 3 downs to reach midfield and another three to score a touchdown. The offense cannot run the ball within 5 yards of the end zone and no kicking or punting is required as extra points are contested through the air.

Established in 1884, Football Canada is the national governing body of amateur football in Canada and a proud member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Working closely with the provincial football associations, we develop programs and resources for players, coaches, officials in the three disciplines of Tackle, Flag and Touch Football. Football Canada’s vision statement is “from playground to stadium” where players can participate in the game of football throughout a lifetime recreationally, competitively and internationally.