AMERICAN Football — Newly-Promoted Clyde Comets Kicking Off New Season
INVERCLYDE’S senior American football flag team, Clyde Comets, kick off their first season in the UK’s premier division this weekend.
Founded in 2016, Clyde Comets quickly made a name for themselves, last year finishing second in their division, gaining promotion.
This Sunday will see them host Aberdeen Oilcats, Edinburgh Outlaws, Grangemouth Broncos and Glasgow Hornets at Greenock Wanderers’s Fort Matilda Pitches, kicking off at noon.
Comets general manager Chris Palmer said: “We are hosting the first set of games in the new season and, as a fairly new team, we’re looking to make a big impact on the newly-established premier division.
“We have a talented squad and excellent facilities that we can’t wait to show off. We’ve done everything to get ready for the games, hope everything goes to plan and we continue with the same strength we had in our first season.”
This season the Comets will also face off against fellow British American Football Association National Flag Football League teams Northants Titans, Sheffield Vipers, Leeds Samurai, Manchester Crows, Newcastle Blackhawks and the Sheffield Giants.
Flag Football has a five v five, non-contact format. Each player must wear a belt with two removable flags attached to it. When one of these is removed during play, the player is tackled and the ball is spotted at the point of the tackle. The offence has four plays to make the halfway line, then a further four plays to reach the end-zone.
When the defence stop the opposition from reaching the halfway line or end-zone in four plays the ball is turned over and they begin their offensive drive. If the defence manage to intercept the ball, they can run it back for a touchdown or the ball is spotted where they are tackled after the interception.
Clyde Comets train on Wednesdays at 6.30pm.
Inverclyde Goliaths, the senior kitted team, also train Wednesdays at Fort Matilda, at 7.30pm, and Saturdays at 10am.
Inverclyde Phoenix, the youth flag/kitted team, train on Sundays at 11.30am.
Inverclyde Mighty Ducklings, the toddler and under-12s flag set-up hold sessions for two to 12-year-olds on Sundays, 10.20am at Flex UK Studios on Glenburn Street, Port Glasgow.
