Global InformationGridiron NSW information
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| Formerly | NSW Gridiron Football League (NSWGFL) (1984-2007) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Gridiron American Football |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Country | New South Wales Australia |
| Headquarters | Sydney Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | (Division One) Sydney University Lions [1] (Women's) Northern Sydney Rebels[2] (Colts) Sutherland Seahawks[1] |
| Most titles | Sydney University Lions (22 titles) |
| Official website | gridironnsw.org.au |
Gridiron NSW, originally known as NSW Gridiron Football League (NSWGFL) until 2007, is the governing body for American football (otherwise known as 'gridiron') in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Arguably the longest tenured American football league in Australia, Gridiron NSW took over from the Australian American Football Conference (AAFC) after its inaugural 1984 season and ultimately survived a threat from the breakaway NSW Premier State Gridiron League between 1993 and 1996.
The teams from the NSW Premier State Gridiron League returned to the NSW Gridiron Football League prior to the commencement of the 1997 season and since that time, Gridiron NSW has continued to expand as the sport has enjoyed increasing popularity both in New South Wales and Australia generally.
Gridiron NSW currently consists of four divisions: Division 1 (Men 18+ years), Women (18+ years), Colts (16–19 years) and Juniors (8–15 years).[1]
The two top teams in each division (with the exception of the Juniors) participate in the Waratah Bowl (Men), Opal Bowl (Women) and the Kookaburra Bowl (Colts) respectively. These games and also known as the State Finals.
The team with the most Waratah Bowl championships is the Sydney University Lions, who have won 21 in total, including 16 straight championships between 2003 and 2018 inclusive. This streak was broken when the UNSW Raiders were defeated by the Northern Sydney Rebels 38-32 in the 2019 Waratah Bowl.
Each season the best players across the league are selected to represent New South Wales at the Australian Gridiron League National Championships in representative teams known as the NSW Wolfpack (Men), the Coyotes (Women) and the Wolverines (Colts) respectively.
Following the demise of the Newcastle Kings, the Hunter Gridiron League was launched as a separate competition for players in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area of NSW.
- ^ a b Crighton, Daniel (19 December 2016). "Waratah Bowl XXXII Results". Gridiron Downunder. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ Seiler, Melissa (6 December 2016). "UNSW Raiders make Gridiron NSW history after winning Women's Opal Bowl IV to go back-to-back". Southern Courier. Retrieved 1 January 2017.