The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FLAG football, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, will now receive international acclaim as Grand Bahama hosts the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championships later this year.

The event will be hosted from September 7-12 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.

To that end, the local organising body will begin its preparation for the national team this weekend as the Bahamas looks to field a team including players from all segments of the country.

National Team Administrator, Mel Ferguson, said players will undergo a series of combine tests including the 10-yard shuttle, 20-yard shuttle, three cone drill, the ‘W” drill, 40-yard dash, standing broad jump, vertical jump and finally throwing and receiving skills. Tryouts for team Bahamas will begin today in Exuma, at the L N Coakley High School in Georgetown, from 4pm-6pm.

The New Providence tryouts will take place on Saturday from

11am-1pm at the College of the Bahamas.

The following weekend, tryouts will shift to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, on Friday,May 13, from 4pm-6pm.

The series concludes in Freeport on Saturday, May 14, from 11am-1pm at the GB Sports Complex.

Tryouts are open to the general public with an age minimum of 16 for women and 18 for men.

Registration for each tryout will take place 30 minutes prior to the combine.

The IFAF Flag Football World Championship has been held since 2002 and is the showpiece bi-annual tournament for senior national teams in 5-on-5 flag football and has separate competitions for both the men and the women. 

2016 will mark the 8th World Championship.

With the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism - Sports Tourism serving as the lead sponsor for the world championship, the Bahamas American Football Federation is staging a world class experience for between 17 and 19 IFAF member countries to come to Grand Bahama to compete for the IFAF Flag Football World Cup.

Competing countries include Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, and the USA. 

The two additional countries could be Brazil and Honduras if they win the medal rounds of the Americas qualifying tournament. 

There is a total of 28 teams participating with a contingent of up to 20 persons per team. 

That will mean a total of 560 athletes and coaches competing during the five-day world championship.