BAFL Flag
In April 2008 a new British flag league kicked off and the Chichester Sharks were proud to be part of this history. For the first time, flag football was part of the official British American Football Association and being played across borders in England and Scotland.
In our first year in the league, the Chichester Sharks played outstanding football – racking up the highest number of points (425) in the English Conference, as well as fielding one of the stingiest defences (202 pts).
We finished with a record of 11-3, falling just short of the play-offs following 2 painful losses on the last day of the season. The day was filled with controversy as conference-leading Mildenhall Mayhem were unable to complete their fixtures, forfeiting 2 valuable victories to each of the 3rd and 4th placed teams, Leicester and Coventry. Coupled with the two losses, the Sharks were bumped down into 3rd place in the English Conference.
The first British Champions were the Kirkcaldy Bulls, who beat the Carluke Cobras 48-13 in the final. The Bulls history victory came on the heels of an unbeaten 16-0 season.
The final 2008 standings:
2008 Final Standings - English Conference
| Team | P | W | L | T | F | A | +/- | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester Eagles | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 381 | 199 | +182 | 0.857 |
| Coventry Jets | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 374 | 231 | +143 | 0.857 |
| Chichester Sharks | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 425 | 202 | +223 | 0.786 |
| Mildenhall Mayhem | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 160 | 52 | +108 | 0.571 |
| Kent Exiles | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 209 | 298 | -89 | 0.286 |
| St. Albans Kings | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 86 | 606 | -520 | 0.286 |
| West Kent Wingdings | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 58 | 164 | -106 | 0.214 |
| North Devon Dogs | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 141 | 81 | +60 | 0.143 |
2008 Final Standings - Scottish Conference
| Team | W | L | T | F | A | +/- | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkcaldy Bulls | 16 | 0 | 0 | 722 | 249 | +473 | 1.000 |
| Carluke Cobras | 14 | 2 | 0 | 442 | 300 | +142 | 0.875 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 9 | 4 | 0 | 255 | 240 | +15 | 0.692 |
| Aberdeen Oilcats | 8 | 7 | 0 | 343 | 412 | -69 | 0.533 |
| Grangemouth Broncos | 7 | 7 | 0 | 334 | 344 | -10 | 0.500 |
| Lanarkshire Steelers | 8 | 10 | 0 | 266 | 458 | -192 | 0.444 |
| East Kilbride Pirates | 6 | 8 | 0 | 207 | 312 | -105 | 0.429 |
| Glasgow Hornets | 5 | 11 | 0 | 273 | 501 | -228 | 0.313 |
| West Coast Trojans | 3 | 15 | 0 | 76 | 110 | -34 | 0.167 |
| Dundee Storm | 3 | 15 | 0 | 130 | 122 | +8 | 0.167 |
The results from 2008:
And now onwards to 2009 and unfinished business…
English Senior Flag League (ESFL)
The Chichester Sharks competed in the English Senior Flag League (known as the British Senior Flag League for the first 2 years) for 6 seasons, starting in 2002 and ending in 2007. During that time, the Sharks won more games than any other team, winning 69 of 119 (62%).
The Sharks only had one losing season during that period, finishing 2-5 in their inaugural season in 2002. Three members of the current squad, Pete Steel, Neil Henderson and Gary Robinson, remain the only Sharks to experience a losing season (but don’t worry, they’ve won 2 national championships since).
Following that first year, the Sharks went on a roll of 5 consecutive winning seasons, finishing no lower than 3rd place in the league. In a remarkable turnaround from their first season, the Chichester Sharks bit back in 2003, winning nearly 80% of their games on their way to becoming League Champions.
That season set the tone for subsequent campaigns. With winning records each year, the Sharks fighting spirit put them in yearly contention for the league title.
Our success on the field, plus our local recruitment campaigns, enabled us to enter a 2nd team in competition in 2005 through 2007. Starting as the Thespians, before becoming the Makos for 2007, the 2nd team enabled our growing squad to develop and gain valuable playing experience.
Chichester’s 2nd national title came in dramatic style at the end of the 2007 season. With the league adopting a Final Four system playoff for the top teams, the Sharks came back from 2 scores down in both the semi-final (vs Leicester) and final (vs Voodoo) to clinch an emotional victory.
A fitting end to our time in the ESFL.
All-time Game Results
Below are the results of every competitive league match the Sharks played in the throughout our 6 years in the ESFL.
And the all-time results of every Makos (2007) and Thespians (2005/6) league match played:
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