The Tauranga City Tridents play host to one of the largest single-day flag American football tournaments the country has seen this Saturday.

They will welcome teams from eight other clubs around the upper North Island to Greerton Park for an actionpacked tournament, boasting men’s, women’s and youth (14-18 years) divisions.

The Tridents will be fielding four teams – two in the open men’s category, a women’s and youth team.  

Recently approved to be an Olympic sport at the 2028 Los Angeles games, flag football is the non-contact variation of American Football, with five players aside on a 50-yard field. It is fast-paced, offensively geared, and a great spectator sport.

The sport is growing in popularity both in New Zealand and around the world. 

As the first American Football club in the Bay of Plenty in about two decades upon their incorporation in late-2021, the Tridents hosted their inaugural Tauranga Invitational Flag Football Tournament in September 2022, with nine teams from seven different clubs attending.

Due to an increase in popularity in the sport locally, the club now boasts a women’s and youth team, and the tournament has moved from their home ground at Waipuna Park to Greerton Park to host the increased number of teams wanting to participate in the tournament and the number of fields needed to accommodate them. 

“It’s really testament to how popular the sport has become in Tauranga,” says Tridents President Alex Hatwell.

“A few years ago we had a lot of interest in the open mens category, but we’re now in a position to be able to run competition for our women and youth as well which really opens up the sport to everyone.

“We’ve even got our masters team running their ageing legs against the 20-somethings in the open men’s division, so we’re probably going to need to stock up on ice for their ice baths after the tournament.

“The size of this tournament is testament to our club’s drive to increase opportunities for all demographics to play. We’re really proud to be hosting this.”

Club Head Coach Kevin Palalagi, whose involvement in American Football in New Zealand spans back to the 1990s, is excited by the prospect of showing a Tauranga crowd the level of skill which exists within the club.

“We’ve got four really strong teams across the three divisions, and we’re looking forward to showing the Tauranga locals all our hard work we’ve put into building the game over the past few seasons.

“The competition really is the best of the upper North Island clubs, and it’s only a couple of weeks from NZAFF flag football nationals, so we’re going to use this as a measuring stick to gauge where we stand in relation to other clubs.”

“The Tridents have numerous male and female players who are in contention for the New Zealand representative teams, as do many of the other clubs coming along, so the quality is going to be really high. We’re hoping a home crowd might help get us over the line. We’re aiming to take out all three divisions, but it’s going to be fierce competition.”

The tournament kicks off at 10am on Saturday, March 9, with games expected to finish at about 5.30pm.