ChampionsBowl - Here are the teams! (Part 2)

Read on to discover the answers of the remaining teams in ChampionsBowl III....

The Finals will be tracked...

... with a LIVE TICKER!

Styrian Studs

Silkeborg Sharks

Ferrara Banditi

Ferrara Barbarians

City of Wolfsberg

Today in Part 2 the Studs, the Sharks and both italian Teams (Ferrara Banditi and Ferrara Barbarians) are in the spotlight to introduce theirselves....

Once again the questions we raised....
..... and what we got back in return....

Question 1:
"Welcome to Wolfsberg, nice to have you and your team participating in this years Champions-Bowl. Can you please introduce yourself and your team to our readers around the world and give us a little insight on your Team and your teams successes so far?"

Question 2:
"Tell us a little bit about FlagFootball in your country. Structures, Leagues, amount of teams etc etc...."

Question 3:
"Only Top-Teams may participate in this event: How do you rate your teams chances for the tournament and who do you think are to be considered favourites?"

Question 4:
"Some final words to your Fans back at home...?"

STYRIAN STUDS (AT):

Q1:
The Styrian Studs were founded out of a group of American Football fans in 2005. In the first year we only participated in non-league events, but as soon as 2006 we decided to compete in the Austrian Flag Football League. We had a great year and surprised everyone by finishing second. In 2007 we won the national championship and were invited to compete in Champions Bowl I in Ferrara where we finished 8^th. The following year we finished 2^nd in the national championship and 3^rd at Champions Bowl III, followed by a second place in Le Havre (Flag Oceane) in June this year. We are a team without any tackle football experience but we have various guys that have excelled in other sports like basketball, soccer or tennis.

Q2:
Flag Football really took off in Austria during the last few years. It has become much more professional in many ways. At the moment we have two leagues with around 20 total teams. The number of teams has increased over the last few years and we hope that the Champions Bowl raises the awareness level of flag football in Austria even further. It also needs to be mentioned that we have a very professional flag football website (www.FlagFootball.at) that is really unique in that you can find new and interesting articles almost on a daily basis. The introduction of www.FlagFootball.at has not only increased awareness within Austria, but it has improved communication between teams and players and has added a professional quality to our favorite sport – flag football.

Q3:
That is really difficult to say. We finished 3^rd last year and 2^nd at the Flag Oceane in Le Havre this year. Our goal is definitely to win the tournament, but given the competition it is going to be very very tough.

Q4:
First, a special thanks to our sponsors including the main sponsor for this event Kneipp MAZ and the city of Wolfsberg - without them we could not have organized this tournament.  To the fans: Travel to Wolfsberg and cheer for us! 

SILKEBORG SHARKS (DK):

Q1:
We the SSI Sharks are happy once more to have the opportunity to compete at the champions bowl. We are looking forward to arrive and play in Austria. Cadeau to the styrian-studs for hosting the event. We the SSI Sharks come from a town in the middle of Jutland in Denmark. We are a part of a teachers collage and most of us are working or studying within the danish schoolsystem. Our club has existed since fall 2005 and have
competed in the danish league for four years. We achieved the third place in our first two years. Last year we finished as 1.runner up after losing a close final to Avedore Mammoths. Our international experience lies within the two previous Champions bowls. In both we finished on the second place.

Q2:
Flagfootball is a fast growing sport in Denmark although the recent year the growth has slowed down a bit. The danish league has existed since 2003 with avedore Mammoths being the first club. The structure up until 2009 was that the teams were divided into two conferences from wich the best three teams met and played a round rubin. The two best went on to compete in the final called Dannebrog Bowl( named after the danish flag)
This year though has been different. now we have a national league in which the six best teams from each of two former conferences compete. This has been done to increase the competition and therby the level of danish flagfootball. In the divisions under the national it is still divided in to a eastern and a western conference.

Q3:
The championsbowl is a prestigefilled tournament and especially in the first one in Ferrara the flaglevel was very high. It would require our team to play up to its best if we shall finish in the top. But with two second places the last two years our goal is to take the last step towards the top. Unfortunately our squad is not as strong, as it could be. A few players were not able to make the trip and I will only be able to attend as coach due to a recent kneesurgery. How it will effect our chances is hard to say, but I still believe we have a fair chance of obtaining one of the first places.

Q4:
Many thanks to our sponsors, schools and employers for making this trip possible.

FERRARA BANDITI and FERRARA BARBARIANS:

Q1:
My name is Raffaello Pellegrini, I'm the playing-president of the Banditi, the founder of the Barbarians and the Italian national team head coach... I'm also the organizer of the first edition of the champions bowl held in Ferrara in 2006, and I'm so glad that it has become a annual event always played by the best "travelling" teams of Europe, and not only I presume is enough to testify the passion that I have for our sport.

This is my last season as a player/president/coach and I hope that my personal contribution to have flag-football growing all over Europe will show its benefits in future year BANDITI is the "history" of flag-football in Italy (among LIFF founding teams in 1999, 4 national championship in the 10 season played so far) and with a large international experience. BARBARIANS is a brand new team created this year in order to compete in international events with a competitive roster with players coming from different Italian teams which would have no chance to play internationally as their respective teams do not participate to international tournaments.

Q2:
At the senior level LIFF (Italian Flag Football League) we have a 26 teams may to October national league, growing year after year (4 new teams this year)

Q3:
Banditi are going to compete in the CB III mainly to have fun, while I consider the final will be the right place for the Barbarians to be. After seeing the home team Styrian Studs in Le Havre, I consider them favourites with the Mammoths. The Japanese team will be a surprise for sure.

Q4:
After very poor results in the first two editions of the CB, I hope this year in Austria to have the chance show the real value of the Italian flag-football.

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Come back THURSDAY for our tournament preview!