Flagball Kolbudy defeated the Olsztyn Lakers in the final of Sunday’s 1st Junior Polish Flag Football Championship to take the top prize in the four-team tournament held in their hometown in Pomorze. The Krakow Kings finished in third place, while the Sopot Sabercats rounded out the standings.
Although many of the major teams in Poland run flag football programs, cost and distance factors limited the number of competitors in this year’s competition to just four. The event was a spirited one nonetheless, and the young players showed great commitment and boundless energy. Jakub Leszczyński (Flagball Kolbudy) was named the tournament’s best offensive player, while Kamil Zboch (Olsztyn Lakers) was named best defensive player.
“We have come a long way to achieve this success,” said Daniel Piechnik of Flagball Kolbudy. “From touch football training sessions when we had no flags, to the first historic game with today’s runner-up, each player involved has been a part of building a championship. I encourage everyone, from juniors to ‘old boys’ to play flag football because it’s so much fun.”
The Kings were the unluckiest team of the tournament, losing by just a single point to the Lakers and by just two points to Flagball during the group stage to finish with a record of 1-2. Flagball swept their way into the final game with wins over each of the other three teams in the group stage, while the Lakers snuck in with a 7-6 victory over the Kings in the final game of group play. The Sabercats were shut out in their first two encounters, before they finally managed to put up some points against Flagball in their third game. Flagball took the final by a score of 38-14.
Results from the 1st Junior Polish Flag Football Championship:
Krakow Kings 54, Sopot Sabercats 0
Flagball Kolbudy 26, Olsztyn Lakers 20
Olsztyn Lakers 47, Sopot Sabercats 0
Flagball Kolbudy 27, Krakow Kings 25
Flagball Kolbudy 47, Sopot Sabercats 12
Olsztyn Lakers 7, Krakow Kings 6
FINAL:
Flagball Kolbudy 38, Olsztyn Lakers 14
Most of the footage of the games can be found on youtube.com at this address:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_c56RLcJVmlYuEa6kkV4jw?feature=watch