Contact: Andrew Fink-NFL
(212-450-2079)
LOCAL BOYS AND GIRLS, AGES 10-14, TO COMPETE IN FIRST-EVER NFL FLAG
FOOTBALL REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28,
IN FARMINGDALE, NY AT 10:00 AM; FIVE-ON-FIVE TOURNEY FEATURES 50 TEAMS TRYING TO QUALIFY
FOR THREE SPOTS IN NATIONAL FINALS
18-Wheel ESPN The Truck Will Also Be on Site; Big Rig Provides Fans A
Hands-On And Free Interactive Experience Of Nation’s Popular Cable Network
New York , NY -- Young football fans will be running and passing the football like their favorite NFL stars Saturday, October 28, at 10:00 AM in the NFL Flag Regional Championships in Farmingdale, NY. In addition, ESPN The Truck, an 18-wheel, 53-foot interactive experience of the nation’s most-popular cable sports network, will also be on site and is free to all fans.
NFL Flag, presented by Nike, is the league’s non-contact, five-on-five flag football game for kids. It is supported in local communities by all NFL clubs, including the New York Jets and New York Giants.
Six regional championships will be held throughout the country this fall, including Saturday’s in Farmingdale (SUNY Farmingdale, Nold Hall, Route 110, off Melville Road). More then 50 teams (300 boys and girls) from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Albany, NY will be on site to compete.
"With the help of our 32 clubs, including the NY Jets and NY Giants, our developmental programs reach hundreds of thousands of boys, girls and their parents," said Scott Lancaster, NFL Senior Director of Youth Programs. "Through an innovative approach, kids are provided an experience emphasizing that no one watches from the sidelines and everyone competes equally and more often than in any other traditional youth program available today."
Winning teams in three age groups from each of six regional tournament will advance to the national finals, which will be held on November 18 at the Disney Sports Complex in Orlando, FL and broadcast on ESPN later this year. Boys and girls will attempt to qualify in the following divisions: Co-ed, 10-11; Boys, 12-14; Girls, 12-14. Teams are made up of six members, and each regional tournament is double elimination, with games lasting 20 minutes.
All participants in the NFL Flag Regional Tournaments will receive an NFL Flag t-shirt. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Boomer Esiason Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis.
No blocking or tackling is allowed in NFL Flag, and a ball carrier is downed when his or her flag belt is removed from the waist. For more information on NFL Flag, check out the kids section of "nfl.com" or log on to "playfootball.com".
ESPN The Truck, an 18-wheel, 53-foot long interactive sports experience, will also be on site. Young sports fans and sports fans of all ages are invited to visit ESPN The Truck for free. ESPN The Truck, which is sponsored by NFL Youth Programs, debuted last week at the Detroit Lions-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. It will be on the road at sporting and special events through next summer.
ESPN The Truck is crossing the country, spreading the sportsmanship message and offering fans a chance to enjoy a three-dimensional, fully interactive, hands-on, behind-the-scenes experience with ESPN. Among its numerous exhibits are:
In addition to enjoying ESPN’s big rig, every visitor, parents and kids alike, will be given a card with the Seven Guiding Principles for the NFL’s Youth Programs that have become their philosophical cornerstone. Kids, both girls and boys, will also be able to sign up for local flag football programs.
WHO: 300 Boys and Girls, Ages 10-14 and ESPN The Truck
WHAT: NFL Flag Regional Championships
WHERE: SUNY Farmingdale, Nold Hall, Melville Rd. off Route 110
WHEN: Saturday, October 28, 10:00 AM