Wednesday 27 April 2016

Welcome to Oxford Saints Women

Article by Oxford Saints


Over the past few weeks the Saints have been working closely to establish a new opportunity to expand American Football in Oxfordshire.


Following huge support and enthusiasm from the Witney Angels rugby club, we are now thrilled to offer training sessions for women who wish to give this exciting and growing sport a try.

First Training Session

On Tuesday evening 10th May, we’ll be hosting the very first Oxford Saints Women’s session. This will focus on introducing players to the club and we’ll be teaching the basics of the game from throwing, catching, footwork and other foundation skills.

The women’s team will sit within the already well established Oxford Saints infrastructure and will be fully supported by the club in terms of logistics, marketing and staff resources.

Chairman Andrew Peart: “The Saints are delighted to support our new women’s team. We’ve seen phenomenal levels of enthusiasm from potential players. We’re fully committed to doing everything we can to ensure this enthusiasm transfers into team success."

The Saints will be creating opportunities for the women’s team to compete in both flag and contact competitions.

The inaugural session for Oxford Saints Women will be held at the club’s new home venue, under the floodlights at Tilsley Park.

Witney Angels

One of the driving members behind the new initiative is Joséphine Ellen, captain for the Witney Angels. Joséphine reached out to the Saints and told the club how much she and her fellow team mates want the opportunity to play American Football.

The Saints set plans in motion quickly and invited representatives from the Witney Angels to meet with Saints staff and observe the senior team in training. Less than a week later, the first session had been planned and booked.

To further demonstrate their willingness to get started, Joséphine and Co bought themselves some footballs and held their own training session, sending a photo to the Saints to show how keen they are to launch official sessions.

Joséphine Ellen: “I got in touch with the Oxford Saints after realising that, like me, most of my rugby team have always dreamt about playing American Football. We’ve never felt so welcome. Not only am I looking forward to learning the game, I can’t wait to see the first women’s squad run out onto the pitch in their new Saints jerseys!”


Input From BAFA – British American Football Association

Following very productive conversations with Jim Messenger, BAFA Head of Womens Football Development, progress is well underway to grow the team with a ‘Foundation Day’ being planned for 2016 also.

This will see experienced coaches and hopefully players for the GB Lions program coming down to Oxford to put on a great session for women looking to get started with American Football.

Jim Messenger - BAFA Head of Women Development: “Women’s American football is rapidly spreading to nations around the World. The growth of teams and number of players in Britain has been phenomenal and from almost nothing three years ago we have now overtaken other nations to be ranked No2 in Europe.

From Scotland to the South coast new women’s teams are popping-up and we are very excited to see the launch of a team for Oxfordshire.

The Oxford Saints has a proud tradition and a great reputation within British American football, I am sure the Saints’ women’s team will be a great success.”

Coaching Vacancies

With some of the coaching staff already appointed from members of the senior team, the Oxford Saints are now looking for a passionate individual to take on the role of Head Coach.

Ideal candidates will have experience coaching American Football in the UK and should have the appropriate BAFCA qualifications. Previous involvement with a women’s team would be a bonus.

The successful candidate will have the support of the Oxford Saints committee and several assistant coaches to work alongside. There will also be opportunities for the new head coach to expand the coaching line-up further if desired.

The Saints will also be looking to arrange for a BAFCA Level 1 course to be staged in Oxford, which will help build the community of qualified coaches across Oxfordshire.

If you are interested in coaching please email coaching@oxfordsaints.com

Getting Started

Are you looking to get involved with the Oxford Saints Women’s team? We’ll be looking to offer non-contact flag football (ages 16+) and contact football (ages 17+).

Contacting the Saints

If you have any questions or would like to know more you can send us a message, email us at women@oxfordsaints.com or contact us through our official Facebook page www.facebook.com/oxfordsaints


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