Baltimore Washington Eagles

Last updated
Baltimore Washington Eagles
Baltimore Washington Eagles logo.png
Names
Full nameBaltimore Washington Eagles Australian Rules Football Club
Nickname(s)Eagles
Club details
Founded1998
Colours  Blue  Gold
Competition USAFL
PresidentSeth Sternberg
Other information
Official website eaglesfooty.com

The Baltimore Washington Eagles was a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) team, based in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. It was founded in 1998, and includes men's and women's teams that compete at a national level. Several of its players have participated in the USA national team in numerous AFL International Cups, which are held every three years in Melbourne, Australia. The club has won two Division II Championships (1999, 2006), were runners-up in the Division I Championship in 2008, and won the 2017 Arctic Cup in Iceland. [1] The Baltimore Washington Eagles also are affiliated with a kids footy program in the D.C. and Baltimore areas, as well as the AFL-light, tackle-free variation of the sport known as Ausball. The Eagles are affiliated with the West Coast Eagles, being one of only two USAFL teams to share the AFL club's name and wear its colors. At the end of the 2017 season, the Baltimore Washington Eagles voted to expand into two clubs, the DC Eagles and the Baltimore Dockers.

Contents

History

1998–2006

Australian Rules football started in the DMV area as a competition among Australian expats between the Australian Embassy, D.C. and Baltimore, before developing into a joint team that entered the USAFL in 1998. The Eagles were one of the founding clubs of the USAFL, experiencing immediate success with victory in the Division II Championship in 1999. The early 2000s, however, saw a club that largely receded from the upper echelons of the competition, becoming more of a social network for newcomers to the Beltway, rather than a serious outfit on the ground. [2]

2006–2011

That shifted in 2006 when the club returned to the winners list, taking out the Division II Championship in Las Vegas. The club remained one of the strongest sides in the league for several seasons thereafter, with the club competing in Division I from 2007 to 2011, and losing the Division I Championship in 2008 to an all-star Canadian team. The Eagles were, however, the best American team in that year.

2011–2017

From 2011 to 2015, the team fell into decline, dropping to the lowest division, Division IV, in 2015. However, the club experienced a revival in 2016 largely due to the dedication of two new coaches from Australia, former Collingwood player Dannie Seow and former Gold Coast Suns development assistant Dean Vigus. Their arrival had an immediate impact on-field, with the Eagles jumping from Division IV in 2015 to Division II in 2016. [3] The club underwent a major recruitment drive to strengthen the team, and promote the club and game within the DMV community. Due to efforts on and off the fields between the 2017 board and coaching staff, the Baltimore Washington Eagles gained the membership levels to split into two independent clubs, the Baltimore Dockers and the DC Eagles. The playing side voted at the end of the 2017 season, where they sent Men's Div I, Men's Div II, and Women's Div II teams to USAFL Nationals.

Men's team

Players from D.C., Northern Virginia and Baltimore form the men's playing group. -Five times a year the Baltimore Dockers and D.C. Eagles play in a series called the Battle of the Beltway. The remainder of the season is played in the USAFL; most often, but not exclusively, against teams in the eastern region – the New York Magpies, Boston Demons, North Carolina Tigers and Philadelphia Hawks.

Women's team

The Lady Eagles have formed an integral part of the club since its inception. The club does not have a women's team outright, but its Lady Eagles do compete as part of other teams, and women have served in major leadership roles within the club. It remains a high priority for the club to develop women's footy in the D.C. and Baltimore areas.

Kids tooty

The Eagles run a kids footy program called Saturday Morning Footy, which is conducted on Saturday mornings throughout the Spring and Summer. The aim of the program is to introduce Australian football to younger generations, and promote sport, fitness and a healthy lifestyle among kids.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Australian Football League</span> Governing body for Australian rules football in the United States

The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

The United States national Australian rules football team, nicknamed the Revolution, represents the United States of America in the sport of Australian rules football. The Revolution are named after the American Revolution and wear the colors of the American flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Australian rules football</span> Female-only form of Australian rules football

Women's Australian rules football, is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game.

The Eastern Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Eastern United States of America and a division of the United States Australian Football League.

The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL South Africa</span>

AFL South Africa is the governing body and federation for Australian rules football in South Africa. Its name is due to its formal affiliation in 2004 to the AFL Commission the game's world governing body.

The 49th Parallel Cup is an annual representative Australian rules football match between the United States and Canada first contested in 1999. Since 2007 the women's teams have also contested the cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zillmere Eagles Australian Football Club</span>

Zillmere Eagles Australian Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the suburb of Zillmere in the northern suburbs of Brisbane.<vr />The team plays in the QAFA Division 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in Europe</span>

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Washington, D.C.</span>

Washington, D.C., has major league sports teams, popular college sports teams, and a variety of other team and individual sports. The Washington metropolitan area is also home to several major sports venues including Capital One Arena, RFK Stadium, FedExField, Audi Field, and Nationals Park.

Australian Rules Football was played by three clubs in Iceland, with the Andspyrnusamband Íslands being the main league and controlling body for the sport. The IceAFL was founded in 2009, and regular competition commenced in 2010. The league was the world's most northerly Australian Rules Football league. Since the inaugural Arctic Cup competition Australian Rules Football hasn't been played in Iceland.

AFL Quebec is a 9-a-side Australian football competition formerly known as the Eastern Canadian Australian Football League or ECAFL. The league has both a men's and women's division and consists of teams from Montréal and its surrounding areas. Players from the current regular season teams are eligible to play representative 18-a-side football for the men's team the Québec Saints or the women's team the Montréal Angels. The Saints and Angels participate in the United States AFL National Championships Tournament, the Saints having previously participated in the AFL Ontario Division 2 competition from 2008 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Hawks</span> Australian rules football team

The Arizona Hawks is a United States Australian Football League team, based in Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1998 by Jess Keller and then fully functional by Andrew Ashworth in 1999, becoming the first Australian rules football club in Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Bulldogs</span> Australian rules football team

The Denver Bulldogs are a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1997, the club is currently composed of a Division 1 men's team, a Division 1 women's team, and a Reserves men's team. The Denver Bulldogs are the most successful club in the 22-year history of the USAFL, having won eight men's national championships and six consecutive women's national championships. The Denver Bulldogs are devoted to promoting the international sport of Australian Rules Football in Colorado, the United States, and abroad at all levels of competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Freeze</span> Australian rules football team

The Minnesota Freeze is a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Hawks</span>

The Philadelphia Hawks are an Australian rules football club representing the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus Cats</span> Australian Football Team

The Columbus Cats AFC are an Australian Rules football team based in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The team is a part of the wider Columbus ARFC Inc. organization which is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization. The Cats compete in the United States Australian Football League and were Division Two national champions in 2013 and Division Three runner-up in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL England</span>

AFL England is the governing body for Australian Rules Football in England. It was formed in 2012 to succeed AFL Britain with the aim to be more effective in governing the game in England, as both Scotland and Wales had developed their own autonomous bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellie Gibson</span> Australian rules footballer

Kellie-Maree Gibson is an Australian rules footballer playing for West Coast in the AFL Women's competition. She was one of Adelaide's two marquee players in the inaugural AFL Women's season and has also played for Fremantle. A multi-sport athlete, Gibson began her athletic career as a sprinter, and won a gold medal in rugby sevens at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

Hugh Dixon is an Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Fremantle Football Club.

References

  1. ↑ "Aussie Rules lovers set to converge on Iceland for first Arctic Cup". ABC News. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Carpenter, Les (8 October 2009). "Baltimore Washington Eagles Australian Rules Football Club Is Now More About Winning Than Drinking" . Retrieved 16 May 2018– via www.washingtonpost.com.
  3. ↑ "Footy Goes from Down Under to the District". dcist.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.