Farnham Knights

Farnham Knights
Founded	1985
League	BAFA National Leagues
Division	Premier Division South
Location	Farnham, Surrey
Stadium	Wilkinson Way, Farnham RUFC
Colours	Red Helmets; Sky Blue and Red Jerseys; White Pants
Head coach	Peter Fields

Last updated March 31, 2019

The Farnham Knights American Football Club (formerly Southern Seminoles, Personal Assurance Knights/PA Knights) are a British American Football club based in Farnham, Surrey. The Club has three teams; the Farnham Knights (20+), the Farnham Knights U19 (16 - 19) and the Farnham Knights U17 (14 - 17). The Farnham Knights play in the Premiership South of the British American Football Association National Leagues and were the Britbowl champions in 2004.

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Surrey is a subdivision of the English region of South East England in the United Kingdom. A historic and ceremonial county, Surrey is also one of the home counties. The county borders Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west, Berkshire to the northwest, and Greater London to the northeast.

The British American Football Association (BAFA) is the national governing body for the sport of American football in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated to the European Federation of American Football (EFAF). In 2010, they formed the BAFA Community Leagues as the country's primary competition for both contact and flag football.

Dwain Anthony Chambers is a retired British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European level and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres, with a best of 9.97 secs, which ranks him fifth on the British all-time list. He is the European record holder for the 60 metres and 4×100 metres relay events with 6.42 seconds and 37.73 s respectively.

Origins

Cheerleader's jacket 2015

The Farnham Knights were founded in 1984, under Head Coach Marc Salazar, who was an American service member, serving in the United States Air Force. The team played their first game in 1985 as the Farnham Knights. The franchise joined the Budweiser league in 1986 and went on to win their first league title finishing their first regular season undefeated.

During 1994 the Farnham Knights merged with the Hampshire Cavaliers and were renamed the Southern Seminoles. Personal Assurance stepped in during 1997 to sponsor the side which led to the return of the Knights moniker, the Personal Assurance Knights. In 2007, MH Football Shop took over the main sponsorship of the club, to rename them the Farnham MH Knights.

In 2008, a new main sponsor, Fast Lane, stepped in with a two-year deal. The team were then known as the Farnham Fast Lane Knights.

League Placing and Catchment

As the only club in the Blackwater Valley Farnham Knights has drawn players from across Surrey and Hampshire, within 20 miles (32 km) are Woking, Guildford, Farnborough, Aldershot, Bracknell and Basingstoke. The club is the only one in the county of Surrey.

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England. The county town is the city of Winchester. Its two largest cities, Southampton and Portsmouth, are administered separately as unitary authorities; the rest of the county is governed by Hampshire County Council.

Woking is a large town in northwest Surrey, England. It is at the southwestern edge of the Greater London Urban Area and is a part of the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of approximately 24 minutes to Waterloo station. Woking is 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Charing Cross in central London. Woking town itself, excluding its narrowly contiguous Built-up Area which extends from West End to West Byfleet, has a population of 62,796, and the UK Government has recorded its Built Up Area as 5% more populous than its Borough with 105,367 residents in 2011, the highest in the county.

Guildford is a large town in Surrey, England, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of London on the A3 trunk road midway between the capital and Portsmouth.

All games are played at Farnham Rugby Club from 2013, the first season in the club's history that it has been based in the town of Farnham itself after only playing 1 game at Farnham Rugby Club's old ground in Wrecclesham.^[2]

Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is 34.5 miles (55.5 km) southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. By road, Guildford is 11 miles (17 km) to the east and Winchester a further 28 miles (45 km) along the same axis as London. Farnham is the second largest town in Waverley, and one of the five largest conurbations in Surrey. It is of historic interest, with many old buildings, including a number of Georgian houses. Farnham Castle overlooks the town. A short distance southeast of the town centre are the ruins of Waverley Abbey, Moor Park House and Mother Ludlam's Cave. Farnham is twinned with Andernach in Germany. It is drained by the River Wey which is navigable only to canoes at this point.

Wrecclesham is a village on the southern outskirts of the large town of Farnham in Surrey, England. Its local government district is the Borough of Waverley.

Honours

Budweiser League Div 1 Southern League Champions 1986
BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1987
BNGL National Bowl Runners-Up 1992
National Passball Champions 1993
BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1994
BYAFA Youth National Runner-up 1994 (1)
BYAFA Youth National Champions 1996 (1)
BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1997
BYAFA Youth National Runner-up 1998 (1)
BSL Div 2 National Champions 2000
BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 2000
BSL Div 1 National Championship Runners-Up 2002
EFAF Cup Runners Up 2004^[3]
BSL Div 1 Southern Conference Champions 2004
BAFL National Championship Winners 2004
BAFL Div 1 Southern Conference Champions 2005^[4]
BAFL Div 1 National Championship Runners up 2005
BAFL Div 1 National Championship Winners 2007
BAFL Youth National Championship Runners up 2007 (1)
BAFL Youth National Championship Winners 2009 (1)
BAFANL Youth South West Conference Champions 2013
BAFANL Juniors Southern Conference Champions 2014
BAFANL Juniors National Championship Runners up 2014
BAFANL Southern Football Conference (Division 1) Champions 2015
BAFANL Oak Bowl SFC Division 1 Play Off Final - Winners 2015

(1) Prior to 2011, the term "Youth" was for 16- to 19-year-olds. Since 2011, Youth is for 14- to 17-year-olds and Juniors is for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Coaching Records

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References

↑ "Sprinter Dwain Chambers plays for British Champion". European Football League.
↑ farnhamknights.com Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine .
↑ European Federation of American Football
↑ British American Football League

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[1] "Sprinter Dwain Chambers plays for British Champion". European Football League.

[2] rnhamknights.com Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine .

[3] European Federation of American Football

[4] British American Football League