Those interested are now able to play American football for real — well, the flag version, at least.
Four Dunedin students have begun American Football Otago.
Tom Rance, Laurence Arundell, Nash Forrester and George Gray had enjoyed playing the sport at lunchtime while at St Andrew’s College.
That had led them to get involved in the flag football competition in Christchurch.
Having left school in 2018, it had been a few years since the group had played and they decided they would like to get back into it.
"We were studying down here and we thought, that was heaps of fun, we should try to get it started down here," club president Rance said.
They contacted the sport’s national body and were told to start a social media page, and were sent some balls and flags.
Flag football was a better option than the full-contact version for several reasons.
It was more affordable — the protective gear is expensive — and safer.
It was also 5-on-5, rather than 11-on-11, making it more achievable from a numbers perspective.
The response so far had been positive.
The focus was on playing and fun with games being played on Sunday afternoons.
About 30 people had turned out for the second week, a number which Rance hoped to keep growing.
"We’ve had lots of messages from people saying they’re so excited that it’s happening in Dunedin," Rance said.
"The lads that have come are awesome. They share the same interest. They just want to get out and throw the ball around, throw the pigskin around."
Rance hoped to take a team to the national championships later in the year.
There, it would play against other provinces where the sport was already established — most notably Auckland and Hawke’s Bay.
Rance said the sport had grown significantly over the past decade, as had American culture in New Zealand — noting the recent fashion trend towards American vintage clothing.
"I remember when I was in year 9 at school in 2014, I was the only one that really knew about American football.
"Now every sports-oriented bloke I chat to seems to have an opinion, which is great to see. It’s great to see it’s growing and making its way to this part of the world."
While previous attempts to get the sport running in Dunedin have flopped, Rance said it was a case of sticking with it and doing what they could.
"We’ve got to stay committed to it.
"I know once uni picks up and the weather gets worse, it’s hard to stay committed to it.
"We’ve just got to keep showing up, try to encourage anyone to come down to just throw a ball around.
"It’s a great way to meet new people. It’s an awesome way for people who don’t fit into those mainstream sports to get involved and meet a new group of people.
"We’ve just got to publicise that and do what we can and control what we can control."
