Free NCAFA flag football clinics will be held at Bell High School (cafetorium) on April 28 (1-3 offense intro, 3-5 offense advanced) and May 5 (1-3 defense intro, 3-5 defense advanced). Attend all or any part. Email rodmoors12@gmail.com if you plan on attending.

-James Peter of the Ottawa RedBlacks played for St. Mother Teresa and the Ottawa Gee Gees (All Canadian). 
-James Peter 7s Football (JP7s) is hosting a Flag football camp for boys/girls ages 8-18. 
-Registration is now open! You can access it through this link: https://jp7sfootball.com. (click on campinfo and about for lots more info)
-The first day of the weekend is youth skills camp (ages 8-12) and the second day is a flag football showcase (ages 13-18). 

With the recent announcement that Flag-Football would be a part of the Ontario Summer Games for the first time in history. The Summer Games will be taking place in London, ON from August 1-4, 2024. 

The Summer Games will play host to both a U17 Male Flag Division and a U17 Girls Flag Division (2008, 2009 birth years).

The Summer Games Tour will Kick-Off in the Spring of 2024 with 6 Regional Tournaments. These 6 Regional Tournaments are tentatively scheduled to take place in:

1. Hamilton, ON
2. Waterloo, ON
3. Durham Region, ON
4. Halton Region, ON
5. Ottawa, ON  (April 27)
6. Sudbury, ON

These tournaments will be sanctioned Football Ontario events run by the organization’s members and partners. Each tournament will play host to a U17 Boys and Girls Division. 

Teams will be allowed to register for and participate in as many of these tournaments as they wish, however, registration will be limited to 8 teams per division at each Regional Tournament on the 2024 Summer Games Tour.

The winning U17 Boys and U17 Girls teams from each of these Regional Tournaments will earn their spot in the 2024 Summer Games, with a total of 6 spots available at the Summer Games per Division.

Here is the Football Ontario link for info and registration. 

https://footballontario.net/2024/01/29/football-ontario-announces-2024-summer-games-tour/#:~:text=With%20the%20Recent%20Announcement%20that,and%20athletes%20across%20the%20province.&text=The%20Summer%20Games%20will%20be,August%201%2D4%2C%202024.

The Provincial Club Pathway, will be available to the following age groups:

18 Men’s and Women’s (2006)

U18 Boys and Girls (2007/2008)

U16 Boys and Girls (2009/2010)

U14 Boys and Girls(2011/2012)

This pathway will be available to all Football Ontario member organizations/clubs as well as high-schools who are sanctioned partners through OFSAA.

Football Ontario member leagues/organizations will be able to hold their own sanctioned Regional Tournaments throughout the year that will affect team rankings for Provincials and Nationals.

The Provincial Club National Championship Pathway will begin with the 2024 Football Ontario 5-a-Side Flag Provincial Championships. This Provincial Tournament will be hosted and powered by Under Armour Flag in Georgetown, ON, the weekend of August 11th, 2024.

The top team in each of the 8 Divisions will be granted a spot at the 2024 National Flag Football Club Championships.

The 2024 National Flag Football Club Championships are to be held in the Fall of 2024 in Ontario. A specific location and date will be announced at a later date.

Teams that do not win the Provincial Club Championship can enter the Open National Club Championship will be open registration put on by Football Canada for all member clubs/organizations as well as high-school teams who are sanctioned partners through OFSAA.

This event will coincide with the Provincial Club National Championship in the Fall of 2024. Registration will be limited to the top teams based on how they perform at both regional tournaments and the provincial championship.

Football Canada and Football Ontario will be releasing more information on the National Flag Event Schedule in the coming months.

Flag football is a new game to Ottawa. Every player, coach and referee is getting used to this game. We have many experienced refs and a bunch of new younger refs. We have worked hard in training these new refs but this is not a 2 week process. From my experience as a coach, Bell Warrior administrator and director of the NCAFA Flag Football league I can state with great confidence that the referees know the rules better than most coaches, players and parents in terms of being able to call a game. They are by no means perfect. They are learning and growing each week with more flag football refereeing experience. Another factor is that we only have 1 ref per field. This makes for a very challenging referee situation. I hope to have more 2 referee games. With the energy ramping up each week I would like to set some guidelines for referee interactions over the next few weeks. 

1. Talk respectfully to the referee. 

2. Choose an appropriate time to talk to the referee.

3. Respect the referee's decision. 

If players and coaches do not follow the above guidelines I have instructed the referees to issue warnings, penalties and / or ejections at their discretion depending on the incident.  

Please talk to your son or daughter about respectful interactions between players and referees. 

Please remember that parent behaviour can also influence the behaviour of the players. It is instinctive to react to referee calls that you don't agree with especially as the intensity of competition increases. However intense and prolonged outbursts are hurtful and intimidating to our referees and affect the enjoyment of the game for everyone. Refereeing is a very difficult job and we need to promote the work they do, not tear them down. 

Respectfully 

Rodney Moors

NCAFA VP (Flag Football)