The achievement adds to what has become the Bulls most successful year to date:

‘Superbowl Saturday’ Annual Tournament (hosted by Carluke Cobras) – Winners

Kirkcaldy Area Sports Council – Team Winners 2009

Kirkcaldy Area Sports Council – Sports Personality of the Year 2009 – Runner Up

‘Bull Run’ 2-Day Annual Tournament (hosted by Bulls) – Winners

‘Champions Bowl IV’ 3-Day Tournament in Rome – 6th Place Finish

BAFA League – undefeated in league since June 2005

BAFA League – Northern Conference Winners

BAFA League – Qualified for Finals Day for a chance to make it 3 years in a row, with guaranteed top 4 finish in the British League

The Bulls are currently looking for sponsorship and/or donations to assist with attendance to Finals Day, and also for the 2011 season. If you would like to sponsor or provide donation please contact the club by emailing chairman@kirkcaldybulls.com

The ‘Champions Bowl’ is an invite only and brings together the champions of a number of countries to compete for the honour of being crowned Europe’s top Flag team. Champions Bowl IV was held in Rome and temperatures soared to the high 30 degrees making playing conditions extremely uncomfortable.

The Bulls knew that the level of skill would be far better than anything they had ever encountered, and with the smallest competing squad in the tournament the worry was that the Bulls would be continually outclassed by the other teams. Only eight players were attending this event for the Bulls things were not looking good as one player was injured in the run up to the event brining the squad size down to seven.

The schedule for the Bulls was 2 games on Friday, 6 on the Saturday and 2 on the Sunday. The first game ended in defeat 12-36 to the Sharks, the eventual winners of the tournament and the Bulls at no time looked out of their depth. The performance perked up the Bulls and the second game saw the Bulls firing on all cylinders beating the Barbarians 26-7. The day ended with more bad news for the Bulls as star wide receiver Mann had to return home for personal reasons bringing the squad down to 6 players.

The first game on the Saturday ended with a 12-13 loss to Italian side the Cleavers, and once again the Bulls picked themselves up to win the second game 13-6 against another Italian side the Grizzlies.

The heat and small squad size were beginning to take affect by now, and with some of the other squads having up to 17 players the Bulls were unable to contend with competing against fresh players on every drive. This showed in the next 2 games as the Bulls went down fighting 7-28 to the Italian side Marines, and the Danish side ‘Mammoths’.

With the mammoths game played on astro-turf the temperatures increased to over 40 degrees and this took its toll on the Bulls veteran receiver MacKenzie who was forced to miss out on the final 2 games of the day.

With the squad size down to only 5 players, it meant every player playing every drive for the final 2 games on the Saturday schedule, and with the high temperatures it was going to be big ask for the Bulls. Despite the odds being against them though the Bulls pulled off a shock 33-0 win against the German side the Wanderers, however the effort required meant that the Austrian side the Studs cruised past the Bulls 12-38 in the final game.

At the end of Day 2 all teams had played each other once and the final placing would be used for the play-offs on the Sunday. The Bulls finished Day 2 in 6^th place with 3 wins and 5 losses which was better than expected considering the ever decreasing squad size and the temperatures.

Sundays’ first game was against the Barbarians who had acquired some new players and the Bulls were still recovering from Saturday’s exertions. Bulls rallied for this game and came out deserved 39-6 winners. The second game against the Italian side the Cleavers would determine the 5^th and 6^th place final positions. The Bulls were not only having to compete against an excellent side but also against some dubious refereeing. At half-time the Bulls led 13-0 however a combination of exhaustion and some unbelievable refereeing calls meant that the Cleavers were able to claw back the lead and finish 20-19 victors.

Although not a very satisfying finish to the event the Bulls ended in a very respectable 6^th place overall, finishing above some excellent teams.

Head Coach Neil Arnold commented ‘I am extremely proud of the guys that took part in this event. A lot was asked of them. They had to play in extremely hot conditions, play in new positions, and play more games in one day than they have ever had to play in their career. By the end we had the respect of every team by the way we conducted ourselves both on and off the field, and I know that teams were extremely impressed by the fact that we were able to complete the tournament with the low squad numbers we had. I know that if we had some of the key players available, that were unable to attend, we would have been looking at a top 3 finish. This said I am very pleased at the 6^th finish and could not have asked for more from my players.’

The Bulls had an extra bonus at the awards ceremony as Bulls player Tommy McGeorge was awarded the tournaments offensive Most Valuable Player award. Tommy played every play of every drive and notched up 74 receptions for an impressive 16 touchdowns and 5 point after conversions.

Some of the teams confirmed are:

Mammoth and Sharks from Denmark, Studs from Austria, Wanderers from Germany, Barbarians, Marines, Cleavers and Grizzlies from Italy, and the Mexican champions.

This will be a great tournament for Kirkcaldy, and the competition is extremely tough!!

Go Bulls!

With only 5 games left to play in the league the Bulls wanted to ensure no mistakes would cost them the league title, or the chance to reach the British Flag Football Finals. They would start the game with a much depleted squad due to injuries and other commitments. The Tayside Raptors, a new team in the British league, had some experience in their team so nothing could be taken for granted.

The Bulls started with the ball and things did not start well as they were unsuccessful in scoring in their first drive. After stopping the Raptors on their first drive the Bulls offense finally kicked in to gear and it was the danger man Tommy McGeorge that opened the scoring with what was to be his first of 4 reception touchdowns. Local boy Gavin Dickson complemented McGeorge’s 2 touchdowns with 2 of his own, and also added a 2-point Safety with his hard graft on defense. The half ended 30-O to the Bulls.

The Bulls continued where they had left off with Sean McKenzie getting in on the scoring with 2 touchdowns and an extra point conversion. The defense was the story of the day though as the Bulls harried the Raptors on every play to end the day with 6 interceptions. The game ended with an emphatic 69-0 nil to the reigning British Champions.

Head Coach Neil Arnold said of the win ‘It is not very often that you get a shutout in a Flag game but this was our second of the year and really shows the efforts of the defensive squad. On the other side of the ball the offense scored on all but the first drive and again I was really pleased with the team’s performance today’.

The Bulls now have a long break till their next league game in Aberdeen in July, but they will still see action in the way of the most prestigious event in the Flag Football calendar, Champions Bowl IV. This event is basically the champions of each country in Europe and some of Asia playing off to see who is the best team out there and even to get an invite to compete is a great honour. This year the event is being held in Rome, Italy, and the Bulls are looking forward to using this opportunity to learn form the best teams across Europe.

When asked about their chances of success in this event, club chairman Bob Wylie commented ‘Britain as a Flag Football nation is far behind some of the other countries that will be attending this event so we do not expect to win. For us it will good to see how we perform against these better teams and we certainly expect to win a fair few games. It will also be good to expand our networking within the European Flag Football community to boost participation from these teams at our annual Bull Run tournament.

The Bulls are still looking for a sponsor to help them complete their domestic season and would urge anyone interested in sponsoring the Bulls, or making a donation, to get in touch by emailing chairman@kirkcaldybulls.com. More information about the club can be found on the team website www.kirkcaldybulls.com

Venue:

Kirkcaldy High School Community Use

Kirkcaldy High School,

Dunnikier Way,

Kirkcaldy,

KY1 3LR

We hosted the annual 2-day Bull Run at Dunfermline Rugby Football Club.
This was a gruelling 2 days of football and we have received really good
feedback on the venue and the event itself. The bonus of course was that
the Bulls won the event after winning all 8 games over the weekend.
Additionally we were able to count 2 games from this event towards
league results and so finished that weekend 5 wins from 5 league games.
More recently, this weekend saw us play 2 games in Cambuslang against
the Glagow Tigers and Carluke Cobras. We had already beaten the Tigers
this season by a record-breaking 104-0 but I know that they played with
some injuries and an under strength side that day so we had to stay
focused and not make any silly mistakes. We started slow in this game
and picked up the pace throughout and came out with a 53-12 win against
a young talented Tigers side.

Next up was the Carluke Cobras, the big match up for the Scottish league
as we have been the top 2 teams in recent times. Cobras played the best
football I have ever seen them play and the score at half-time was a
very close 26-25 to the Bulls and it was game-on!! We picked up the pace
in the second half though and came out with a good 52-25 win to take us
to 7 wins from 7 games in the league and a big step closer to the Finals
in September.

The Tayside Raptors, the new boys on the block, are up next with the
game played on Sunday 6th June (details of the venue and kick-offs times
will follow when they have been finalised). We got a glimpse of their
side at the Bull Run but there were some Aberdeen Oilcats players to
boost their squad so I am still not sure what to expect when we meet in
our first official league game. What I do know though is that I will
ensure my players are fully prepared for the game, and that they remain
focused for not just this game but for all the remaining fixtures.