Sapphire Series 2018-19

The Sapphire Series represents the National Championship for women’s contact football in the UK and there have been some serious changes over the offseason!

In the UK, the women’s game is one of the fastest growing facets of American Football and this rapid growth and development has necessitated another restructuring of the Sapphire Series.

The major change for the Series this year is the removal of five-a-side teams. The long-term aim for BAFA for women’s contact football is to ultimately reach the full 11v11 version of the game in the competitive leagues. Whilst this is still a long way off, the movement from 5v5 to a complete 7v7 league for this year is a big step in that direction.

The only 5v5 teams competing last year were in Division 2B. The teams from this Division stepping up this year to play 7v7 include the Oxford Saints and Kent Exiles. Unfortunately, the Peterborough Royals and Staffordshire Saxons were unable to put teams forward this year as they focus on recruitment to re-enter the leagues next season.

To accommodate this overhaul of the league, there has been a bit of a reshuffle of alignments including some teams being promoted for the upcoming season! The top two teams from Division 2A last season, the Portsmouth Dreadnoughts and the Sandwell Steelers have been promoted to Division One.

Meanwhile, in Division Two previous Five-a-side teams have been joined by new outfits the Cheshire Bears and the Birmingham Lions B.

Notably, the timings for the Sapphire Series have also changed with games starting in December, as opposed to February. The format this year will follow teams taking part in four tournaments and eight regular season games. The top two teams from each conference will then compete in a National Finals Tournament.

We are really excited at DC for the Sapphire Series to get underway. Best of luck to all the teams getting involved, especially those five-a-side teams expanding to the seven-a-side format, and to the new teams entering the league!

Standings

Division One North

TeamWLTPForPAgtPDiffLeague Pts
Leeds Carnegie Chargers (C)7104393539022
Edinburgh Wolves (P)71030610220422
East Kilbride Pirates24060265-20510
Manchester Titans16056314-25810
Derby Braves (R)13043174-1318

Division One South

TeamWLTPForPAgtPDiffLeague Points
Birmingham Lions (C)7103658128422
London Warriors (P)62025014410620
Hertfordshire Tornadoes350116197-8114
Sandwell Steelers17040293-25310
Portsmouth Dreadnoughts (R)020662-562

Division Two North

TeamWLTPForPAgtPDiffLeague Pts
Cheshire Bears4201241071714
Teesside Steelers3301461044212
Birmingham Lions B240101160-5910

Division Two South

TeamWLTPForPAgtPDiffLeague Pts
Wembley Stallions (+) (C)8002331222124
Kent Exiles (P)440131177-4616
Oxford Saints24071144-7310
Cardiff Valkyries (-)06060162-1025

 

Fixtures and Results
DateGame DayConferenceVenueTeamScoreTeam
Dec 1 20181D1 NorthEast KilbrideEast Kilbride Pirates12-61Edinburgh Wolves
Dec 1 20181D1 NorthEast KilbrideLeeds Chargers87-0Manchester Titans
Dec 1 20181D1 NorthEast KilbrideEdinburgh Wolves36-0Manchester Titans
Dec 1 20181D1 NorthEast KilbrideEast Kilbride Pirates0-57Leeds Chargers
Dec 1 20181D1 SouthLondonHertfordshire Tornadoes0-39London Warriors
Dec 1 20181D1 SouthLondonSandwell Steelers23-6Portsmouth Dreadnoughts
Dec 1 20181D1 SouthLondonLondon Warriors34-0Sandwell Steelers
Dec 1 20181D1 SouthLondonHertfordshire Tornadoes39-0Portsmouth Dreadnoughts
Dec 1 20181D2 SouthWembleyOxford Saints32-0Kent Exiles
Dec 1 20181D2 SouthWembleyCardiff Valkyries6-30Wembley Stallions
Dec 1 20181D2 SouthWembleyOxford Saints0-34Wembley Stallions
Dec 1 20181D2 SouthWembleyCardiff Valkyries18-25Kent Exiles
Dec 15 20182D1 NorthDerbyDerby Braves6-22Edinburgh Wolves
Dec 15 20182D1 NorthDerbyEdinburgh Wolves53-0Manchester Titans
Dec 15 20182D1 NorthDerbyDerby Braves8-6Manchester Titans
Dec 15 20182D1 SouthHertfordshireHertfordshire Tornadoes0-48Birmingham Lions
Dec 15 20182D1 SouthHertfordshireBirmingham Lions31-35London Warriors
Dec 15 20182D1 SouthHertfordshireHertfordshire Tornados14-18London Warriors
Dec 15 20182D2 NorthTeessideTeesside Steelers22-32Birmingham Lions B
Dec 15 20182D2 NorthTeessideCheshire Bears12-34Teesside Steelers
Dec 15 20182D2 NorthTeessideBirmingham Lions B1-0Cheshire Bears
Dec 15 20182D2 SouthCardiffCardiff Valkyries15-43Kent Exiles
Dec 15 20182D2 SouthCardiffOxford Saints0-34Wembley Stallions
Dec 15 20182D2 SouthCardiffCardiff Valkyries0-1Wembley Stallions
Dec 15 20182D2 SouthCardiffOxford Saints14-6Kent Exiles
Jan 19 20193D1 NorthManchesterManchester Titans0-61Leeds Chargers
Jan 19 20193D1 NorthManchesterLeeds Chargers88-7East Kilbride Pirates
Jan 19 20193D1 NorthManchesterManchester Titans9-20East Kilbride Pirates
Jan 19 20193D1 SouthSandwellSandwell Steelers0-42Birmingham Lions
Jan 19 20193D1 SouthSandwellBirmingham Lions40-19London Warriors
Jan 19 20193D1 SouthSandwellSandwell Steelers15-46London Warriors
Jan 19 20193D2 SouthKentKent Exiles27-21Cardiff Valkyries
Jan 19 20193D2 SouthKentWembley Stallions36-0Cardiff Valkyries
Jan 19 20193D2 SouthKentKent Exiles0-30Wembley Stallions
Feb 02 20194D1 NorthEdinburghEast Kilbride Pirates0-48Edinburgh Wolves
Feb 02 20194D1 NorthEdinburghLeeds Chargers40-0Derby Braves
Feb 02 20194D1 NorthEdinburghEdinburgh Wolves28-26Leeds Chargers
Feb 02 20194D1 NorthEdinburghEast Kilbride Pirates21-2Derby Braves
Feb 02 20194D1 SouthBirminghamBirmingham Lions56-0Hertfordshire Tornadoes
Feb 02 20194D1 SouthBirminghamLondon Warriors28-0Sandwell Steelers
Feb 02 20194D1 SouthBirminghamHertfordshire Tornadoes13-2Sandwell Steelers
Feb 02 20194D1 SouthBirminghamBirmingham Lions44-27London Warriors
Feb 02 20194D2 NorthCheshireCheshire Bears24-12Teesside Steelers
Feb 02 20194D2 NorthCheshireCheshire Bears46-28Birmingham Lions B
Feb 02 20194D2 NorthCheshireTeesside Steelers38-8Birmingham Lions B
Feb 16 20195D1 NorthLeedsEdinburgh Wolves14-50Leeds Chargers
Feb 16 20195D1 NorthLeedsManchester Titans41-19Derby Braves
Feb 16 20195D1 NorthLeedsLeeds Chargers30-0Manchester Titans
Feb 16 20195D1 NorthLeedsEdinburgh Wolves44-8Derby Braves
Feb 16 20195D1 SouthSandwellSandwell Steelers0-70Birmingham Lions
Feb 16 20195D1 SouthSandwellBirmingham Lions34-0Hertfordshire Tornadoes
Feb 16 20195D1 SouthSandwellSandwell Steelers0-50Hertfordshire Tornadoes
Feb 16 20195D2 NorthSandwellBirmingham Lions B20-26Cheshire Bears
Feb 16 20195D2 NorthSandwellCheshire Bears16-10Teesside Steelers
Feb 16 20195D2 NorthSandwellBirmingham Lions B12-28Teesside Steelers
Feb 16 20195D2 SouthOxfordOxford Saints6-40Wembley Stallions
Feb 16 20195D2 SouthOxfordWembley Stallions28-0Kent Exiles
Feb 16 20195D2 SouthOxfordOxford Saints19-30Kent Exiles
Feb 23 20196D2 NorthBirminghamBirmingham Lions BCheshire Bears
Feb 23 20196D2 NorthBirminghamCheshire BearsTeesside Steelers
Feb 23 20196D2 NorthBirminghamBirmingham Lions BTeesside Steelers
Mar 02 2019Finals?TBC
Mar 09 2019Finals?TBC