| Sport | American Football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country(ies) | New Zealand |
| Official website | www.leaguelineup.com/afsc |
American Football Wellington, abbreviated AFW, is the governing body for American Football (Gridiron) in Wellington, New Zealand. Formally known as the American Football Southern Conference (AFSC), it was officially established in 1996 to govern the sport of American football in the Wellington and greater lower North Island region. The league generally runs from November through February ending with two teams competing for the Capital Bowl championship game. The AFW is an affiliate member of the New Zealand American Football Federation (NZAFF), which governs the sport of American Football in New Zealand.
American football in Wellington began in 1987 when local Wellingtonian Quentin Poulsen started up Wellington’s first American football team. Games were played against another team organised by former National Basketball League coach Jeff Green. The games were played without equipment. The following year, a committee was set up and named their team the Harbour City Hurricanes American Football Club and in 1989 the team finally obtained some equipment. By then Jeff's team had folded leaving the Hurricanes the only organised American football team in Wellington. Quentin went on to form two more clubs in Wellington. He established the Hutt Valley Chargers and Capital City Giants teams in 1990 and 1991 respectively.
By 1996 three more clubs had join the existing teams from Wellington. All three clubs were from outside the Wellington region. The Levin Tigers (folded in 1993), Wanganui Royals and Palmerston North Silverbacks. That year a regional governing organisation was formed by representatives of the current clubs and the Wellington representatives of the New Zealand Gridiron Officials Association. Horst Maczuga was voted the inaugural Commissioner of the newly formed American Football Southern Conference.
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The Capital Bowl championship game is the Grand Final of the AFW senior season and is generally played in mid or late February. In 1990 two founding teams, the Harbour City Hurricanes and the Hutt Valley Chargers competed in organised games between each other during the season. Quentin Poulsen who founded both teams, personally donated a trophy for the inaugural Wellington championship game. The name given to the championship game was the Capital Bowl given the city’s status as New Zealand’s capital. The Hurricanes defeated the Chargers 20-16 in the inaugural championship game.
During the 2002-2003 season, the American Football Southern Conference gave a new name to the Capital Bowl trophy and called it the Horst Maczuga Trophy, in recognition of the league’s inaugural AFSC Commissioner, former Head Coach of the Harbour City Hurricanes and NZGOA Official, Horst Maczuga.
| Year | Game | Team | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Capital Bowl XXI | Hutt Valley Spartans | Wellington City Wolves | 34-8 |
| 2010 | Capital Bowl XX | Porirua Knights | Hutt Valley Spartans | 28-8 |
| 2009 | Capital Bowl XIX | Wellington City Wolves | Hutt Valley Spartans | 20-13 |
| 2008 | Capital Bowl XVIII | Porirua Knights | Wellington City Wolves | 28-18 |
| 2007 | Capital Bowl XVII | Porirua Knights | Wellington City Wolves | 14-6 |
| 2006 | Capital Bowl XVI | Hutt Valley Spartans | Knight City Knights | 21-19 (4 OT) |
| 2005 | Capital Bowl XV | Porirua Giants | Knight City Knights | 13-0 |
| 2004 | Capital Bowl XIV | Porirua Giants | Knight City Knights | 22-20 |
| 2003 | Capital Bowl XIII | Knight City Knights | Manawatu Silverbacks | 42-0 |
| 2002 | Capital Bowl XII | Porirua Giants | Knight City Knights | 12-3 |
| 2001 | Capital Bowl XI | Porirua Giants | Harbour City Sharks | 12-3 |
| 2000 | Capital Bowl X | Porirua Giants | Wellington Knights | 22-0 |
| 1999 | Capital Bowl IX | Porirua Giants | Palmerston North Silverbacks | 46-21 |
| 1998 | Capital Bowl VIII | Porirua Giants | Wellington Hurricanes | 6-0 |
| 1997 | Capital Bowl VII | Porirua Hurricanes | Palmerston North Silverbacks | 30-8 |
| 1996 | Capital Bowl VI | Capital City Giants | Porirua Hurricanes | 8-0 |
| 1995 | Capital Bowl V | Capital City Giants | Porirua Hurricanes | 24-6 |
| 1994 | Capital Bowl IV | Hutt Valley Chargers | Levin Tigers | WBD |
| 1992 | Capital Bowl III | Levin Tigers | Capital City Giants | 21-7 |
| 1991 | Capital Bowl II | Hutt Valley Chargers | Harbour City Hurricanes | 12-6 |
| 1990 | Capital Bowl I | Harbour City Hurricanes | Hutt Valley Chargers | 20-16 |
The Ambassadors Cup Competition is AFW's annual flagship American football senior competition, which generally takes place from early November through February. The competition was previously known as the Southern Zone competition and started in 1991 with three teams (Harbour City Hurricanes, Hutt Valley Chargers and Capital City Giants) competing in the inaugural season. The Hutt Valley Chargers won the inaugural Southern Zone competition and were awarded the Southern Zone Championship Cup, which was presented by former United States of America’s Ambassador, Dean Newman in 1992.
The competition name was changed to the Ambassadors Cup Competition alongside with the name of the trophy to that of the same name, prior to the 2004-2005 season. The Ambassadors Cup competition format is a Round-Robin that generally runs for 10 weeks with every team facing each other twice. The AFW uses a Points System to decide who is awarded the Ambassadors Cup at the end of the regular season. The team with highest number of competition points, based on the points system wins the Ambassadors Cup.
The AFW Points System:
The number of teams competing in the Ambassadors Cup competition determines the number of teams that will qualify for post-season matches including the Capital Bowl championship game. The post season formula is as follows:
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | Wellington City Wolves |
| 2009-2010 | Hutt Valley Spartans |
| 2008-2009 | Wellington City Wolves |
| 2007-2008 | Porirua City Knights |
| 2006-2007 | Porirua City Knights |
| 2005-2006 | Wellington City Wolves |
| 2004-2005 | Knight City Knights |
| 2003-2004 | Porirua Giants |
| 2002-2003 | Knight City Knights |
| 2001-2002 | Manawatu Silverbacks |
| 2000-2001 | Harbour City Sharks |
| 1999-2000 | Porirua Giants |
| 1998-1999 | Porirua Giants |
| 1997-1998 | Porirua Hurricanes |
| 1996-1997 | Porirua Hurricanes |
| 1995-1996 | Porirua Hurricanes |
| 1994-1995 | Porirua Hurricanes |
| 1993-1994 | Hutt Valley Chargers |
| 1992-1993 | Levin Tigers |
| 1991-1992 | Hutt Valley Chargers |