| Full name | Freie Turnerschaft Adler Kiel von 1893 e.V. |
|---|---|
| Union | German Rugby Federation |
| Founded | 1893 (club) 1999 (rugby department) |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Ground(s) | Professor Peters Platz |
| Chairman | Klaus Schmäschke |
| Coach(es) | Philipp Schmidt |
| League(s) | Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) |
| 2010–11 | 4th |
| Official website | |
| kielrugby.de/ | |
The FT Adler Kiel Rugby is a German rugby union club from Kiel, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East. It is part of a larger club, the FT Adler Kiel, which also offers other sports like volleyball, table tennis and handball.
The term Adler is the German word for eagle.
Contents |
Rugby in Kiel begun in the 1930s, when workers of the local shipyards and members of the German Navy, then called the Reichsmarine, formed the 1. Kieler Rugby Fussball Verein.[1]
In post-Second World War Germany, competitive rugby in Kiel resumed in 1949, when three local clubs competed in a league with clubs from Hamburg. The three clubs were the 1. Kieler Rugby Fussball Verein, PSV Kiel and FT Adler. Rugby in Kiel greatly benefited from a strong support through the British Army, which was stationed at Kiel-Holtenau.[1]
Towards the end of the 1950s, rugby in Kiel declined and the clubs were only able to field a combined team. By 1963, even this team had to be disbanded. As a form of farewell to rugby in Kiel, a final friendly was organised, against a team selected from a visiting detachment of the Japanese Navy. After this, rugby disappeared from the city for almost 30 years.[1]
Rugby returned to Kiel in the late 1980s through the efforts of foreign students at the University of Kiel.[1] The current rugby department of FT Adler was formed in 1997 however.[2]
FT Adler took out the 2008 championship in the Regionalliga North but failed in the promotion round, losing on aggregate to RU Hohen Neuendorf.[3]
The club earned promotion from the Rugby-Regionalliga North, after another championship there, to the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, the second tier of German club rugby, in 2009.[4]
Kiel lasted for only one season at this level before being relegated again to the Regionalliga, where it came fourth in 2010-11.
| Year | Division | Position |
| 2005-06 | Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | Rugby-Regionalliga North | 6th |
| 2007–08 | Rugby-Regionalliga North | 1st |
| 2008–09 | Rugby-Regionalliga North | 1st — Promoted |
| 2009–10 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 9th — Relegated |
| 2010–11 | Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) | 4th |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||