DC Presidents

D.C Presidents
Year Formed	1985 as Washington Presidents, reformed as D.C Presidents in 2010
Team Colours	Royal Blue, Red and White
Home Field	'The Whitehouse', Esh Stadium, Durham[1]
Conference Alignment	BAFA National Northern Section
Head Coach	Ben Johnson

The D.C Presidents are a British American Football team based in County Durham currently playing in the BAFA National Leagues in the Northern section.

History

The origins of The Presidents started back in February 1985 when American Football enthusiasts Jeff Rutter and John Lockhart formed The Washington Presidents, named after the birthplace of the first USA President George Washington’s Grandfather, the summer of 1985 saw the clubs first ever game. They played against another local new team the Darlington Dragons which the President won 62-10^[1] with founder Jeff Rutter scoring on his début game as quarterback. The Presidents then went on to play further two games in 1985 against Steel City Giants from Sheffield losing 22-13 and Musselburgh Magnums away losing 56-12.

The following year 1986 saw the formation of the new National Budweiser League and the Presidents entered their first competitive season in Division 1 North. They played 3 pre–season matches all away from their home stadium Albany Park, Washington. Losing to Newcastle Senators 46-6, Hereford Chargers losing 28-22 and then winning 26-24 against the Bradford Dolphins. The Presidents first ever regular season ended with a respectable 4 – 6 season

The Washington Presidents ceased in 1997 until their reformation in early 2011.^[2]

Reformation

The Presidents reformed in late 2010 under the new name of the D.C Presidents, and began recruiting players throughout the winter and into early spring of 2011. Founding member of the original Washington Presidents Jeff Rutter returning as CEO of the new Presidents and recruited some original members of the Washington Presidents.

On the 9th of December 2011 the DC Presidents were officially accepted into the British American Football National League after successfully completing their 2011 Association process.^[3] The association process included two games versus Crewe Railroaders^[4] and Shropshire Revolution and also played the two warm up games the Teesside Cougars.

2012 Season

Following their admission into the BAFNL the Presidents entered into league competition for the first time since their reformation. The team performed well and finished 5th in their first full regular season.^[5]

2012 Results

2012 League Table

2013 Season

Following a reshuffle of the teams in 2013 the D.C's were placed into the BAFA National League Northern Section.^[6] The team signed 5 new coaches including GB Junior Coach Ben Johnson and also over 40 new players, many of whom have joined from other clubs. The DC now have over 65 players and 8 qualified Coaches. Player’s come from all over the North East region and the team has also linked in with the growing popularity of the sport at University level. They have recruited new players from all five local University teams in the North East, the Teesside Cougars, Newcastle Raiders, Sunderland Spartans, Northumbria Mustangs and Durham Saints.^[7]

2013 Results ^[7]

Coaching Staff

The D.C's coaching staff for the 2013 season.^[9]

Offence

Defence

Youth Team

The Presidents have a full youth programme under the "Wildcats" banner, including fully kitted football catering for age groups 14 to 18. Alongside this The Presidents are providing a junior team consisting of players from the ages of 11 to 14 will play flag football, which is non-contact and aimed at teaching the fundamentals of the game.^[10]

Flag football is a fast growing, non contact variant of American football, long popular in the USA, and gaining in popularity in the UK. It means that young people can learn all about the game in safety.

Support

The clubs mascot 'Uncle Sam' is a regular fixture at the clubs games and 2013 saw the formation of the clubs cheerleading squad the “Liberty Belles” who made their debut at the Edinburgh Wolves game.^[1][3]

See also

• British American Football Association National Leagues

References

External links

• Official website
• DC Presidents on Twitter
• British American Football Association National League Official Site