Canadian Flag Teams show competitive fire at 2020 International Bowl
Arlington, Texas (January 13, 2020) – With flag making its first appearance in International Bowl history, Canada made the most of the opportunity as four teams competed the past two days, hoping to make the gold medal game.
In the men’s senior division, Team Canada Grey got past Japan 27-26 for fifth place. Earlier in the day, it was an all-Canadian matchup in the quarterfinals as the Grey and Red squads battled it out. In a dazzling display on the field, Team Canada Grey needed overtime to outlast Team Canada Red 26-20 to advance to the semi-finals.
Facing a tough Israeli squad, Team Canada Grey couldn’t rebound from the early deficit and lost the semi-final game 40-21.
In round robin action on Sunday, Team Canada Grey won two games (43-13 over Japan) and 39-20 to the United States Stars) but also lost two games (32-18 to Israel, and 40-21 to Team Canada Red).
Meanwhile, Team Canada Red edged Israel 34-33 and lost to the United States Stripes 52-26. Additionally, the team lost United States Stars.
National Flag Men’s head coach Chad Palmer said both teams had higher expectations for their performance at the 2020 International Bowl. However, the experience the teams had in Arlington the past couple of days will only enhance their ability to meet their goals at this year’s World Flag Championships.
“The tournament was good for us to be able to take our talent pool that was selected from the CFFL and gain some international experience,” Palmer said. “The outcome wasn’t what we had hoped for but going into International Bowl our number one goal was to gain experience with new players so we were better prepared to go to Worlds.”
We definitely did that and will be ready for Denmark this summer.”
As for the Senior Women’s Division, Team Canada Grey was also hoping to bring home a bronze medal on Monday. However, they had to settle for fourth place, falling to the United States 32-27.
Earlier in the day, the team lost to Mexico’s Diablos’ squad 15-8 in the semi-final round. In an all-Canadian quarter-final, Team Canada Grey upended Team Canada Red 20-7.
In round robin play on Sunday, Team Canada Red won three games (26-0 over Coahuila, 41-39 over United States Stars and 12-6 over Team Canada Grey). However, they suffered their first loss of the round robin at the hands of the Diablos 20-13.
As for Team Canada Grey, the team won two games (25-14 over Diablos and 34-26 over Coahuila) and losing a pair of games (12-6 to Team Canada Grey and 30-7 to Osas Tijuana).
