QGOA

Since its commencement in 1986, the game of gridiron in Queensland has developed and grown significantly, with Queensland bred players now playing for major colleges in America, as well as in the NFL. There are several leagues in Queensland that the QGOA supplies officials to:

 

Gridiron Queensland Mens Open League
This is the primary league in Queensland, and currently has ten teams competing, based in Brisbane,
Redcliffe, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Toowoomba. Games are the full 11-a-side, and are played on Saturday evenings and Saturday nights. The season commences with the traditional Charity Bowl in early August, with the grand final Sun Bowl held in early December. 

 

Gridiron Queensland Colts (14-18 year old)
This is a mixed 9-a-side full contact league, with high school boys and girls competing together on the same teams. TThe colts teams are aligned with the mens' teams, are based at the same venues and play in the same season, on Saturday afternoons.

 

Gridiron Queensland Women's Open League
Seven teams competed in 2014. The ladies play a 9-a-side version of the game, with full contact and equipment.  The season is also aligned with the Mens and Colts games

 

Juniors (10-13 year old) Flag League
2013 also saw the introduction of a flag football league for younger kids, with games being held on Sunday afternoons  from June to August.  This has spread in 2014 to a few other locations around South East Queensland

 

Australian Gridiron League

The top players from each state participate in a national championship, representing their states.  The AGL runs in March to May, on a home and away basis.  Previously, the AGL ran bi-annually, with 2014 hosting the mens and womens leagues, and 2013 the colts championship.  However, from 2015, all three leagues will shift to annual competition.

 

National Gridiron League of Australia

A new professional league scheduled to launch in 2016 with inaugural franchises based along the eastern seaboard, the NGL has been supporting the QGOA with sponsorship.  Whilst NGL officials will be directly contracted, it is expected that many of the more experienced QGOA officials are likely to be appointed to the NGL officiating roster.

 

Other Games
A regular fixture in the Queensland calendar has been the Down Under Bowl series, held in early July each year. These games involve visiting players from US High Schools, who play a series of games against each other and a representative Australian Colts team. This year, 6 Down Under Bowl games were played.
QGOA officials have also worked in the LFL (lingerie football) games in Australia, and are expecting to work ithe new Ladies Gridiron League (LGL) national games.