Vaahteraliiga

The Vaahteraliiga is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is played in summer, with a schedule usually from May to September.

The first season of the Vaahteraliiga was played in 1980. The name "Vaahteraliiga" ("Maple League") comes from the name of the championship trophy "Vaahteramalja" ("Maple Bowl"), which was donated to the newly formed association by the embassy of Canada in Finland.

Vaahteraliiga is managed by American Football Association of Finland – SAJL. [ [http://www.sajl.org SAJL ry - Suomen Amerikkalaisen Jalkapallon Liitto ] ] It is government approved non-profit organization governing both American football and flag football activities in Finland. Established in 1979 the Association has grown to 28 member clubs and over 1,200 licensed players. In 28 years SAJL National teams have taken 5 senior and 3 under-19 European Championships and one ladies flag football title in European Championships. SAJL is the only national federation in Europe to participate in all 10 Senior European Championships. As a member federation for both [IFAF] [ [http://www.ifaf.org ifaf.org ] ] (International Federation of American Football) and [EFAF] [ [http://efaf.org EFAF - Welcome ] ] (European Federation of American Football) the SAJL is actively participating in getting American football an [IOC] [ [http://www.ioc.org International Outreach Center - Home ] ] acceptance.

Current teams (as of 2008 season)

* Helsinki Roosters
* Helsinki Wolverines
* Jyväskylän Jaguaarit
* Porvoo Butchers
* Seinäjoki Crocodiles
* Turku Trojans
* Tampere Saints

League license

Vaahteraliiga has had a different number of teams during its tenure. In recent years the number has been around seven and eight. This is partly because of league license system enforced by SAJL. In addition to competitive status teams have to reach certain economical and organisational standards. This in turn means that at the end of each season it cannot be said to a certainty which teams will eventually play in the league the next year as teams need to apply for the license. SAJL checks the applications and grants licenses to maximum eight teams according to their seed in the previous season. Teams from the 1st division title game, Spaghetti Bowl, are the only division teams eligible to apply for the license.

The system was put in place largely to ensure long-term planning and sensible running of clubs. The system has already shown its cruelty as teams with no alarming competitive level issues have been relegated due to lack of management and/or economical difficulties.

Playing format

League schedule is highly dependent on the number of teams. During seasons of eight teams teams are divided into two pools. Teams play against the teams in the same pool twice, home and away, and teams from the other pool once so that each team has ten games, five home and five away. Despite the pools teams are considered as one conference and they are seeded in one conference.

In a seven-team league teams face each team twice, home and away, with a total of 12 games.

Post season

After the regular season the four best teams advance to the post season with seed #1 facing #4 and #2 facing #3 in a single-game play-off. Winners will play in the Maple Bowl for the national title. As of 2006, there hasn´t been a game for the bronze medal; they are simply awarded to the semi-final losing team with better seed.

Champions

*1980 – Poli, Espoo
*1981 – Majs, Helsinki
*1982 – Helsinki Roosters
*1983 – Helsinki Roosters
*1984 – Helsinki East City Giants
*1985 – TAFT, Vantaa
*1986 – Helsinki Roosters
*1987 – Helsinki Roosters
*1988 – Helsinki Roosters
*1989 – Munkka Colts
*1990 – Helsinki Roosters
*1991 – Helsinki East City Giants
*1992 – Helsinki East City Giants
*1993 – Helsinki East City Giants
*1994 – Helsinki East City Giants
*1995 – Helsinki Roosters
*1996 – Helsinki Roosters
*1997 – Helsinki Roosters
*1998 – Helsinki Roosters
*1999 – Helsinki Roosters
*2000 – Helsinki Roosters
*2001 – Seinäjoki Crocodiles
*2002 – Helsinki Roosters
*2003 – Turku Trojans
*2004 – Helsinki Roosters
*2005 – Porvoo Butchers
*2006 – Porvoo Butchers
*2007 – Porvoo Butchers
*2008 - Porvoo Butchers

External links

* [http://www.sajl.org/vaahteraliiga/ Official website]

References