WORLD CUP 2004

World Cup Open Invitational

The story of the Open Invitational

The World Cup Open Invitational is part of the World Cup event that gives the athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills in the different categories the IFFF offers. The excitement and entertainment arrives from the varied styles of play from the home-based teams that traveled from the USA, Canada, Mexico and all the international teams that participated in the World Cup. This year our youth category grew and was primarily dominated with teams from all around the USA – Florida, New York and Las Vegas etc. In the Open invitational the categories played are 8man semi-contact (Men & Youth), 7man no contact (Men & Women), 5man no contact (Youth only) and 4man no contact (Men & Women). In total we had 48 teams participate in what was a very thrilling two days of flag football of which we witnessed some really interesting styles of play pending on where the teams were from. Overall the event was jammed packed with the biggest names in the business in the likes of Jim Dutra, Pat Connolly, Arty Hazard, Jimmy Wilson, James Mayo, Kevin Kurek, M Dingsdale, Kevin Dawkins, Anita Marks, Kim, Claude and many more….

8man semi-contact (Men)

The 8man game has always been remarked as of thrills and with the Xmen from Toronto demonstrating their strength in the Boston World Cup regional qualifier in December where they came runners-up we knew this section of the event was going to be explosive. The preliminary stages once again was dominated by the big names such as X-men, Swarm, Alliance with surprise teams Dream Team led by Claude (what a player, at his age can still do some amazing stuff) and the St Croix team also packed with talented players. The team from England (Extreme), Puerto Plata Warriors and the Santo Domingo Brewers found it a little bit difficult against the experience and talent the USA & Canada teams had in their possession. Day two was a different story as teams were all geared up for the single elimination stage. The Xmen were given a game by the English losing 18 – 6 while St Croix beat Santo Domingo in a close game, Swarm led by veteran QB Jim Dutra and defensive players Kevin Kurek and James Mayo beat Claude’s Dream Team whereas Alliance crushed Puerto Plata by 20 – 0. The semi-final was set up with the Xmen playing a more confident St Croix team and Swarm coming up against Alliance both teams with mainly team USA players. In the first game between the Xmen and St Croix any spectator would have been drooling with the speed, skill and intensity of which the game was played, but in the end the Xmen booked themselves a place in the finals with Mike Dingsdale running in two TD’s in that game. The second semi-final was played in good heart as both teams were from the USA and knew they were going to meet Canadian opposition in the final. A confused Alliance defense let in two easy scores in both halves to go 13-0 up but Alliance never gave up and with one minute left in the 2^nd half scored to make it 13-7. Alliance tried the onside kick but failed and decided to shake hands and let the Swarm rest before their finals with 38 minutes to spare in the game. The final was watched by a good crowd and started with both offenses moving the ball without scoring. Again the Xmen scored twice through a Mike Dingsdale run and a TD pass but was replied by an Isaiah TD reception taking the score at halftime to 12 – 7. In the second half Swarm introduced the two QB’s wing back formation and caused problems for the Xmen without scoring, the Xmen continued to run the ball meaning they could run the clock down. Finally, the Swarm got one last chance and a wing back pitch from Dutra to Team USA QB Pat Connolly of which little man Kurek ran a deep curl round the back of the end zone connected for a TD, an amazing effort by Kevin Kurek who made a diving catch and sucked the ball right in, Swarm got the extra point leaving nearly no time for a comeback.   

7man no contact (men/women)

This category holds a slightly different esteem to the 8man contact game due to its lack of physical presence and contact that makes the 8man game more like American football. The 7man no contact game is all about skill, speed and flair which drives the game with the athletes involved are full of enthusiasm. Although there were not many teams showcased some of the best talent from USA and Canada with such as Alpha Omega, Obelix (Montreal) and Ely-M in the men’s division while in the female sector we were embraced by Venezuela, Fluer De Lys, Dominican girls, Panteras, Gators and the defending champions the Florida Stingrays. 

The event proceeded without the Untouchables for non-public reasons with Obelix losing to Alpha Omega 20-6 setting up a serious match-up between them and Ely-M. The final was exciting and they entertained the spectators that were in between watching the youth and 8man men contact games. Ely-M put some good plays together against a strong Alpha Omega team that fought hard throughout the duration of the game. Even though Alpha played pretty well and executed some fine plays Ely M came out winners beating Alpha Omega 12 – 0 to win there second 7man Open Championship in two successive years.

In the women’s division everybody had already penciled in the Florida Stingrays as champions after their display against Mexico last year. This year we can write a new story with the women's game becoming more balanced, the teams more technical and showing extreme improvement. All the teams tried very hard in the prelim stages to establish a good flow for the playoffs, the only team that really struggled was the Dominican team that was put together at short notice…but they also tried hard. In the semi-finals a talented Venezuelan side took on the experienced Stingrays after beating the Cancun Panteras 7 – 0 in the early stages. Unfortunately for Venezuela they lost their more experienced player Gret and couldn’t conjure the same magic they showed against the Panteras and were easily beaten by the favorites Stingrays 27-0. The Fluer De Lys team had to beat a Gators team that came off their biggest win against a weak Dominican team (28-6). Fluer De Lys team as no one really expected reached their first finals and guess what they beat the mighty Stingrays by 20 -14. The Stingrays had an opportunity to score in the last minutes of the game but the pass from veteran QB Anita Marks was caught out of bounds and dropped for the Fluer De Lys team to record their first 7man women’s championship.     

Order of Finish b

8man semi-contact

1, Swarm - San Diego, USA

2, Xmen - Toronto, Canada

3, Alliance - New Hampshire, USA

4, St Croix, USVI

5, Dream Team, Colorado Springs, USA

6, Team Extreme, Portsmouth, England

7, Santo Domingo Brewers, Dominican Rep

8, Puerto Plata Warriors, Dominican Rep

Offensive MVP - Nick Hardline - Swarm, San Diego

Defensive MVP - Mike Dingsdale - Xmen, Toronto

8man Youth semi-contact

1, Mo Steel, Florida, USA

2, Panthers, NY, USA

3, Raiders, Las Vegas, USA

4, Puerto Plata U-16, Dominican Rep

Offensive MVP - Steve Ohane - Mo Steel

Defensive MVP - Alex Kusinski - Panthers

7man no contact (men)

1, Ely-M, Florida, USA

2, Obelix, Montreal, Canada

3, Alpha Omega, Florida, USA

Order of Finish continued on next page see below

World Cup Open Photos

More Photos & Stories Here