40th Anniversary Celebration Weekend for Metro Lions American Football Club 
 
The Metro Lions American Football Club will celebrate their 40th Anniversary in March 2019, marking a significant milestone as the oldest American Football club in New Zealand.
 
Established in 1978, the Metro Lions as they are commonly known, were formed by a group of friends and families who had a growing interest for the game of American Football. In those early years, it was just light scrimmages before the first local league took place in 1982. Since then, Metro Lions has remained true to its strong family and community values with many of its present and past players joining by way of their connection through bloodlines or networks. We invite our large Metro Lions family worldwide and the local football community to participate in our 40th Anniversary Celebration Weekend on 29 and 30 March 2019, in Auckland, New Zealand.
 
Early bird tickets are on sale now for our Black-Tie Dinner with further details about the 40th Anniversary Celebration Weekend to be announced in due course. Stay tuned to our official club FB page for announcements www.facebook.com/MetroLionsAmericanFootball/ or email metrolions.tickets@gmail.com for more information.

​What a great story for Women’s sport and the sport of American Football in New Zealand.
 
Two years ago there were no women’s teams playing in Auckland. The last time there was a women’s competition in Auckland was in 2003 when the Pride Vixens were the Champions.
 
Two years ago there were players who wanted to get into the sport but there was no opportunity until American Football Auckland (AFA) decided to organize a competition last year.
 
The 2017 year began with two teams and this year the competition has doubled in size to four teams. 
 
The teams are:

• Metro Lions.
• Papatoetoe Wildcats
• South Auckland Raiders
• Western Wolves

 
The competition is full contact and they are looking for more players.  Some players are new to contact sport and others are using this as off season training for League or Rugby Union.
 
If you want to get involved then contact one of the clubs listed above through the “Find a Team” page on the NZAFF web site.

Over the weekend of the 6th/7th of October (2018) Miles Newman of Australian Gridiron Officials Association (AGOA) ran an information intensive two day course delving into the details of officiating American Football. The mass of information was eye-opening, as club representatives were treated to in-depth analysis and discussion on many of the finer aspects of officiating and how much preparation and knowledge it takes to be an effective official. The course itself is a starting point for New Zealanders interested in officiating American Football, (as well as coaches and club representatives to learn more about the process and what is required) and the first step in becoming a qualified official. Miles is a walking rulebook, and with 30 years’ experience officiating in Australia and around the world he was able to convey a huge amount of information in a short time.

​The course was a fantastic opportunity for club representatives to learn from the best and build a greater knowledge of the game which can be shared with their clubs around the country. It was an especially beneficial introduction into the complexity and dedication of being an effective and confident official for those keen to be become qualified and start (or continue) officiating games in New Zealand. This is just another positive and important step in growing and developing American Football in New Zealand.