PVDGFFL: Lobsters Take Home First Tournament Titles; Champions Block Party; Fall Registration

Volume 5, Issue 14

PVDGFFL Lobsters Take Home First Two Tournament Titles

Congratulations to our Lobsters Gold and Lobsters Blue teams, which took home PVDGFFL's first-ever tournament titles at Pride Bowl 2023! Read more about their respective paths to tournament glory and our upcoming Champions Block Party below!

Congratulations to Ryan Kinahan & Matt Freimark for being named to the Pride Bowl 2023 All-Tournament Team!!

Also in this issue, read about our upcoming Fall Season registration, our call for Fall Season Captains, Women's+ season evaluations, and more.

Check out photos from the tournament!

Lobsters Capture Tournament Glory and Make PVDGFFL History

The annual Pride Bowl Tournament was held June 23-25 in Chicago. More than 770 players from the U.S. and Canada made up 47 of the best flag football teams in the NGFFL. On Day 1 of the tournament, each team played three "pool play games" to determine playoff seeding. Based on their Day 1 performance, all 47 teams were then broken into playoff brackets for a single-elimination tournament on Day 2. Over two days of gameplay, our Providence Lobsters Gold and Blue teams pulled away from the pack and brought home our league's first-ever tournament titles!

Our Providence Lobsters Blue team finished Day 1 of the tournament at 1-2. With several players on the Lobsters Blue roster making their tournament debuts, the team was finding their footing early on, but it was clear they were building momentum as the day progressed. Their Day 1 victory was an impressive overtime win over a Philadelphia Revolution Blue squad that has squeaked by our Lobsters tournament teams in each of the last two Sunshine Cup tournaments. On Day 2, the Lobsters Blue team was seeded #5 in the C Division and kicked off their day by upsetting the #4 seed from DC, 32-26.

With that win, they advanced to the semi-finals against the #1-seed (and tournament hosts) Chicago Renegades. After falling behind 13-0, the Lobsters rallied to force overtime before busting the tournament bracket and clinching the game on a fourth-down, game-winning score. The win punched PVDGFFL's first-ever ticket to a tournament championship game.

In the title showdown, the Lobsters got a re-match against Philadelphia Revolution Blue. This time, the Lobsters didn't need overtime, holding a good lead for most of the game. As the final seconds ticked off the clock in their 38-28 win, the team - and a strong contingent of PVDGFFL supporters (Crustacean Nation Showed Up Big!) - stormed the field to celebrate our league's first-ever tournament title. The Blue Lobsters were the highest scoring team in each round of their division's playoff games, averaging 29.7 points per game. Congratulations to our Lobsters Blue players!

Roughly one hour after the Lobsters Blue team secured the C Division Championship, the Providence Lobsters Gold squad capped off a perfect 6-0 showing to take home the B2 Division Title. On Day 1, the Gold Lobsters put teams on notice, scoring a long touchdown on their first offensive play of the tournament en route to a 34-7 win over DC Delta Force. From there, they extinguished the Toronto Northstars 40-13, before ending their day with a convincing 30-6 win over the Atlanta Freedom. They finished Day 1 with a perfect 3-0 record and led all teams in their division in both points scored (34.7 PPG) and points allowed (8.7 PPG).

Our Lobsters Gold team earned the #1 seed in the B2 Division to kick off tournament play. They began the morning by continuing their dominance on both sides of the ball, earning a decisive shutout over the Minnesota Lumberjocks, 35-0. In the semi-finals, they hit their first real challenge, trailing the Atlanta OutKast before rallying late to claim their spot in the B2 Championship game. In the title game, they matched up against a New York Empire team that has eliminated our Providence teams in two prior tournaments. This time, the Lobsters got the last laugh with a 25-12 win, securing the B2 title and wrapping up the first undefeated tournament showing in our league's history. Congratulations to our Lobsters Gold players!

Women's+ Squad Continues Building on Strong Foundation

Our Women's+ squad - Lobsters Black & White - drew a tough schedule at Pride Bowl, facing some of the best teams in the country. Their very first game was against the perennial powerhouse Denver Mile High Club Blue team, which ended up going on to win the A Division. From there, our Lobsters Black & White squad took on an Atlanta Rise squad that ended up playing in the B Division on Day 2. The Lobsters rounded out Friday's games with a 26-8 loss to the Austin Raiders Platinum squad - another team that found itself playing in the A Division on Day 2. Many of these teams have played together for years so, although the outcomes may have been disappointing, our Women's+ players were able to test themselves against the very best and walked away much stronger for the experience. On Day 2, the Lobsters matched up against our friends from Boston. The game was tight the entire way, before the Boston Monstahs secured a 19-12 win.

We're incredibly proud of how our Women's+ tournament teams have progressed in just their second year and we're proud of how each of you represented our league.

Join Us For Our First-Ever Champions Block Party on July 22

To celebrate our league's first-ever tournament titles, we're throwing a block party! Join us on Saturday, July 22 at 9pm for "Hometown Huddle" - a Championship Bash at Dark Lady.

Wear your best football attire as we bring home the two championship trophies to our PVDGFFL family, celebrate our champions, hand out some swag, and present a few awards. Doors open at 9pm and the awards will start at 9:30pm. Please note that Dark Lady will start charging a cover a 10pm.

RSVP on Facebook

Women's+ Season Evaluation

We hope you all enjoyed your Women's+ Summer Season experience! Now is your opportunity to tell us what went well and what we can improve for future seasons. Please take a few minutes to fill out our Women's+ Summer Season survey, which asks for your input on your captains, referees, the season schedule, the overall vibe of the season, social events, and more. Your individual results will only be shared with the Board of Directors. Please complete the survey by Friday, July 21.

2023 Women’s+ Summer Survey

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

July 22 -- "Hometown Huddle" - a Championship Bash at Dark Lady

July 24 -- Fall Season 2023 Open Division Registration

Aug 19 -- Fall 2023 Open Division Orientation

Aug 20 -- Fall 2023 Open Division Meet Your Team Party

Sept 16 -- Helmets & Heels 2023

Additional events, including league socials and fundraisers, are constantly being planned! Check our events page for the latest details.

Fall Season Registration Opens July 24!

Registration for our 2023 Open Division Fall Season will open on Monday, July 24th @ 7pm. We anticipate spots will fill up quickly (registration filled within approximately 12 hours for our Spring season), so please be sure to review the pre-registration suggestions below to expedite your registration process. Once we reach capacity, the system will automatically switch all additional registrations to "waitlist" status. Please read the following information carefully to ensure a smooth process on Monday evening. SportsEngine (SE) has created this Getting Started Guide.

League registration requires a SportsEngine account. We STRONGLY recommend you set up an account prior to registration on July 24.

Go to https://app.sportngin.com/user/welcome
If you have an existing account, please ensure you can sign in and update your information under Account Settings and under Household > View Profile. Please contact SportsEngine support to fix any issues in advance.
If you do not have an account, please create one.
We recommend adding all your information prior to Monday evening in order to speed up the registration process. If you wait until Monday night, it will slow down your registration process and you may be at risk of getting waitlisted.
Please have a current and clear headshot ready when you register - see SE article for more information.
Recommendations from some of our partner leagues:
We recommend that you log into SportsEngine on a separate tab at the time you're registering.
We also recommend that you use Google Chrome as your browser on a desktop (not mobile) for the smoothest registration experience.
Again, when all the spots are filled, the registration form will stop taking payments and the only option available will be Waitlist.

Registration will cost $85 per player. Your registration fee covers field rentals, referees, jerseys, and events.

We continue to offer discrete and private financial support, including extended payment deadlines or discounted/free registration. We're here to support our LGBTQIA+ football family and never want the cost of registration to be a barrier towards participation. Please contact our Commissioner, Chris Almonte, if you're interested in discussing financial assistance in advance of registration.

Calling All Potential Fall Season Captains!

Team Captains and Assistant Captains play a vital role in the success of our league. They are, first and foremost, the biggest contributors to a player’s experience in our league, both on and off the field. They set the tone during our games and help carry our fun and welcoming attitude from the fields into our social events. As such, we set high expectations for those who are selected to lead our teams. When evaluating potential captains and assistant captains, we're primarily looking for those who can lead by example, follow and enforce the league code of conduct, and bring football knowledge and/or football fun to the fields.

Qualifications:

Demonstrated leadership qualities on and off the field.
Demonstrated understanding of the league rules or a willingness to learn.
High degree of sportsmanship and in good standing with the league code of conduct.
Ability to prioritize the league experience of others over their own experience.
Participation in the captain’s college.
Ability to navigate difficult conversations and complicated interpersonal interactions.
Football knowledge (or a commitment to learn) and ability to help facilitate a fun and social dynamic for your team.

How to Apply:

Fill out this application through Google Forms
Applications will be reviewed by the Director of Captains and league officers.
Captains will be announced a few weeks before the season begins.

If all of this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply to be a captain for our upcoming Spring Season. Application deadline is the end of day on Monday, July 17. If you have questions, please email Michael Lucerto, Director of Captains.

Board Announcements

We're currently looking to fill the Director of Field Operations position on our PVDGFFL Board of Directors. We're also looking for Committee Members to help with events, fundraising, volunteerism, health & safety, and more. If you're interested in learning about the vacant Board position or our committees, please email chris@pvdgffl.org.