The 'Cornwall Monarchs' are an

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team currently competing BAFA National Leagues South West. They played their home games at Newquay Sports Centre,

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. They were formed in 2005 as the Cornish Sharks and In their first season in the

BAFL The British American Football League (BAFL) was the United Kingdom's primary American football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League (BSL) until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football Leag ...

, the Sharks recorded a 7 wins to 3 losses record and finished second in their conference, but lost their playoff quarter-final to the eventual divisional champions, the

Norwich Devils The Norwich Devils are a British American Football team based in Norwich, Norfolk. Overview The Devils most recently fielded a team Division 2 East of the BAFA Community Leagues (BAFACL). The roster is mainly local players and they are currentl ...

. Head Coach Brian Smallworth stepped down from the Cornish Sharks for personal reasons in September 2019 and the club reformed as Cornwall Monarchs, based at Newquay Sports Centre for the 2020 season.

History

The Cornish Sharks were founded in 2005 by Brian Smallworth, Richard Atkinson and Martin Phillips, all of whom were experienced players or coaches looking to bring American football back to

after the demise of the county's only other team the Duchy Destroyers, who had folded some eleven years earlier. After placing adverts in the local press, they held their first trials in January 2006 which was attended by over 140 people, a mixture of local rookies, rugby players, former players, and American servicemen stationed at a local air force base, one of whom had had previous experience with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. After obtaining kit from the Duchy Destroyers, the

London Mets The London Meteorites, better known as the London Mets, are a British baseball team who play in the southern section of the BBF National League. History The club began as an adult softball team in 1988 and were initially called the London Milli ...

(one of Brian John Smallworth's former teams), a National Lottery grant, and sponsorship from 13 local businesses, the Sharks set about gaining entry into the

British American Football League The British American Football League (BAFL) was the United Kingdom's primary American football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League (BSL) until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football Lea ...

in time for the 2007 season. To do this, they arranged two away fixtures against teams already affiliated with the League, namely Reading and Lincoln, and they won both games convincingly without conceding a single point. The team were accepted into the South West conference of Division 2. Despite an opening day defeat to the Andover Thrashers, they soon bounced back with three wins, including two consecutive

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s. They eventually finished with a 7-3 record, tied with the Thrashers, but were awarded second place by virtue of having scored more points in the teams' two meetings during the regular season. In doing so, they made British American football history by becoming the first team to qualify for the playoffs in their first ever season. They also finished the regular season by only contending 66 points in their ten games, a record for a new team and a defensive record bettered by only four other teams in the entire league. In their playoff quarter-final, they faced an away trip to the

, who had won their conference with a perfect 10-0 record, and despite a brave performance they went down 18–26 to the eventual divisional champions. On 1/15/2010 the Sharks signed linebacker Jonathan Borrero and wide receiver James Dean both from Miami Fl,(US).They are two players that should make the Sharks a better team overall on both sides of the ball.

Senior team season records

Other teams & activities

In 2008, the club established the Cornish Academy of American football, a programme aimed at offering youngsters in Cornwall a chance to gain experience in the sport. The academy is composed of twelve teams based all over Cornwall split into three divisions of four teams. The best players from each team will then be selected to play for "Team Cornwall" which will then play in the National League against other youngsters. When a player reaches 18 years of age he can then move up to the Cornish Sharks development team and when ready, can move into the Cornish Sharks. The club also operates a Player Exchange Programme in action with two international teams, namely the Tacoma Invaders in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the Brisbane Rhinos in Australia. In 2014, the club's u17 academy team finished 3rd at the youth, junior and flag Britbowl finals.

Roster

References

External links

Cornwall Monarchs Official Web SitePhotos of the Cornish Sharks home matches at Cornwall-Photos.com
{{British American Football BAFA National League teams Sport in Cornwall American football teams in England Newquay 2005 establishments in England American football teams established in 2005