The Halton Spartans 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 with ...
team based in
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, who compete in the
BAFA National Leagues
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
NFC 1 Central, the second level of British American Football. They are currently homeless. Formed in 2014 as the Runcorn Spartans the club were elected to the League the following year and went on to win the NFC 2 West title in 2019 earning promotion to Division 1.
History
Initially named the Runcorn Spartans, they were formed in early 2014. After contacting former members of the Halton Demons, a team that existed from the late 1980s to early 1990s, the first training sessions were organised in the local Heath Park.
The organisation changed their name to their current guise, the Halton Spartans to better represent their recruitment area. They were also more likely to play in nearby Widnes than Runcorn.
They completed their schedule of associate games, first defeating the
LJMU Fury, and defeating fellow associate teams the
Tynedale Fury
__NOTOC__
Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Th ...
and the
Humber Warhawks
The Humber Warhawks are a British American football team based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire who play in the BAFA NFC South 2. The club represent the counties of East Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire by taking their name from the ...
in their first game at the
Select Security Stadium
The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...
. In December 2014, they were admitted into the BAFANL for the 2015 season and were placed in Division Two NFC West.
Ahead of the 2015 season, Double Coverage, a site that covers American Football in Britain made their annual predictions. Only one writer, Richard Penwright, predicted that the Spartans would win their division. This kick-started the "#InRichWeTrust" campaign on Twitter and Facebook. They won their first competitive game, away to the
Crewe Railroaders
The Crewe Railroaders 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 w ...
, 24-15. The Spartans went on to complete their first season within the BAFANL with a 5-5 record. It was also noted how well managed the Spartans were for a young britball programme, most obviously for their ability to be able to draw a sizeable crowd for an amateur sport, with numbers varying from 300-600 at their peak.
The 2016 season again saw the Spartans utilise the select security stadium as their home ground. Defeating every team in their division at least once, barring the Leeds Bobcats. The Spartans were able to clinch their first winning season since joining the BAFANL the year prior. The Spartans finished a respectable 6-4, narrowly missing out on playoffs in only their second competitive season.
Before the start of the 2017 season, offence coordinator Chris Henry left the Spartans due to work commitments outside of football. Thus Halton recruited Jason Smith to take over, then head coach of Staffordshire Surge. The Spartans endured a disappointing campaign in their third season which ultimately left them with their first ever losing record finishing 4-6. Offence Coordinator Jason Smith left the Spartans midway through the season via mutual consent, with safety Doug Laughton taking the role after retiring from playing at the end of that season.
Youth Team
In the summer of 2017 the Halton Spartans announced plans to launch a youth system, looking to start two teams eligible to compete at under 17s and under 19s level. Retired linebacker Ricardo Martinez was named as Head coach of the youth system, with Samantha Whittaker taking over as Youth Team manager. The Spartans held try outs for their prospective youth system at the end of 2017 and are currently training with their group for 2018 and beyond.
[https://www.facebook.com/HaltonSpartans/photos/a.600575433331591.1073741827.600564883332646/1434062066649586/?type=3&theatre ]
Logos & Uniforms
The Spartans play in primarily green jerseys, with a white trim and black numbers. Their game pants and socks are both black, as are their helmets. Their jerseys are currently manufactured by Champro.
Their logo is a stylised
Spartan
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...
helmet, similar to that of their namesakes, the
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...
.
Stadium
The Spartans used to play their home games at the
DCBL Stadium
The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...
, a 13,350 seater stadium with
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
. It is also home to championship rugby club, the
Widnes Vikings
The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two rug ...
.
Players
Current roster
Personnel
Notes
External links
Halton Spartans website
{{British American Football
BAFA National League teams
2014 establishments in England
American football teams established in 2014
American football teams in England