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af2 training camps underway

March 16, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CHICAGO - Teams from arenafootball2, the nation's top developmental Arena Football league, officially open training camp this week in preparation for the league's sixth season, which begins on April 1.

A highlight of this year's preseason schedule includes a weekend of international competition as the San Diego Riptide host the All-Japan Samurai Warriors on Saturday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the San Diego Sports Arena, and the Central Valley Coyotes face off against the New Zealand All-Stars on Sunday, March 27 at 10:00 p.m. ET at Selland Arena in Fresno.

Billed as "Japan Fiesta in San Diego", the game between the Riptide and the Samurai Warriors will mark the second straight year that a team from Japan takes on an af2 team. Last season, the Samurai Warriors played the Louisville Fire at Freedom Hall. This year's game will be packaged amongst an entire evening of Japanese cultural celebration. The concourse of the arena will be divided into four areas featuring various aspects of Japanese culture including history, food, arts/crafts and entertainment. The pregame show will feature performances by the San Diego Japan Chorus Group, Judo America, Neisha's Dance Academy, Yoko Inomata and a Japanese cheerleading team.

The other international game, featuring the Coyotes against New Zealand All-Stars, marks the first time a team from New Zealand travels to the United States to take on an Arena Football team. The team, called The Overstayers, consists of top players from the squad that took second place in the Arena Football Down Under Challenge in Australia in December of 2003. Former AFL player and af2 head coach Chad Carlson will assist the team in the game against the Coyotes.

Several other teams plan to participate in scrimmages or preseason games prior to opening weekend of the regular season. Scheduled scrimmages/preseason games include:

3/21 - Tulsa at Bossier-Shreveport -10:00 a.m. Century Tel Center
3/23 - Amarillo at Oklahoma City - 6:00 p.m. Cox Convention Center
3/25 - Albany/Manchester at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 2:00 p.m. Wachovia Arena
3/26 - Bossier-Shreveport at Arkansas - 10:00 a.m. AllTel Arena
3/26 - Birmingham at Birmingham - 1:00 p.m. Lawson Field
3/28 - Green Bay at Quad City - 6:30 p.m. The MARK of the Quad Cities
All times local

Under af2 rules, teams are allowed to open camp two weeks prior to the week of their regular season game. Teams are allowed to bring 35 players to camp (not including the optional two-player International Training Squad), but must cut down to 30 on the third day of camp. The final cut to 21 players (19-active; two-inactive) is the Monday prior to their first game by 3:00 p.m. ET. Each team's training camp cut dates are listed below

TRAINING CAMP CUT DATES FOR ALL af2 TEAMS:

TEAM MEETINGS ANDPHYSICALS CAMP BEGINS FIRST CUT-By 11:59 p.m. CT FINAL CUT - By 2:00 p.m. CT
Albany March 20 March 21 March 23 April 1
Amarillo March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Arkansas March 23 Match 24 March 26 April 4
Bakersfield March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Birmingham March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Bossier-Shreveport March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Central Valley March 14 March 15 March 17 March 27
Florida March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Green Bay March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Louisville March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Macon March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Manchester March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Memphis March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Oklahoma City March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Quad City March 20 March 21 March 23 April 1
Rio Grande Valley March 22 March 23 March 25 April 3
San Diego March 13 March 14 March 16 March 26
South Georgia March 17 March 18 March 20 March 29
Tulsa March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton March 16 March 17 March 19 March 28

About af2

Kicking off its sixth season in 16 days, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to second-tier cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is currently in its 19th season and third on NBC. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.



arenafootball2 Stories from March 16, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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