Haylor & Sowieta represent Canada at Technical meeting: Canadian Legault Head Coach of Team France (video)

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Representatives of the teams that will participate in the 2011 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Senior World Championship are attending a Technical Meeting in the host nation Austria to finalize preparations for the fourth flagship event. The meeting includes 3 Canadians: National Team Head Coach Larry Haylor, Football Canada Director of Sport Rick Sowieta, and Larry Legault France National Team Head Coach – current HEAD Coach des Black Panters de Thonon Les Bains (former Bishop Gaiter, Mount Allison Mountie and Vieux-Montreal Spartiates coach).

IFAF President TOMMY WIKING, President of the Austrian host federation MICHAEL ESCHLBÖCK and IFAF Tournament Committee Director ROOPE NORONEN will welcome representatives from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico and the United States. Also participating are IFAF Tournament Committee members JACK REED and GIORGIO LONGHI.

The IFAF Senior World Championship is held every four years having first been contested in 1999 and the eight nations from four continents will compete in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz from July 8-17.

The team representatives will visit the Tivoli Stadium (capacity 16,000) in Innsbruck and UPC Arena (15,4000) in Graz, which will host the group games and will also inspect Vienna’s 50,000-seat Ernst Happel Stadium, which plays host to the final rounds and Gold and Bronze Medal Games on July 15 and 16. The delegation will meet to discuss all technical aspects of the tournament and to view practice and lodging facilities.

The visiting group includes three of the tournament’s head coaches in LARRY HAYLOR (Canada), LARRY LEGAULT (France) and KIYOYUKI MORI (Japan).

“We are honored to welcome key members of each of the IFAF Senior World Championship participating nations to Austria,” said Austrian host federation President MICHAEL ESCHLBÖCK. “Preparations are on schedule for this summer’s tournament and we look forward to visiting the stadiums and facilities with our guests.

“American football fans in Austria are excited to have the best players from around the world visit our country to play for the World Championship.”

Group A games will be played in Innsbruck and those teams will kick off the IFAF Senior World Championship when defending champion USA faces Australia and Germany takes on Mexico on Friday, July 8.

Two-time champion (1999 and 2007) Japan will face home team Austria and an anticipated vociferous home crowd to kick off Group B action on Saturday, July 9 in Graz, while France and Canada meet in the other game.

Each team will face its group opponent once and from the final standings the group winners will advance to the IFAF Senior World Championship Game to play for the Gold Medal on Saturday, July 16 in the Austrian capital Vienna. The two second-placed teams will contest the Bronze Medal in Vienna on Friday, July 15.

For more information and for details on travel packages to Austria, visit www.IFAF.org and www.americanfootball2011.com/en.

PICTURES:

top – Larry Legault
middle – Larry Haylor
bottom – Rick Sowieta

IFAF Technical Meeting attendees:

Tommy Wiking, IFAF President

Roope Noronen, Tournament Committee Director

Giorgio Longhi, Tournament Committee

Jack Reed, IFAF Development Manager

Stephen Komnacki, Chef de Mission, Australia

Daniel Dieplinger, Chef de Mission, Austria

Rick Sowieta, Chef de Mission, Canada

Larry Haylor, Head Coach, Canada

Charles Paviot, Chef de Mission, France

Larry Legault, Head Coach, France (Canadian citizen)

Marshall Happer,Chef de Mission, Germany

Kiyoyuki Mori, Head Coach, Japan

Tadayuki Kanou, Chef de Mission, Japan

Shigeyuki Watanabe, Japan

Naomi Tomii, Japan

Jorge Orobio, President, Mexican federation

Javier Rodrigo García Reyes, Coach, Mexico

USA Nick Inzerello, Chef de Mission, USA

Scott Hallenbeck, Executive Director, USA Football