Great British Tailgate Party: About Us
The Great British Tailgate Party is run by UK amateur American Football Club the Colchester Gladiators.
Below is information about the Gladiators:
Colchester Gladiators History...
The Colchester Gladiators were first formed in 1983 and celebrated their 25th anniversary during 2008. Our ambitious Club has played mainly in Colchester but always in Essex. 
The Club enjoyed its greatest success during the late 1980s winning three divisional titles and a National Championship at Alexander Stadium, in 1988.
Since then the Gladiators have enjoyed an excellent relationship with local radio and the printed media. BBC Look East and About Anglia have also carried regular reports and game highlights.
And now....
The Gladiators, (until recently), played at Wivenhoe Town FC’s Broad Lane Stadium since 2003 when a charity match attracted close to 1,000 spectators. This game featured Gladiators ‘old boy’ and X Factor favourite, Dermot O’Leary.
British American Football is played on Sundays during the British summer and the regular season consists of ten league games. Home attendance averages between 300 and 500 which is one of the best in the British league, but the Gladiators have been known to put more than 1,200 paying spectators through the gates for some home games. Among other attractions the Gladiators provide ‘in game’ commentary, music, and referees with radio mikes which provides the best ‘Gameday Experience’ in the British game.
The Senior Team is still successful on the field and has played playoff football twice in the past three seasons. The Club now boasts a Youth Team, a Cadet Flag (non-contact) Team, and Dance Team and a membership that continues to grow. The Club was the first in British American Football to achieve the elite Clubmark accreditation from Sport England and secured an Awards for All lottery grant in 2007.
The Gladiators get regular news articles in the local papers along with match previews and reports, usually supported by one or more action photographs.
For our future…
The Management Committee (MC) of the Gladiators is elected from the membership and has remained both constant and ambitious during the past six years. The MC recognises that, in order to continue to lead the growth of the sport in the UK, the Gladiators need to raise and maintain their profile and attract new investment into the organisation. 
In addition the sport in general has enjoyed larger public interest largely due to the increased television availability mainly through Sky TV, Setanta and Channel 5. The NFL has also aided the growing interest and for the last three years has played a regular season game at Wembley stadium. The success of the venture led the NFL to announce their intention to continue the practise at least once a year for the next two years.
For more information on the Colchester Gladiators please see our offical website at www.colchestergladiators.com or email marketing@colchestergladiators.org.uk .
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