The Tamaki Lightning has been providing the sport of American Football to the wider East Auckland/Botany community since 1999.  Apart from our Senior team, we also have a Junior (14 – 16yr old) and Colts (17 - 19 yr old) team currently entered in the American Football Auckland competition for the upcoming season, which generally runs from Late October through to February. We are currently based at the Pakuranga Rugby club where all our trainings take place

 

Although we are based in East Auckland, we currently have players travalling from as far as the North Shore and Manurewa to be part of our successful club. We are an incorporated society and affiliated with the New Zealand American Football Federation (NZAFF) as well as our regional body, American Football Auckland (AFA).

 

The Tamaki Lightning American Football Club was founded on a premise that we should “play good football” and we are known for that.  We believe that this approach will ensure we are able to develop and grow our players in a safe and enjoyable environment and that it will also ultimately lead to winning championships! Something that we last achieved in 2005 – with several tough losses in finals since then.

 

Our club is also about creating an extended family and providing a sense of brotherhood.  Our coaches throughout our history have focussed on instilling the importance of teamwork and self-discipline; skills that we hope will extend to be a positive influence on lives beyond the field – such that each and every player can also gain in their family unit; their place of work, and wider community. We are also Committed to a high standard of health and safety as we provide our players with state of the art safety equipment as well as working with our sponsors "BodyZone Physiotherapy" who provide game day physio's and comprehensive injury management and rehabilitation free of charge to players with ACC coverage.

 

The American Football season in Auckland currently runs from October through to February with games generally taking place in Mountford Park in Manurewa. Each team trains 2 times a week (upto 3 times during pre-season) and players are expected to attend training sessions to the best of their abilities.

 

We are excited about the future of the Tamaki Lightning as well as that of the sport of American Football in New Zealand. We. We have seen the positive effects that our well organised and supportive environment has on the young kids coming through our grades, and we are committed to ensuring that continues.