THE junior section of a West Fife American football club are celebrating after touching down to clinch trophy success.

Dunfermline Saints, which is part of Carnegie American Football Club, were in action at the 'Flagging New Year' tournament at the Ravenscraig Regional Regional Sports Facility and returned home with silverware.

An annual competition, the event brings teams from across Europe to compete over two days in the flag version of the game, which is non-contact and is popularised by the NFL.

The fastest-growing format of the game in Great Britain, it retains the same principles as the contact version but is played with five players on each side, with tackles made by pulling off a flag worn by all players to stop the offensive player from scoring.

Carnegie, which was established in 2013 and fields teams in the BAFA National Flag Football League, were represented in the main competition while, for the first time, a junior section was added and saw five teams from Scotland take part.

The Saints, who offer kitted football for youngsters aged between 10-18, competed alongside Phoenix Fire and Phoenix Rising (Inverclyde American Football), Hamilton Buccaneers (East Kilbride Pirates American Football Club), and Glasgow Tigers (Glasgow Tigers American Football Club) and they finished on top to lift the trophy after winning three and losing one of their games.

Coach Colin Anderson said: "The win was a fantastic result, especially with the team being mostly kitted/contact focussed and playing in their first proper flag tournament. All the coaches are very proud of the team to be able to bring home the trophy to Carnegie Football Club, and were very impressed with everyone’s efforts.

The squad was made up of Ross Boal, Ryan Boal, Aimee McIntyre, Natasha Anderson, Cole Meikle, Declan Davidson, Kyle McNeil, Cameron Foster, Lewis Maxwell, Olivia Nisbet, Ryan Barker, Kyle Falconer.

"Everyone played very well – working their socks off to make some great catches and fantastic running of the ball, digging in at the end to win the title. Coaches MVP went to Ryan Barker who followed instructions well and led the team on the field.

"A big thank you as well to all the parents for coming along and their support on a cold and wet day – a fantastic effort from all involved with the Saints."

Meanwhile, the team, which offers opportunities to play for both boys and girls, are inviting players with an interest to attend training sessions on Friday nights at their Duloch Leisure Centre base.

There are under-12, under-14, under-17 and under-19 teams and any interested player can take part in the sessions – the first of which is free – with fully-qualified, experienced and insured coaches.

All equipment, except boots and a gumshield, is provided and sessions run from 7-9pm, with players reporting to changing room 16.

Training sessions for the adult flag team - who will play in the BAFA HNC Premier Division this year, take place at Duloch from 10am-12pm on Saturdays for those aged 16-and-over, while the adult full contact team - for those aged 18-and-over - hold training sessions on Sundays from 10am-12pm.

For more information about the Saints and Carnegie American Football Club, which also has an adult kitted team, the Dunfermline Kings, under its banner, you can find the club on Facebook or visit http://carnegiefootball.com.