In addition to this interview in English we will publish a similar interview in Norwegian soon, as well as an extended version showing more of the actual practice itself. For now, here’s the interview we did in English:

Hvordan har Covid19 påvirket norske klubber? Hvordan har klubbene håndtert pandemien og restriksjonene den har ført med seg? Hvordan planlegger de, og hvordan ser de på fremtiden? Dette og mange andre spørsmål er blant det vi snakker med norske klubber om i denne episoden, den første av to med dette fokuset. I denne episoden snakker vi med Derek Mann fra Oslo Vikings og Scott Boer fra Grenland Giants – to klubber med vidt forskjellige forutsetninger. Hvordan har de håndtert det hele? I denne episoden stiller Jarle Magnus Henriksen og Harald Kruhaug spørsmålene i intervjuer med noen av landets fremste sportslige ressurspersoner.

I denne episoden er det først Oslo Vikings sin sportslige leder og hovedtrener for senior Derek Mann vi snakker med. Hvilke råd kan han gi andre klubber? Hvordan har Covid19 vært for ham og Oslo Vikings? Deretter snakker vi med velkjente Scott Boer, tidligere Vålerenga Trolls – nå leder og hovedtrener for Grenland Giants. Har det latt seg gjøre å rekruttere i Skien og Porsgrunn i løpet av det siste året? Hva gjør man når en fersk rekrutt dukker opp og vil lære om amerikansk fotball midt i en pandemi? Og hva er det positive man kan få ut av situasjonen? Dette er blant de sakene vi er innom når Derek og Scott deler av sine tanker og kunnskap om temaet.

Hele denne episoden er på engelsk, i motsetning til de fleste andre av våre episoder av Amerikansk Fotball Podkast. Det betyr at om det er én episode du skal dele med venner og bekjente som ikke snakker norsk, så er denne episoden et godt sted å begynne

Du finner episode 37 av Amerikansk Fotball Podkast her:

Relevante linker:

• Årets U17-serie er avlyst!
• Norge
• Vil du spille selv?
• Oslo Vikings 2019 highlights!
• Grenland Giants web / facebook
• Oslo Vikings web / facebook

Programleder for denne sendingen: Jarle Magnus Henriksen

Andre deltakere i denne sendingen: Derek Mann, Scott Boer og Harald Kruhaug.

It was with great shock and sadness that I recently learned that a major contributor to american football in Norway for several decades, Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysen, recently passed away.

It was the Oslo Vikings who first reported the dramatic and terrible news. Rolv Bjarne died of a heart attack during a recent business trip, age 48.

Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysen started playing football in the mid 80s when he joined the recently founded Westside Vikings (now named Oslo Vikings). Many within the Norwegian football community will remember Rolv Bjarne as a solid player -primarily as a defensive back- during his years playing for the Vikings from 1986 until 1997, but he is perhaps best remembered for the numerous leadership roles he took on at both the club and federation level as his playing days came to an end.

Personally I first got to know Rolv Bjarne shortly after he’d stepped down as vice president of the Norwegian federation, where he in cooperation with the president at the time, Stein-Arne Tjore, helped the federation take great strides in the right direction with his professional approach both with regards to organizational structures, vision and plans for the future. Rolv Bjarne was as passionate about the sport in a leadership role off the field as he had been as a player on the field. It is for example worth mentioning that he took a full year off to focus on working for free for the federation, living on his own savings while tirelessly working into the late hours of the night to create better conditions for football in Norway.

As is too often the case in organizations based on volunteer work, a lot of that work was not followed up properly by others after Rolv Bjarne left the federation office. However, some of us did have the fortune of getting to know both Rolv Bjarne and the legacy he left behind at the federation. I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time learning from Rolv Bjarne in the fall of 1998 and spring of 1999 at the actual office of the Norwegian federation.

At the time the office was in fact a rented apartment in the middle of Oslo, and in exchange for working part time as secretary general for the federation I got to live there for a couple of years. Although Rolv Bjarne had resigned from his role as vice president he still came by the federation office several times each week. At the time he was trying to launch his own company, and he had a deal with the federation where he could use the office in relation to that. For me it was a great opportunity to learn more about what had happened within the federation -and football in Norway in general- in the years prior to my arrival in Oslo, and Rolv Bjarne was more than happy to share his valuable insights and knowledge. A lot of the information and the approach to both football and business that Rolv Bjarne taught me back then is knowledge that I’ve brought with me both within football and my professional career over the past 20 years. Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysen made an impact, and it stuck.

After his time within the federation ended Rolv Bjarne‘s focus shifted from football towards business. From what I understand he succeeded in business as well, and at the time of his untimely death he was the CFO as well as one of the major owners of Incita, a company with several hundred employees.

However, Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysen never left football completely, keeping a keen eye on the Norwegian football scene. That continous passion for the sport would also turn into a good number of years on the board of the Oslo Vikings, including several years as president for the club where he started playing football back in 1986.

Rolv Bjarne was a constantly engaging, knowledgeable and well spoken member of the football community in Norway, and it was always a privilege to discuss the sport -on many levels- with him. He was a very good example for why it’s important to listen to more than your own thoughts about subject matters that come up, being the best example for the openness and democratic culture that he himself promoted and laid some of the foundations for within football in Norway.

I do not think it was purely coincidental that it was during Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysens years in the Norwegian federation that we saw an organization which was not only willing to listen to it’s members, but actively worked to make that dialogue happen. One of those activities included setting up a message board on the federation website and letting people speak their mind and get answers in open discussions there.

That message board was the start of a small wave of Norwegian football websites from both teams and individuals who wanted to follow the example Rolv Bjarne and some of the others in the federation set at the time. In many ways the website where I am the editor, Amerikansk Fotball, is a result of that kind of attitude towards what the sport needs to be to grow. Rolv Bjarne led the way, and we followed in his footsteps.

I, and many others in the football community, owe a lot to Rolv Bjarne Nicolaysen and what he stood for.

– Jarle Magnus Henriksen

Before the 2017 NFL Draft, Alek Torgersen was ranked among the 10-15 best QBs available. Although he didn’t get drafted, Torgersen signed with the Atlanta Falcons almost immediately after the draft had concluded. Alek Torgersen becomes the second Norwegian to sign for the Atlanta Falcons, following in the footsteps of Bernt Rognstad.

Torgersen, whose father is from the city of Drammen in Norway, has grown up in California and played his college football at Penn (Ivy League, NCAA FCS), where he was a three year starter and set multiple records. With a 66.9% completion percentage during the 2016 season as well as 17 touchdowns compared to just 4 interceptions, Torgersen caught the eye of many NFL scouts searching for «the next Carson Wentz«. Add to that Torgersens 8 rushing touchdowns, and you have a player worth checking out even for teams in the world’s best football league.

Alek Torgersen has good size at close to 6’3» and 230 pounds, enough speed and athletic ability to play in a zone-read offense at Penn, and a good arm. Specifically, his skills at throwing short and intermediate passes with great velocity and accuracy was considered among the best in the 2017 draft class. It still didn’t get him an invite to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, but an invite to the East-West Shrine game gave Torgersen an opportunity to showcase his skills – which he promptly did. Alek Torgersen was among the better performers during the East-West Shrine game event, which was essential for getting enough interest that 17 NFL teams showed up a few weeks later for his Pro Day:

Granted, playing in Penn’s zone-read offense may not be ideal for transitioning directly into an NFL offense, but in Torgersen the Falcons have secured a 22-year old QB who’s also shown his ability to absorb new information – studying at an Ivy League school where he’s been doing well both on and off the field. Add to that two Ivy League football championships, and Alek Torgersen is an intriguing prospect that could potentially secure a roster spot. In front of him are two QBs: Starter Matt Ryan and backup Matt Schaub. They’ll be 32 and 36 by the time training camp rolls around, and getting someone younger into the mix as an insurance may be a useful move for the Falcons.

It is obviously likely that the Atlanta Falcons will also sign other QBs to their roster during the upcoming months, so it’s not a guarantee that Torgersen makes the roster. But for now he’ll be able to throw to French receiver Anthony Dablé while protected by Danish offensive tackle Andreas Knappe. The NFL is going international, indeed!

We’re talking about Bernt Rognstad. National champion in football the NCAA Division II-level. Rognstad was somewhat known in his home country of Norway before he ever played football, but then as a skilled and promising young athlete within very different sports, such as ski jumping, biathlon and soccer. He was among the country’s best in biathlon and ski jumping, and that’s in fact the main reason why he ended up on a scholarship in the US.

Bernt Rognstad was recruited by Northern Michigan University to bolster their competitiveness and strengthen what was at the time one of the better sports programs when it came to skiing.

We’re back in 1972, which is when Rognstad got recruited by personell from Northern Michigan University who travelled to Norway and signed some of the top skiers in the country. 1973 sees the first articles pop up where Bernt Rognstad is mentioned in connection with the football program at Northern Michigan, which played in NCAA Division II just like the program still does today. In 1973 Rognstad is kicking field goals and kickoffs, and particularily excelling at the latter. Later on it is as a kickoff specialist he will make his mark, and which is the primary reason that the Atlanta Falcons come calling shortly after the 1976 draft. More about that later.

Before things get to that point, Bernt Rognstad has to be discovered by the Northern Michigan football coaches, and this is where the similarity to Jan Stenerud’s story is particularily striking. We also get some insight into Bernt Rognstad’s personality in this recollection from someone who was actually there at the time, John Benzie:

As you know, ski jumpers do a lot of cross training with soccer.   Part of our training at NMU was playing soccer on the small corners of the NMU Wildcat football field which was a daily occurrence when the weather cooperated.  At the end of one practice session Bernt kicked the soccer ball through the uprights just past the football coaching staff and into parking lot from about 20 yards away.  The head football coach walked back to Bernt and asked him his name to which he replied ELVIS in his Norwegian accent.  He was always making jokes like that.  The coach then asked him to kick a football through the uprights from the 20 yard line and Bernt replied »which foot do you want me to use.»  He also did this from 30 yards, and had little problem using his right foot kicking the ball thru at 50 yards.  It seemed NMU had a new kicker and our ski jumping team had a dual sport athlete.  Bernt’s humor was always there as when he made his first appearance on the football field with double zero »00» on his jersey and we all had a laugh.  This laughing stopped as his first kick off sailed out of the end zone.
– From USASJ Story Project 16

Elvis as an alter ego, actually Bernt Rognstad was perhaps in a better athlete than his alter ego during these years. In fact, Rognstad repeatedly ended up in the top 5 as a ski jumper (#3, #2 and #5 during 1973-75) in the NCAA, and also did well enough to earn an All-American honorable mention.

Rognstad, who was from the tiny municipality of Fenstad north of Oslo, played for the Northern Michigan football team in 1973, 1975 og 1976. How could he then be signed by an NFL-team in the spring of 1976 when he played college football in the fall of that same year? Well…that’s kind of the issue.

Bernt Rognstad was signed as an underclassman. In those days, that was a no-go. Once NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle and his staff got word of the signing, they investigated the issue and quickly came to the conclusion that the Falcons had to void the contract. The whole mess wouldn’t have been an issue nowadays, where the NFL regularily signs juniors and even sophomores in addition to seniors from college, but in 1976 being an underclassman was a show-stopper. Bernt Rognstad’s opportunity with the Atlanta Falcons and potentially playing in the NFL would have to wait. This is the reason why you won’t find Bernt Rognstad in the NFL archives despite contemporary newspaper articles undoubtedly verifying that the signing did happen:

That the NCAA allowed Rognstad to keep playing despite already having signed an NFL contract probably has to do with the fact that the contract was swiftly voided by the NFL itself. Apparently the NCAA formally never considered Bernt Rognstad as having played or been involved with a pro football team, and therefore he could continue playing for the Nothern Michigan Wildcats. The team had won the national championship the previous season, and 1976 saw them mount a campaign to repeat as champions. Bernt Rognstad was fortunate enough to be part of that effort, even though it probably was fairly disappointing for him to not start earning money as a kicker in the NFL that same fall.

Bernt Rognstad’s role for Northern Michigan in 1975 and 1976 was primarily as a kicker on kickoffs, and from time to time field goals from 30+ yards out. In other words: He was splitting the kicking duties. That an NFL team nonetheless came calling says something about the qualities Rognstad possessed. It probably also says something about the interest in soccer-style (and then often European..) kickers during the years shortly after players such as Pete Gogolak and Jan Stenerud paved the way for the new style of kicking that revolutionized the position.

The future looked bright for Bernt Rognstad. Although the Northern Michigan Wildcats ended their 1976 season without a second national championship in two years, the team still did well. A team that was 0-10 as late as 1974 ended up losing in the semifinal by 29-26 to Akron in overtime. The loss was tough, but a crowd of local fans still greeted the team when they came back to Marquette, where Northern Michigan University is located, after the flight from Akron. The mood was festive enough for several of the players to celebrate their season out on town, Rognstad among them on a cold night with snow and ice on the ground outside the taverns and bars of Marquette.

The semifinal game had it’s own special tie to Bernt Rognstad and his nationality. We don’t know whether it was something he pondered, but ironically enough his last ever game would be in a Bowl game named after another Norwegian: It was called Knute Rockne Bowl, named after one of the greatest football coaches of all time, Norwegian-born Knute Rockne.

The game was one of the two semifinals during the NCAA Division II-playoffs in 1976, with the winner moving on to the National Championship, just like Northern Michigan had done in 1975. Saturday December 5th 1976 would not end that way, as the Wildcats lost. That day would also prove to be Bernt Rognstad’s last day alive.

At 02:01AM Sunday the 6th of December Bernt Rognstad was crossing the street on his way back to the NMU campus where he lived. His teammates Jeff Reinbold and Jack Guenthner were following in his footsteps only a few yards behind him. Right in front of what was then named the North End Tavern, Bernt Rognstad entered the street between two parked cars. He never saw the car that came driving. Reinbold and Guenthner saw the car and yelled out, but it was too late.

Five and a half hours later the life of Bernt Rognstad faded away for good at the Marquette General North Hospital. Serious head injuries proved fatal, and there was nothing the doctors could do to bring him back to life. Bernt Rognstad passed away at 24 years old.

Northern Michigan University, the football team and in fact the entire school, was in shock. According to teammate and the team’s star player, QB Steve Mariucci, the whole campus was in a daze. Mariucci, who most people probably know better as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions for a number of years, had a rough time in the wake of the tragic death of Bernt Rognstad. Rognstad was engaged, and his fiancée Paula Constantini was a classmate (and from what we can understand they remain close friends to this day) of Mariucci from high school in nearby Iron Mountain, Michigan. Mariucci was among the people who spent the coming days consoling her in what must have been a devastating and trying time. Bernt and Paula had planned a trip to Norway scheduled for a few weeks later, visiting his parents among other things on the agenda. They had their lives together ahead of them. It was not to be.

Bernt Rognstad was buried in Norway.

I remember our teammate with great pride! #nmuwildcats https://t.co/ZLzP3sFvOh

— Steve Mariucci (@SteveMariucci) February 1, 2017

It’s worth mentioning that the driver who hit Rognstad never was charged with any crime. The current situation at the time with slippery conditions in combination with parked cars led to the conclusion from the local police that there was nothing the driver could have done to avoid the situation. It was concluded that this was a tragic accident with the worst possible outcome.

Tomorrow we switch languages for a day. Amerikansk Fotball is normally a Norwegian-language website, but for tomorrow’s Norwegian Championship game we’ll be doing our coverage of the game in English. So what’s our coverage going to be like?

Where can I follow the game tomorrow?

Just like in 2015, we will be present at the stadium for the championship game. When it comes to film we will be doing live pregame, halftime and postgame shows, in addition to interviews that are recorded, uploaded to Youtube and shared through our website. We will also be doing text updates and Instagram-posts that are all available on the same page on our website. That page will be live from tomorrow morning, and you’ll be able to find it here:

• Live updates: Norwegian Championship 2016

It will be fairly similar to our setup and web page in 2015 for last year’s championship game, which you can still find here.

Our hosts for the pregame, halftime and postgame shows

At the stadium we will have an improvised studio set up, where our hosts Helene Marie Grov and Travis Cornwell will be in front of the camera.

Helene Marie has been part of the Eidsvoll 1814s and Vålerenga Trolls in many roles throughout several years, including playing for the Trolls’ womens team as well as the 1814s youth program where she started her football career.

Travis is well known in Norway as the quarterback and head coach for Olavs Menn, a 1st Division team. Together Helene Marie and Travis will give their input on the game and have guests in the studio throughout the day!

So…what about livestream of the game?

We are not in charge of the livestream from the game, but we will make sure you can find it through the page on our website listed above! The Norwegian federation of american football in Norway is running the livestream, so if you are not able to travel to Fredrikstad and watch the game in person (which we HIGHLY recommend!), you will be able to watch it online.

As always there’ll be technical issues to solve and keep on top of for both the guys doing the livestream and for us doing our coverage, but we hope everything goes well and look forward to the Norwegian championship game 2016, featuring the Oslo Vikings and Eidsvoll 1814s!

American football in Norway has seen an upward trend the past few years, with a large increase in the number of teams, and a gradually higher level of football. A few hours ago news broke that certainly puts a considerable dent in the impression that everything is well in Norway. For the first time ever, a reigning Norwegian champion has pulled out of the league the following year. That is exactly what the Kristiansand Gladiators did when they let the league know that they will not participate in the 2015-season!

REASON AND REACTIONS

Undoubtedly, a lot of people, including the federation, opposing teams and others with a relation to american football in Norway, are shocked by the news. Even in Kristiansand the news is received with disbelief, although the players and team management has known for some time where the ship’s been headed.

This is very surprising and disappointing, and a poor impression to send other leagues and sports: That a reigning champion pulls out of league play 2 weeks before the season starts.

At the same time we hope the Gladiators get back on their feet as soon as possible.

– Edvin Jenssen, president Nidaros Domers

The reason given for pulling out of league play seems to be two-folded: A changed financial situation combined with a lack of players. We don’t have a full overview of the financial issues, but it is likely to be failing income generated from volunteer work the players do for the club or large sponsorship deals that have been lost. Beneficial financial deals such as access to very cheap housing for import players would also likely cause a larger cost if they were to be cancelled. That may be the case, but we do not have the correct answer when it comes to these details.

Lack of players is an interesting reason. There are undoubtedly a number of players that retired after a fantastic championship season in 2014. The championship was unexpected. Not because the Gladiators were a poor quality team on the field, but because the other championship game team –Eidsvoll 1814s– looked like the better team in the league for the majority of the season. For the Gladiators, where a large portion of the better local players in 2014 were older than the average of most teams, a championship season was perhaps a good way to end a long career in football for several of the players.

At the same time as some players retire, some leave for other reasons. Liberty University (NCAA FCS)-bound lineman Ernst Andersen may only be 1 player, but the loss of such high quality teammates may shake the remaining players’ confidence when it comes to believing in the team as a whole. Andersen was not alone; let’s have a look at the some of the players we’ve learned that were not going to play in 2015 (for various reasons) and were part of the team in 2014:

• Allan Wetrhus, Chris Heimtun, Eirik Håverstad, Bartosz Kalejta, Long Hoang
• Anders Melleberg Torp, Tobias Falkum, Benjamin Bjorvatn Øien, Aadne Flottorp
• Alan C. Femenias, Lukasz Kadziolka, Christoffer Henriksen, Ørjan Øvstetun

In addition to the homegrown talent, the Kristiansand Gladiators have been heavily assisted by a relatively large group of import players for a number of seasons. Import recruiting seems to have been a bigger challenge in 2015 than previous years. At the same time the Norwegian federation’s bylaws were changed from 2014 to 2015. The changes meant there’s a maximum number of paid imports (4); a change that obviously influences what a club can do when it comes to bringing in experienced players from other places.

Whether the bylaw changes has affected the Gladiators efforts is something we don’t know for sure, but we are familiar with the fact that the Kristiansand side has met considerable obstacles in their recruiting process in front of the 2015 season. This includes an international transfer that has been rejected by the Swedish federation, as well as passport issues and expected signings that just didn’t pan out the way the Gladiators had planned.

This is obviously incredibly sad for our sport and underlines the importance of longterm thinking in the efforts made by both clubs and the federation. I don’t have a full overview of what happened in Kristiansand, so it’s a bit early to draw conclusions. But there’s no doubt the timing of them pulling out is terrible.

– Simen N. Kristensen, president Vålerenga Trolls

It’s not unatural that the focus on building a youth program versus being import-driven is a topic of discussion in Norway following these news; particularily because the Kristiansand Gladiators have been the foremost team in the Norwegian league when it comes to the number of imports brought in. The Gladiators have been able to fulfill the federation’s requirements when it comes to having youth teams, but no one can rightfully claim that they have a youth program equal to such clubs as the Vålerenga Trolls or the Oslo Vikings.

At the same time the Kristiansand team that managed to get to the championship 3 years in a row (2012, 2013, 2014) and finally win in 2014, had a core consisting of many players who were brought up from a Gladiators youth program that was very strong in the early- to mid-2000s. However: A youth program is something that must be consistently maintained, and a debate about the use of club resources is certainly not out of place after the senior level Norwegian champions pull out of league play for the first time in history.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE ELITE SERIES IN 2015?

The Elite Series, the Norwegian top level of football, consists of 6 teams. Now there are 5 left for the 2015 season. With only a few days left before Easter, and with the 1st round of league play on April 11th-12th, the Norwegian federation must scramble to find a solution where the league doesn’t hurt too much after the departure of the Gladiators. The way the league schedule is set up means teams have an uneven number of games against eachother, but an equal total number of games. With the Gladiators pulling out, teams are affected differently based on how many games they were supposed to play against the Kristiansand side.

The Norwegian federation has obviously informed all the clubs about the situation, and they’ve already given the clubs a number of options to discuss regarding how to schedule/reschedule the Elite Series. Some of these options only means minor changes to the schedule, one option is to just disregard the Kristiansand games and play the others, and another option is to create an entirely new schedule. With only a few weeks left before the league kickoff, minor changes seems like the way to go – but that is up to the clubs and federation to iron out.

This is a major task, but it is expected that the federation and Elite Series clubs will deal with the situation in the next couple of days, and that the changes (or lack thereof) are announced by the weekend.

WHICH CONSEQUENCES DOES THIS HAVE FOR THE KRISTIANSAND GLADIATORS?

A brief era and the start of what could have become a dynasty is over, and it all culminated with this final touchdown to secure the Norwegian championship last year:

Pulling out of league play will clearly affect the reputation of both the Kristiansand Gladiators and the Norwegian league as a whole. Whether it affects the Kristiansand team’s abilities to recruit -both locally and internationally-, attract sponsors and get people in the stands, remains to be seen. We do not doubt that the Gladiators will be back on the field. Keep in mind that we are talking about their senior men’s team; the Gladiators also have youth teams as well as a team for women. Those teams remain active and are still expected to participate in league play in 2015. This is not the end of american football in Kristiansand, although we have a hard time not viewing this as the miserable end to a very good era in the history of the Kristiansand Gladiators.

As far as 2016, the Gladiators have to come to peace with the likely scenario of not being in the Elite Series. Although they will probably be back on the field, it is reasonable to expect that they are demoted at least one level. 2016 is coincidentally the first time since 1997 that there will be 3 levels of Norwegian senior football: Elite Series, 1st division and 2nd Division. The Elite Series and 1st Division are played as regular 11-man football, while the 2nd Division is played as 9-man football.

Although it is possible that the Norwegian federation relegates the Kristiansand team to the 1st Division (and can even choose to let them stay in the Elite Series), it is perhaps more likely that the Gladiators are relegated to the lowest level; 2nd Division. Since one of the main reasons for the Gladiators to pull out is a lack of players, it only makes sense to let them prove that they no longer have a lack of players by first competing in and finishing a season of 9-man football in the 2nd Division before they get a chance to play 11-man football again…IF they qualify by beating the other 2nd Division teams.

Financial issues was as previously mentioned another reason why the Gladiators withdrew their team from the Elite Series 2015. It is worth mentioning that pulling out of the league has a cost too. For example one does not get a refund on fees paid to the federation for participating in the league. Last time a team pulled out, there was also a fine of 25.000,- NOK (approx. 3.000,- EUR) for doing so. In addition, there is the potential liability for expenses other teams have and can’t recuperate when it comes to travel arrangements to Kristiansand, or other expenses directly related to games against the Gladiators. That being said, we’re pretty sure the financial burden will be less than a full season of participating in league play. It’s just that the return on the field surely will be very different…

We’ll get back to this story as more information is made available, and as it becomes clear both what has happened and what will happen. We expect both the Gladiators and the Norwegian federation to make official statements shortly, and in the case of the federation – information about the consequenses for league play in 2015.