Flag/Euro2013 : the Austrian Women Team aims the three-peat !Interview of Marie Michelitsch

le 12/09/2013 à 18:48 par François-Noël Martin

10 days before the Flag Football European championship opening, we propose you the interview of Marie Michelitsch, austrian woman player and double titleholder of the European title.

Hello Marie ! In a first time, could you please introduce yourself?

So I’m 21 and I play Flag Football as Receiver with the Amazing Austrian Amazones. This team is the women Austrian national team, which plays also in the Austrian national championship. I joined it in 2007 during the first edition of the Big Bowl, a huge European tournament of Flag in Walldorf, Germany. As I was 15, I was not eligible to play in the European Championship 2007 due to age restriction. Instead, I won a bronze medal with the U15 team during the Youth World Championship the same year, in Holland. Then, I played the 2009 and 2011 editions of the European Championship of Flag, and won the two titles with senior Austrian team. I also play American Football as Runningback with the Raiffeisen Vikings.

How does the Austrian national championship work?

In Austria, we play the 5vs5 version of Flag Football, like in EFAF and IFAF international championships. There are 3 leagues: the FLA (Flag Liga Austria) composed by 8 different teams, the FLA2 with 7 teams, and the FLS which counts around ten teams. Amazing Austrian Amazones joined FLA2 4 years ago. All these teams are mixed.

Is Flag Football a well-known sport in Austria?

Unfortunately not. Few people know American Football and even less have already heard about Flag Football. But I think it’s growing quite well: when I started Flag Football, there was only one league, the FLA, with 7 teams.

Back to previous World Championship in Sweden last year: Austrian team played the game for the third place against France. You seemed to lead the game until the halfHalf
Une mi-temps, il y en a deux. Elles débutent toutes les 2 par un coup de pied d'envoi : kickoff. before losing it finally. What happened?

I think we were really depressed because of the loss against USA in semi-final. We were not able to get those bad thoughts out of our mind.

What is your assessment of this competition?

It was a really good experience for all of us as it was the first time within the last 3 to 4 years that we did not reach our target. It is really important to learn from our mistakes, to keep focused from game to game and especially get rid of those bad thoughts.

At the end of this championship, you were selected in the first offenseOffense
escouade spécialisée dans l'attaque. team of the tournament. Was it your first personal award in an international championship?

This selection was definitively my first award in a Flag Football championship, and the second on the whole: In 2010, I was selected in offense team, as Runningback, at the American Football championship of Austria. I was also awarded by IFAF as player of the month. I was really happy about this recognition in Sweden, even though I was angry about the two lost games in semi-final and final.

Are there women players that impressed you in this tournament?

In Flag-Football, I have difficulties in reminding the other players. I’m always focused and try not to think about the other one. In American Football, it’s not working like Flag Football: because of the physical contacts and sometimes the fear/respect of some defensive players, you pay more attention to the other players. Therefore, I can only remember Flag Football players who also played American Football.

How does Austrian national team prepare this European Championship?

We practice once a week and we play several games against male teams. We also had two training camps.

Marie Michelitsch playing American Football (Paul Feuersänger)

What will be your final goal in Italy?

Win the European Championship for the third time inTime In
quand le chrono tourne. a row and to get the fair play award again. And we are of course looking forward to having a lot of fun there !

You will meet again the French team. Is it a good opportunity to take your revenge?

Of course, it will be a kind of revenge. We want to perform as good as possible, not like in Sweden where we did not performed that well.

You won the last European Championship. From your point of view, who will be the favourite to succeed you?

It won't be as easy as in 2011. But if we do not make too many mistakes, nobody should be able to stop us. I think our most dangerous opponents are France, Germany and Denmark.

Last question: What is your best Flag Football memory?

My best memory is probably the success in European Championship in Belfast, in 2009. Nobody expected us to win this title and in addition, we lost against Finland and France in the first round games. In the semi-finals against France, we only had 30 seconds, or maybe less, to score a touchdownTouchdown (TD)
c'est l'essai qui vaut 6 points et qui peut être transformé au choix à 1 ou 2 points. Il suffit que le ballon pénètre dans la endzone. (pas besoin d'aplatir) and win the game. I don't know how, but we scored and played the final against Finland. After the first half, we were down by 20 points and it was really hard not to give up. Finally, we were able to turn the game and win. I remember that I called my mother between the final and the semi-final to tell her that we were in the finals. She first though that I was joking. But when I called back to announced that we were champions, she totally freaked out ! At our return in Austria, most of our parents where waiting us with posters and champagne to celebrate us. I think I will never forget this experience !

Flag/Euro2013 : the Austrian Women Team aims the three-peat !Interview of Marie Michelitsch

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