Great Britain’s Women’s Flag Football team finished fifth at their debut World Games after defeating host nation China 34-13 in Sunday’s placement game.
The Lions opened their World Games campaign with Group B wins over Italy and Japan, before losing to defending-champions Mexico.
In the quarterfinals Great Britain faced the world number four Austria, losing 28-40 and moving into the placement games.
A dramatic overtime win over Italy paved the way to the fifth-place playoff, in which Great Britain overcame the hosts, China, 34-13 to finish fifth.
The story of the competition for Great Britain has been resilience and unity, two of the programme’s six core values.
While four of the squad’s twelve players have never represented Great Britain before, the weight of the occasion rarely showed on the young squad’s faces, notably in quarterback Jessica Allen who brought confidence and composure when it mattered most.
Captain Grace Conway had high praise of the side’s rookie contingent, describing them as “made for these big moments.”
“They are like sponges, they just want to soak everything in,” she added.
“These moments, the losses as well, teach you so much more sometimes than a win. For them to be in those scenarios and experience that, it sets the tone and they can go through and take that experience into Euros and the rest of their careers.”
The Great Britain side will next play in France at the IFAF European Championships in late September, alongside Great Britain Men.