The Morecambe Bay Storm were the final operating name of an

American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club that were based in

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

who played in the

BAFA National Leagues The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) is the primary American football domestic league competition in Great Britain. Originally formed in 1983, the league is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate American football, contact ...

. The club traces its roots back to 2011 when the Walney Terriers joined the BAFANL. In 2016 Morecambe Bay formed as a separate club in the same regional division, while the Terriers became the Furness Phantoms in 2017. Due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, the Phantoms dropped out of the 2021 season before announcing a merger with The Storm in time for the 2022 season, however several months later the merged team also folded. The Storm and the Phantoms had both been divisional rivals until the merger.

History

Walney and rebrand to Furness

Established in 2011 they were elevated to full BAFA member status in 2013. They are one of two

BAFANL The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) is the primary American football domestic league competition in Great Britain. Originally formed in 1983, the league is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within E ...

teams in Cumbria and Lancashire, playing in a conference of the league's second tier (National North West) alongside the Chester Romans,

Crewe Railroaders The Crewe Railroaders are an American football team based in Crewe, Cheshire, England, founded in 1984. They play in NFC 2 West of the BAFA National Leagues The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) is the primary American football domestic league ...

, Halton Spartans & Leeds Bobcats. The Terriers originally trained and played at Memorial Fields on

Walney Island Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is part of Barrow-in-Furness, sepa ...

. They then moved to Hawcoat Park and now have moved to GSK Sports & Social Club, Ulverston and still occasionally use

Barrow Raiders The Barrow Raiders are a semi-professional rugby league team in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club play home games at Craven Park (Barrow), Craven Park and compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rug ...

Craven Park Craven Park may refer to: * Craven Park (Barrow), home of Barrow (rugby league) * Craven Park, Hull, current home of Hull Kingston Rovers (rugby league) * Old Craven Park, former home of Hull Kingston Rovers (rugby league) * Craven Park (London), a ...

stadium. In 2017 the team rebranded to the Furness Phantoms. In 2021, the Phantoms ceased operating and announced they had merged with the Storm.

Morecambe Bay Storm

Morecambe entered the League in 2017, in their first season operating they made the Division 2 Play-offs where they were beaten by the

Shropshire Revolution The Shropshire Revolution is an American football team based in Telford, Shropshire, England, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 South, the second level of British American Football. The club is based at the Telford Athletics Stadi ...

. The club announced they had folded just prior to the 2022 BAFANL season, only several months after they had absorbed the Phantoms into their organisation.

References

External links

Official club website
{{British American Football Morecambe Bay Storm Morecambe Bay Storm

Walney Terriers The Morecambe Bay Storm were the final operating name of an American Football club that were based in Morecambe, Lancashire who played in the BAFA National Leagues. The club traces its roots back to 2011 when the Walney Terriers joined the BAFA ...

2011 establishments in England 2016 establishments in England American football teams established in 2011 Ulverston