Welcome to the OFL!

Rulebook for contact tag American gridiron touch football. Up to 11 a side. 75 pace field (plus end zones). Pick-up football fun based in Cambridge MA.

OFL players

This rulebook for gridiron touch football has been created with the hope of creating a great playing experience which looks and feels much more like the football you see on TV than does traditional flag or touch rules. These rules work very well and if you've found this site and are based outside of the Boston area we invite you to give them a try with your own league or pick-up games. Groups from D.C. to California have had success using OFL rules.

OFL ("Our Football League") is a long-running (25+ years) touch (contact tag) American football club based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is organized and run by Shaun Wortis.

We kick off every Sunday morning, mid-September through the Super Bowl in February. If you'd like to play, please contact Shaun Wortis (the Commissioner) by emailing Commissioner @ this web domain.

There are two 45 minute halves and the clock runs generally without stoppages, except for injuries etc, similar to a rugby game. We typically end at around 12:00PM.

Who Can Play

The short answer: Any adult. But:

  1. Be prepared for a real football game, with bumps and bruises, fatigue and the possibility of injury. If you're looking for a low-key flag football game or the touch football as you might have played after Thanksgiving with the family, OFL might not be for you.
  2. I ask that you commit to showing up on time and (injuries notwithstanding) playing until the game ends, 'cuz it sorta sucks when teams become uneven before the end of the game.
  3. Questions? Contact Shaun Wortis, the Commissioner, by emailing Commissioner @ this web domain.

Last updated: Sep.10.2021

OFL Philosophy

"Semper amicus, semper fortis"
(Always friendly, always brave)

The mission of OFL is to have as much fun as one can have on a freezing December (January.. February..) Sunday morning in New England, or wherever you are. All of us believe that playing football is really fun.

We play in all weather (except lightning storms) most every Sunday, mid-September through the Super Bowl, typically in early February.

OFL rules are designed to establish fair play, as easy to self-referee as possible, especially considering the diversity of sizes, ages, strengths, and experience of players. That said, the rules are really guidelines. We are not interested in the microscopic analysis of each play that, in my opinion, hurts big-league American football. Our ethos is much more similar to rugby: Tough guys playing a fluid and continuous gentlemen's game.

I would much rather that all disputes be settled by consensus. However, since football can be a physical game, it's necessary that players respect the ultimate authority of the Commissioner or whoever is "refereeing" the game. Basically, in the end, what the ref says goes. If you think it was a touchdown and the ref thinks not, it's not. Period. Otherwise, things can get ugly which is just plain not fun. And fun is the whole damn point.

The Commish