All throughout the rookie camp and the weeks of tough practice excitement and anticipation for the regular season has been mounting. Now, at long last, the waiting is over. Have your calendars at hand because here are some of the mouth-watering fixtures for the 2010 season.  The Lancashire Wolverines will kick-off their quest for 2010 glory on Sunday as they take on the Shropshire Revolution.

Following tremendous pre-season work, optimism is high for both the Lancashire Wolverines and the Wolverine Colts to participate in the post-season shake-up and ultimately the Britbowl finals come mid-September.

With that in mind here’s a closer look at some of the intriguing opponents that stand between the Wolverines and the Wolverine Colts and British American Football’s Holy Grail.

Following the season opener on Sunday the Wolverines will meet the Manchester Titans away at Broughton Park, renewing the fierce rivalry in the first of two games against the current division champs. The Wolverines will hope to state their intention to be a player in the division in this game on the 9th May. The return of this fixture at home is scheduled to be played on the 15th of August in undoubted “crunch time” for the play-off race.

Another familiar foe also appears on the Wolverines schedule as they ready themselves to resume battle with the Chester Romans, in a home game on the 13th June. Meanwhile, some exciting away days beckon with trips to Hull, Sheffield and the regular season finale at West Coast on the 23rd May, 20th June, and 22nd August respectively. A return fixture against Hull gives the opportunity to sweep divisional foes or exact revenge.

A date to be noted on everybody’s calendar is Sunday 4th July as the Academy will hold its annual club day. Both the Wolverines and the Colts will host home fixtures against Staffordshire and Gateshead making for an exciting day at a time when the whole club comes together.  The Colts defeated Gateshead Senators in the Northern Finals of the 2009 season in order to reach the Britbowl. A renewal of this rivalry is eagerly awaited as two of the perennial contenders in youth football are thrown together in this year’s divisional re-alignments.

Also on the schedule for the Colts are home and away dates with the Manchester Titans youth team. Owing to the existing rivalry between the team’s respective senior teams, these fixtures will surely adopt the tradition. The first meeting will be June 13th in Manchester with the return home fixture figuring to be on Sunday 1st of August.

The Lanarkshire Longhorns provide the opponent for the Colts big away day on Saturday 24th July and they will also lock horns with another team based north of the border, the Forth Valley Fusion, whom the Colts defeated in the play-offs last season, June 5th.

Finally, potential Britbowl dates run through the 11th to the 19th of September.

So there you have it. Not all of the forthcoming fixtures are included here and of course some of these fixture dates may be subject to change. But consider this a little something to get your competitive juices flowing. Something to spice up your calendars. Starting this Sunday as the Wolverines take on the Shropshire Revolution.