TORONTO--Ever since Israel was represented by a figure skating duo at this year's winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, nobody should be surprised that Israel is sending a flag football team to Toronto.

Flag football is a non-contact variant of North American football in which the objective is to remove a flag from the back pocket of an opponent rather than tackling him.

With UJA Federation financial help, the Israeli National Flag Football team will be displaying its considerable talents at this year's World Championship of Flag Football set for Toronto from August 16-18.

Prior to their participation in the Championship, members of the Israeli team will be addressing different divisions of UJA Federation before squaring off in an exhibition match against some extremely less-conditioned UJA staff "athletes."

The Israeli team includes the best players from the 700-player Jerusalem based ATFI American Football League. The national squad recently finished third in Europe's largest Flag Football Tournament.

Last February, in its first international tournament, Israel finished 6th in the prestigious World Cup of Flag Football.

"We intend to bring home a medal," says coach Danny Gerwitz. "With the exception of the US and Canada, we have as much talent as any team in the world."

Before their trip to Toronto, Israeli squad members will be visiting New York City, where they will hold practices in Central Park.

"A few thousand former New York Yeshiva students were ATFI players when they studied in Jerusalem. We had a great time playing football and we want to renew contact with them," says team manager Steve Leibowitz.