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  1. #1
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    Women's Football

    People don't usually think of women taking up football, let alone a woman that is 51 years old, namely Leanne Coleman.

    At the age when most people start to think about retirement plans, Leanne Coleman is ... living out her dream playing the game of football for the Edmonton Storm. The Storm play in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League — an eight-team league that has teams all across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
    Her positon? Defensive tackle.
    “I’m a 51-year-old rookie. I’ve waited 40 years for my opportunity to play football and I’m loving every minute of it,” said Coleman, who made her regular season debut for the Storm last week in a decisive victory over the Grande Prairie Anarchy. Coleman always felt her gridiron dreams were nothing more than a pipe dream, but after finding out about the Storm on Facebook, she was eager to at least go to the tryout camp. ...
    “I thought I would go to the winter camp. I honestly thought I would get a handshake and a ‘Thanks for coming out, here’s your free t-shirt’ but they were like we want you to play,” said Coleman. “I live two hours away, and I wasn’t sure if I could commit to it, but I thought I might as well exhaust myself than live with the regret for not giving myself this opportunity.”
    Coleman, who lives near Rimbey, makes the four-hour drive (round trip) twice a week for practices. The team also has home and road games once a week throughout the season. She attended the tryout camp in December and started indoor practices with the Storm in February.
    It’s a big commitment — but not too big for Coleman, whose passion for football is off the charts. She manages a pharmacy in Rimbey and has had to make some sacrifices at work and at home, but she’s making it work to live out this dream.
    “(My husband) goes to work and tells the guys about my bruises and he tells me, ‘You know, those bruises aren’t sexy.’ And I just tell him I’m not trying to be sexy, it’s just part of the game,” said Coleman. “He thought I was crazy for wanting to give this a go, but I honestly couldn’t do it without his support. It’s a lot of time and dedication, and he’s behind me 100 per cent, and I’m so grateful.”
    Her willingness to achieve this dream has inspired her teammates, her coaches and her family. One of the reasons why she wanted to take this chance to play the game she’s loved for over 40 years is to show her kids the true meaning of hard work and determination. “My youngest daughter calls me Wonder Woman and I want to set a good example for my daughters. If you have a dream … never give up on it, because here I am a 51-year-old rookie playing football,” said Coleman.
    In the 11-year history of the Storm, Coleman is the oldest player to ever suit up for the team. The impression she’s made on the coaching staff has been nothing but admiration.
    “She’s blown my mind. She’s willing to do whatever it takes,” said Storm head coach Karin Simmons. b“She brings a can-do attitude. I find that our defence doesn’t seem to complain about being tired or exhausted, because they look over and see a 51-year-old banging bodies and not complaining about anything. I think all of her teammates are inspired by her.”
    Coleman is taking this experience and living in the moment. She loves the feeling of having pre-game butterflies. She enjoys the team camaraderie and she loves to run out on the field and make tackles like her childhood idol Dan Kepley did for the Edmonton Eskimos.
    The way she embraces and plays the game, you’d never know that there is generations between her teammates and her opponents.
    “For myself, because I thought this opportunity passed me by, I’m so happy to be out there. I have a feeling of total elation. Its like a dream, and I’m living this experience to the fullest,” said Coleman. “I said I’d only play one year, but I’m having too much fun. I think I will want to do at least one more year. I will keep going until I can’t.”
    http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/05/1...lifelong-dream

  2. #2
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    I have watched a lot of ladies touch football over the years, as they have a pretty good division that plays in all the touch football Ontario tournaments. These girls can play.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

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    Did anyone catch the highlight on Sportnet of the girls playing flag football in the States. The one girl is hauling ass downfield and running real strong until this tool totally comes across and just brings her crashing down with a forearm around the neck. That would be illegal in tackle ball.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
    I have watched a lot of ladies touch football over the years, as they have a pretty good division that plays in all the touch football Ontario tournaments. These girls can play.
    Leanne Coleman, the 51 year old plays in a full-contact league, the Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL).

    The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. It has now completed five full seasons and with 8 teams is the largest women's football league in Canada. The women play 12 women tackle football games using the Canadian Amateur Football Association rules, somewhat similar to those of the CFL. The league has teams in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. ...
    The first season of play ended with a championship game which was played in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta. The game was played between the Edmonton Storm and the Saskatoon Valkyries . The Valkyries became the first WWCFL Champions with a final score of 35-7.The WWCFL's second year (2012) saw the same seven teams compete. The championship game was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with the Saskatoon Valkyries defending their title by defeating the Lethbridge Steel 64-21. ...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWCFL

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    http://www.wwcfl.ca



    The Official Website of the Western Women's Canadian Football League








    The WWCFL is the largest full-tackle women's football league in Canada and has grown leaps and bounds since the inaugural season in 2011.

    Learn More ›


    Questions about the WWCFL? Want to join a team? Want to be an official sponsor?

    Contact the WWCFL ›






    The WWCFL season runs every spring from May until the beginning of July.

    Catch the Action ›


    The WWCFL spans all three Prairie Provinces -- three teams in Alberta, two teams in Saskatchewan, and two teams in Manitoba.

    Meet the Teams ›





    ABOUT THE WWCFL






    SCHEDULE


    TEAMS









    CONTACT US









  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by jerrym View Post
    Leanne Coleman, the 51 year old plays in a full-contact league, the Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL).


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWCFL
    That's cool. One of the touch football girls I know actually played for the Toronto team in the Lingerie league. A bit of a joke league because of the lingerie aspect, but these girls were good football players.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

  7. #7
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    http://www.wwcfl.ca/teams.html







    GRAND PRAIRIE NORTHERN ANARCHY

    Head Coach - Aaron Hodges
    ​Website - www.northernanarchyfootball.com

    Contact - northernanarchy@live.com






    SASKATOON VALKYRIES

    Head Coach - Jeff Yausie
    ​Website - www.saskatoonvalkyries.com

    Contact - saskatoonvalkyries@gmail.com








    LETHBRIDGE STEEL

    Head Coach - Kessie Stefanyk
    ​Website - www.lethbridgesteelfootball.com

    Contact - lwtfootball@gmail.com



    EDMONTON STORM

    Head Coach - Karin Simmons
    ​Website - www.edmontonstorm.com

    Contact - edmontonstorm@hotmail.ca









    CALGARY RAGE

    Head Coach - Rob Perry
    ​Website - www.calgaryrage.com

    Contact - calgaryragefootball@gmail.com






    WESTERN CONFERENCE






    The Official Website of the Western Women's Canadian Football League








    PRAIRIE CONFERENCE







    WINNIPEG WOLFPACK

    Head Coach - Doug Reis
    ​Website - www.winnipegwolfpack.com

    Contact - info@winnipegwolfpack.com


  8. #8
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    One of the team's Grand Prairie Northern Anarchy. With a name like that, i suspect this would be 1argoholic's favourite team.

  9. #9
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    I didn't know that there was a world championship in "American" football until I found this.



    IFAF Women's World Championship (WWC)

    In July 2009 IFAF announced plans for Sweden to host the inaugural tackle competition for women, furthering opportunities for female participation in the sport at its highest level. Six nations competed in Stockholm, with the United States winning their first crown.

    The 2013 IFAF WWC brought 6 teams, USA, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Spain to the world's stage in Vantaa, Finland. USA claimed their second Gold Medal, being the only Women's team to win, twice. The games will be played on a four-year rotation basis with the next competition in 2017.
    http://ifaf.org/pages/competition/world-games

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    Here's some info on the Edmonton Storm, the 2015 Western Conference Champions, which has a much larger squad of players than I expected to see in the picture at

    http://www.edmontonstorm.com/#!home/mainPage

    This year the Storm are 2-0 as the WWCFL standings show:

    http://www.wwcfl.ca/schedule.html

  11. #11
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    The playoffs are underway in Canadian women's football.

    The Calgary Rage want another shot at the Edmonton Storm.
    But the Lethbridge Steel are standing in the way.
    The Rage will host the Steel in Saturday’s Western Women’s Canadian Football League semifinal (1:30 p.m. at Shouldice Athletic Park).
    This will be the third meeting of the season between the provincial rivals with the Rage looking to complete the sweep.
    Calgary won 26-14 on home turf before exploding for a 57-22 victory, which was the first time the Rage had ever left Lethbridge with a win.
    It also wrapped up the squad’s finest season (3-1) in its six-year history.
    Rage offensive line coach Don Nelson said both clashes were tight until late in the contests.
    “The first game was close until late in the fourth (quarter),” Nelson said. “The same goes for the second game.
    “We found a crack in the armour and really unloaded in the fourth quarter.”
    A win over the Steel would give the Rage the opportunity to avenge a 21-7 loss to the Storm (4-0), the lone setback on the Calgary club’s schedule, last month at Clarke Field.
    The winner from that tilt will take on the Manitoba/Saskatchewan champion.
    “It was a rainy day and we came up short,” Nelson said. “We had one of our better showings against them in recent memory.
    “The offence just couldn’t push those couple extra points out.
    “The game was actually a lot closer than those two scores. We just got tired in the fourth quarter.
    Rage running backs Lisa Gomes and Tolu Fasuba — Nelson calls them the best one-two punch in the league — will be key on Saturday.
    As will, as usual, the play of quarterback Erin Walton.
    “We have a lot of new rookies on defence that have been stepping up and playing amazing,” said Nelson.
    http://calgaryherald.com/sports/foot...ball-semifinal

  12. #12
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    After silver medal wins in 2010 and 2013, Canada has announced its national team roster (see url below) for 2017 Women's World Championship.

    BY FOOTBALLCANADA · JANUARY 14, 2017



    The dream of representing their nation at the highest level has come true for 45 of the top women’s tackle football players in Canada. Eleven additional players were named to a reserve roster. Canada heads into the 2017 IFAF Women’s World Championship with a pair of silver medals earned at the inaugural event in 2010 as well as the 2013 installment in Finland.
    The national team retains a core group of players as 13 of the 45 women on the roster competed in 2013 including Alex Black, Trina Graves and Christine O’Donnell who are set to represent Canada for a third straight Women’s World Championship.
    The selection process began this past summer as aspiring national team players were identified at the Women’s National Championship in Regina and invited to attend regional selection camps held this past December in Montreal and Moose Jaw. ....
    The host nation and location for the 2017 Women’s World Championship has yet to be named.
    Now held every four years, the inaugural 2010 event took place in Stockholm, Sweden while Vantaa, Finland played host to the second installment in 2013.



    http://footballcanada.com/football-c...l-team-roster/



  13. #13
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    In the US, the Legends Football League which kicksoff April 15th has different rules.


    http://www.lflus.com

  14. #14
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    The less said about that, the better.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wobbler View Post
    The less said about that, the better.
    Agreed. I didn't realize that was still around.
    Chad Kelly + Dan Adeboboye + David Ungerer + Damonte Coxie + DaVaris Daniels + Dejon Brissett = Unstoppable Force

  16. #16
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    Canada will host the third edition of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women’s World Championship from June 24 – June 30, 2017 in Langley, British Columbia at McLeod Stadium. The event will be hosted by Football Canada in partnership with the British Columbia Provincial Football Association (BCPFA).
    The six-team event features the top female tackle football players from around the world. Participating for a third time are respective two-time defending gold, silver and bronze medalists, the United States, host Canada and Finland, while Great Britain, the current European silver medalist, Australia and Mexico are set to make their women’s worlds debut in Langley.
    http://www.cfl.ca/2017/02/19/canada-...ampaign=buffer

  17. #17
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    Two sisters have made a major contribution to the Regina Riot of the Western Women's Canadian Football League and are set to play in the Women's World Championship: QB Aimee and WR Alex Kowalski.

    Both Aimee and Alex are getting set to participate in the 2017 Women’s World Championship in June with team Canada – the first time they’ve played together at the international level.
    “She’s not very big,” Aimee said of Alex’s small stature. “She’s only 5-foot-2 so being as easy to throw to as she is is a feat in itself compared to some of the 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 receivers. We generally are known for our longer passes because she has a lot of speed.”
    (Note: Check out this 75-yard touchdown pass from Aimee to Alex during a game versus the Saskatoon Valkyries back in 2015.)
    The six-game event is just the third of its kind and will take place for the first time in Canada in Langley, B.C. Canada has runnered up in both the 2010 and 2013 championships. The team, Alex and Aimee – who participated in the 2013 championship where Canada lost the gold medal game to the United States – will be looking to win their first gold medal on home soil.
    “I’ve always played sports to win,” Aimee professed. “I’ve never really been the recreational player. I’ve always done what I needed to do to prepare and you learn a little bit more when you’re preparing for something like this and actually realizing how far the little things go or even the psychological preparation, like visualization, really go a long way when you’re in a competition at this level.”
    According to Kim Wudrick, President of Football Canada, having Alex, Aimee and the rest of the women named to the Canadian team participate in the championship will help to shine a light on the ever-growing tackle football events and leagues across the country.
    “Hosting the Women’s World Championships is a great honour,” Wudrick said in a news release in February. “To do so during Canada’s 150 birthday is a tremendous way to celebrate our nation’s long football history as well as to promote the growth of women’s tackle football in Canada. I look forward to cheering Canada on alongside a loud and proud hometown crowd this summer.”
    http://www.cfl.ca/2017/03/08/sister-...-championship/

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    Despite having Andrew Harris, Nik Lewis and Brad Sinopoli at a flag football clinic for young girls, the girls focused more of the female players of the WCFL, perhaps suggesting that football is expanding beyond its typical borders.

    Many of the young girls that had taken part in the flag football clinic at Evraz Place gravitated to a trio of Regina Riot players, asking the members of the women’s tackle football team to sign their t-shirts. When it was all said and done, that trio of women was busier than Harris, Lewis and Sinopoli were, still signing as the CFLers left the field and waited for a co-ed clinic to start shortly after.

    The clinic had girls from 10-15 and had all of the established football players teaching the basics of the game: footwork, ball protection and one-on-one drills for about 90 minutes.
    “It’s a huge opportunity,” said Riot slotback Claire Dore, who has been with the team since it was formed here seven years ago. “Any time we have an opportunity to volunteer and we have an opportunity to talk about football, show excitement for football, especially women’s football, it’s great for us.
    “It’s great for us to have the Riot’s name (out there) but to show young ladies that football is something that’s accessible for them and that there are places they can go and play.”
    Also on hand to deliver a similar message was Alouettes assistant general manager Catherine Raiche. She spoke to the girls at the end of the clinic and told them about her climb through the organization.
    A lawyer for three years before she joined the team in 2015 as a volunteer, she was eventually hired to help manage the team’s salary cap, structured player contracts and handled the team’s travel arrangements. The message was brief, but powerful.
    “This is what I always wanted to do,” she told the group. “I kept on working hard, working hard, working hard.
    “I started and I volunteered, unpaid I was helping out with basic stuff: Driving cars, driving players around, really basic stuff. I got a contract, I worked for them. And now I just got promoted to assistant general manager, football ops.”
    http://www.cfl.ca/2017/03/28/oleary-...nder-barriers/

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    Until today, I didn't even realize that there was a women's football league in the Maritimes, let alone that it is the oldest women's tackle league in Canada, having been founded in 2004.






    The MWFL is the first women’s tackle football league in Canada. We are a competitive, recreational league that welcomes players of all skill levels and backgrounds.

    We have 4 teams: the Moncton Vipers, the Capital Area Lady Gladiators, the Saint John Storm and the Halifax Xplosion.

    We are excited that women’s football is growing in Canada and invite you to like our page!

    In supporting our league, you are actively supporting the inclusion of women and young girls in a non-traditional sport and breaking down barriers and stereotypes.

    Did you know?

    - We play May through July -- Summer road trips!!
    - There are Junior Girls teams in NB!!
    - 23 players from our league were selected to compete on the 2010 National Canadian Women’s Tackle Football Team in the inaugural IFAF Women’s World Championship.





    https://www.facebook.com/MaritimeWomensFootballLeague/

  20. #20
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    The Calgary Rage won the league season opener of the WWCFL's of 2017 on April 29th (4 minutes of video highlights are included at the url below).


    Calgary Rage running back Tolu Fasuba punches it in for a touchdown Saturday at the Methanex Bowl



    MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Calgary Rage defeated the Lethbridge Steel 25-21 in the first ever WWCFL regular season game to take place in Medicine Hat Saturday afternoon.
    Rage running back Tolu Fasuba had a monster game after starter Erin Walton was knocked out during Calgary’s opening drive. Fasuba rushed for over 150 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns when all was said and done.




    http://www.chatnewstoday.ca/article/...-season-opener

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