CFL Aims for Diversity in Fan Base

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Amanda Ruller is looking to become a female CFL coach, one area in which the league is behind the NFL in terms of diversity.

Saskatchewan native Amanda Ruller never met a challenge she couldn’t tackle, figuratively or literally. ...

“I want to shake things up in the CFL. I want to see more diversity when it comes to women. I want to be a woman coach, a woman strength and conditioning coach, a woman speed coach, a woman positional coach in the CFL,” Ruller said.

The former star sprinter with the University of Regina has competed at a national level in track, bobsleigh and skeleton. A silver medalist for the Canadian National Team at the Women’s World Championships in 2017, Ruller’s talent as a running back has seen her suit up for the LA Temptation and Atlanta Steam of the Legend’s Football League south of the border.

In recent years, Ruller has become one of the premier strength and speed coaches in Saskatchewan, working with the University of Regina Rams. She continues to compete in Olympic weight-lifting, holding the provincial record for snatch, and clean and jerk for her weight class.

While former Ottawa Rough Riders executive Jo-Anne Polak holds the distinction of being the first female general manager in North American pro sport, serving in the role from 1989 to 1991, the CFL has fallen behind the NFL on gender diversity in recent years.

Last season, the NFL boasted eight female coaches, six of whom made the playoffs. Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar won the Super Bowl on the sidelines in Tampa Bay, but the CFL has no female coaching equivalents.

In football ops, Molly Campbell of the Calgary Stampeders is the highest ranking woman, serving as director of football administration since 2018. However, more are rising through the ranks south of the border, including former Montreal assistant GM Catherine Raiche who left to become Philadelphia’s football operations coordinator before the 2019 season.

Ruller believes that is because the existing CFL hierarchy remains stuck in their ways, resistant to change in more ways than one.

“I know it is scary for a lot of these people in charge. It’s an older generation, it’s an all-boys club and that is why I want to push myself into the CFL to help make a change,” she acknowledged.

“Even with social media, they could be utilizing Twitch more. I know that sounds crazy but in the NFL, there are a lot of guys who are on Twitch streaming video games and that is appealing to a younger crowd.”

“I know some people are asking what is that, what’s going on, what is Twitch, but that is the problem. We need to appeal to that younger crowd,” she explained. “TikTok, Twitch, we need to do something different. We need to get them out in the community a little bit more to help with fundraisers. Just more stuff and it needs to come from maybe a younger mind and a younger mindset.”

https://3downnation.com/2021/05/21/s...ch-in-the-cfl/

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In the video at the url below, three Canadian BC Lion OL, Andrew Peirson, David Knevel, and Matt Guevremont, are running an Indigenous Youth Training Program at a Vancouver suburb high school that could not only potentially develop new players for the league but help in diversifying the league's fan base.

https://www.bclions.com/2022/04/04/i...urt-secondary/

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Amanda Ruller who was discussed last year in post #40 as wanting to become a CFL coach is this year one of the two leading coaches in Sports Female Aprenticeship Program, after being an assistant coach for the McMaster Maurauders last year.

https://usports.ca/en/sports/footbal...-coach-program

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The CFL's Women in Football Program has announced the nine women chosen this year to join the football operations or business management that will join each of the teams to provide a four-week development opportunity for them during TC. Hopefully it will help get more women interested in football. The nine women chosen this year are identified in the url below.

https://en.montrealalouettes.com/202...tball-program/

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Here's more on Ottawa's choice, Meagan Ferguson who has a background in sports science and coaching at the grassroots, provincial and collegiate level, for the Women in Football Program.

https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2022...l-participant/