A new tackle football league for high-school-aged girls is coming to Calgary this spring, and an Airdrie-based team is slated to take part.
Airdrie football coach Chris Glass said a U17 all-girls league has received the green light from Football Alberta and the Calgary Bantam Football Association to operate this May and June, with games held on Sundays at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary.
According to Glass, CFL official Emily Clarke and football coach Elisha Torraville are spearheading the initiative, and Torraville recently got in touch with him to inquire if an Airdrie-based team would be feasible.
“I think there’s going to be a good demand for it,” said Glass, who is the head coach of the George McDougall Mustangs high-school football team. “I know the sport is growing for females when it comes to flag football, and I just think there hasn’t been this offering before. It’s neat to be a part of the inaugural season of a female tackle football league.”
Glass added he hopes to recruit anywhere from 10 to 15 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who want to play football in Airdrie, and then build the team up from there. He added one of his co-coaches will be Gina Horwood, who has been on the Mustangs' coaching staff for the last few years.
Torraville said the motivation to start up a girls-only league is the decline in participation in football she noticed among girls after the age of 12. While there are women’s football teams in Alberta that players as young as 16 or 18 can join, she said there is a lack of opportunities for girls to play football during their teenage years, if they are not keen on playing co-ed.
“I’m trying to bring to light that there aren’t many females in football, but there are so many positions we can fit into,” Torraville said. “I’m just encouraging girls to play as long as they can, and showing them the opportunities, whether it’s flag, touch, or tackle.”
Edmonton started a girls-only football league shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Torraville noted, and the league is set to kick off its second season this spring. In addition to Edmonton, the league includes teams from St. Albert and Wetaskawin.
In setting up a Calgary-based league, she said she has put out feelers to football coaches in Airdrie, Olds, Strathmore, and Lethbridge to find out if there would be interest in participating.
“I just think we need to get more females into this amazing sport, whether it’s coaching, being an official, managing, or playing,” Torraville said. “I just think we need to increase the female awareness. Seeing is believing, and we’re just starting to see more females now take the spotlight in high-level football.”
One local athlete who is keen to play for the team this spring is Hailey Chalk, a Grade 9 student at George McDougall High School. Chalk has played football for three years, since being introduced to the sport at a Calgary Stampeders youth football camp.
While the 14-year-old nose tackle has played for the Airdrie Raiders bantam team and the Airdrie Storm peewee team in the past three years, Chalk said the concept of playing for a girls-only team is exciting.
“It’s going to be different but I think it will be super fun to share my passion for this amazing sport with other girls who are maybe interested in it but aren’t [playing] because it’s typically a guys’ sport,” said Chalk, who added she also plans to try out for the George McDougall high school football team next year, once she is in Grade 10.
For girls who have never played football before, Chalk said she would encourage them to give it a shot.
“Honestly, it’s changed my life,” she said. “It’s one of the best sports, in my opinion. You create amazing relationships, [learn] different skills, and I think overall it’s a great sport.”
