The Airdrie Raiders' all-girls tackle football team recently wrapped up their 2023 season, which saw the second-year squad improve upon their performances from their inaugural year.
According to head coach Dana Nay, the Raiders won for the first time this season, when they beat the Okotoks Eagles 34-31 in early June.
“Our season, in my eyes, was quite successful,” she said. “We got more players out to try the game and got our first win ever this season, so that was exciting. Overall, I think we had a very successful season.”
The Raiders, which includes local high-school-age players ages 14 to 17, first took to the field in 2022. The squad competes in a Calgary-based league that includes teams from Calgary, Airdrie, and Okotoks, as well as one team from Red Deer.
The U18 Female Tackle Football League was spearheaded last spring by CFL official Emily Clarke and football coach Elisha Torraville, offering girls a way to play the sport among their peers.
Nay said the Raiders' tackle football team fills a necessary gap for Airdrie-area girls who want to continue playing football into their mid-to-late teens. Up until the bantam age group, female football players tend to play on the same team as the boys. But Nay noted that once the athletes reach high school, the size differences can start to be more of a factor, and there's a drop-off of female participation.
“A lot of girls who were playing in bantam were intimidated by the size difference at spring level (U17), so this is a really great way for girls to be able to play the game with other females that maybe are the same skill level and same size,” she said.
“We play six-on-six. Essentially the rules are the same but the field is narrower and the end zone is a little bit shorter.”
While football is undoubtedly a team game, Nay touted the performances of three individuals for the Raiders this spring – running back Aaliyah Isowode, quarterback Alivia Trudeau, who was playing her first season of football at the age of 14, and Emily Sabey.
“They’re all incredible humans and such a great group of kids,” she said. “They were so much fun to work with and coach.”
With a first win and two seasons now under their belt, Nay said she has high hopes for the future of the Raiders' all-girls team in the years to come.
“The more we get the word out, and the more girls we have playing, I think it can only go up from here,” she said. “It’s only going to get better. The league is actually talking about adding a couple more teams, so it’s definitely going to grow. I think it’s going to get big.
“I’m pretty excited for next year.”
