Western Women's Canadian Football League

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. The league plays an annual season in the spring or summer, and with eight teams it is the largest women's football league in Canada. The teams play 12-woman tackle football games using the Football Canada rules, somewhat similar to those of the Canadian Football League. The league has teams in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (the Prairie Provinces).

Western Women's Canadian Football League
SportCanadian football
Founded2011
PresidentJamie Lammerding
CommissionerShawn Walter
No. of teams8
CountryCanada
Most recent
champion(s)		Saskatoon Valkyries
Most titlesSaskatoon Valkyries (7)
Official websitewwcfl.ca

League history

Katrina Krawec wrote, "The WWCFL is a non-profit sport organization that provides women with opportunities to play football",[1] and "The distribution of power in the WWCFL is decentralized and democratic", with each team having one representative on the league board alongside elected members.[1]

New Mosaic Stadium has hosted two WWCFL championship games (2018–19)

The first season of play, 2011, 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.[2]

Two new teams joined the league in 2013. The Northern Anarchy was based in Grande Prairie, Alberta.[3] and the Okotoks Lady Outlawz in Okotoks, Alberta.[4] Talks involved the league going as high as 11 teams for 2013, including expansion into British Columbia,[3] but it never occurred. In 2014, the Okotoks Lady Outlawz did not field a team for WWCFL play, and suspended operations. The Northern Anarchy took a break in 2015,[5] although practice sessions continued,[5] and the Anarchy returned to the field in the 2016 season.[6]

On March 29, 2020, the league cancelled its season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] The 2021 season was also cancelled, for the same reason.[9] The WWCFL returned to action in the 2022 season, for the first time since 2019.[10][11]

Teams
Western Conference
Team Location Home field
Calgary Rage Calgary, Alberta Shouldice Athletic Park
Edmonton Storm Edmonton, Alberta Clarke Stadium
Lethbridge Steel Lethbridge, Alberta University of Lethbridge Community Stadium
Prairie Conference
Team Location Home field
Manitoba Fearless Winnipeg, Manitoba Investors Group Field
Regina Riot Regina, Saskatchewan Mosaic Stadium
Saskatoon Valkyries Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Griffiths Stadium
Winnipeg Wolfpack Winnipeg, Manitoba North Winnipeg Nomads Football Club
Suspended operations
Team Location Home field
Okotoks Lady Outlawz High River, Alberta High River High Field
Northern Anarchy Grande Prairie, Alberta Legion Field

WWCFL Championship results
YearWinnerLoserScoreRef
2011Saskatoon ValkyriesEdmonton Storm35-7
2012Saskatoon ValkyriesLethbridge Steel64-21
2013Saskatoon ValkyriesLethbridge Steel27-13
2014Saskatoon ValkyriesLethbridge Steel53-0
2015Regina RiotEdmonton Storm53-6
2016Saskatoon ValkyriesEdmonton Storm81-6[12]
2017Regina RiotCalgary Rage53-0[13]
2018Regina RiotSaskatoon Valkyries14-10
2019 Saskatoon Valkyries Regina Riot 25-3
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [7]
2021 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [9]
2022 Saskatoon Valkyries Manitoba Fearless 36-6

See also

References
  1. Krawec, Katrina (2014). "Shaping and Being Shaped: Examining Women's Tackle Football in Canada". University of Windsor. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018.
  2. "Valkyries win championship, remain perfect" Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Saskatoon, July 16, 2012. Retrieved on July 21, 2012
  3. "Grande Prairie getting gridiron gals" Daily Herald Tribune, Grande Prairie, September 27, 2012. Retrieved on December 11, 2012
  4. Greer, Remy (February 29, 2012). "Foothills ladies hit the gridiron". Okotoks Western Wheel. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  5. Oatway, Jenny (May 8, 2015). "NORTHERN ANARCHY WOMEN'S FOOTBALL REGROUPING FOR 2016". My Grande Prairie Now. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  6. Clow, Logan (May 5, 2016). "Northern Anarchy set for gridiron season opener". Daily Herald Times. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  7. "SCHEDULE: WWCFL League Update". Western Women's Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  8. Johnstone, Natalie (April 3, 2020). "WWCFL Will Have To Wait Until 2021". Strathmore Now. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022.
  9. "About WWCFL". WWCFL. 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021.
  10. Kucey, Jaclyn (May 1, 2022). "Lethbridge Steel come out rusty against Calgary Rage in WWCFL season opener". Global News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022.
  11. Bonnyman, Clare (May 21, 2022). "Edmonton Storm tackling stigma around women's football". CBC News.
  12. "Saskatoon Valkyries take back WWCFL championship". CBC News. June 25, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  13. "Regina Riot captures WWCFL championship". Leader-Post. June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
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