London
The U19 London WOLFPAAC all-girls full-tackle shot squad is vying to unafraid its 2nd provincial title astatine the Ontario Women's Football League's (OWFL) semi-finals against Kingston connected Saturday.
London WOLFPAAC were crowned the first-ever Ontario Women's Football League champions successful 2023
Isha Bhargava · CBC News
· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago
An all-girls tackle shot squad successful London is vying to unafraid its 2nd provincial title astatine the Ontario Women's Football League's (OWFL) semi-finals against Kingston this weekend.
The U19 London WOLFPAAC was crowned the OWFL's first-ever winners successful its inaugural twelvemonth successful 2023 and but mislaid by conscionable 1 constituent successful past year's finals. This year, with its largest roster of 30 players, the squad is hoping to bring the trophy backmost home.
For the players, it's much than conscionable a triumph they're chasing. They're besides trying to acceptable the signifier for a increasing fig of young women taking up sports similar tackle football, said Jessica Knight, 17, 1 of WOLFPAAC's captains.
"Having been the archetypal squad ever to person [the OWFL] title means a batch to maine due to the fact that being a trailblazer for this athletics is what's guided maine through, making that impact, truthful aboriginal girls don't person to woody with the struggles of not knowing they're susceptible of, oregon being underestimated," she said.
The girls look up to pistillate athletes successful nonrecreational leagues specified arsenic the WNBA and PWHL as relation models who are paving the mode for young girls funny successful sport, said Knight.
"A batch of radical are shocked that tackle football is getting truly popular," she said. "Now girls are getting paid to play shot which is the imagination for astir of us. Seeing that, it's changing my full mindset astir what my aboriginal could look like."
Expanding outreach to turn league
But with a increasing sport, travel the challenges of getting the connection out and encouraging caller players to effort football, careless of their accomplishment level, according to Alexa Taylor, 14, who joined WOLFPAAC after moving to London from Brantford.
The anticipation is that volition change. With tackle shot acceptable to go an Olympic athletics successful 2028, OWFL leagues person grown importantly successful the past 3 years, said WOLFPAAC's president Scott Knight, adding that the archetypal play lone had 3 teams but that fig has present jumped to 13.
WOLFPAAC is expanding outreach to physique a U16 squad and a league of women who are aged 18+, and with the surge successful interest, the squad volition soon beryllium capable to summation its six-on-six roster to nine-on-nine, said Scott, who is besides Jessica Knight's dad.
"Our extremity is to beforehand women successful each facet of the game," helium said.
For others, an all-girls squad brings a consciousness of assemblage and camaraderie. It's 1 of the reasons why Laryssa Stoyko, 14, from Moncton, N.B. joined the squad this season.
Both Stokyo and Taylor person antecedently played connected co-ed teams, and although they picture it arsenic a bully instauration to tackle football, the lifelong friends they've made connected this squad has been an further benefit, they said.
"With WOLFPAAC, we're truthful overmuch much coordinated and we've truly grown together," said Stoyko.
Last week, the squad finished archetypal spot successful Ontario and precocious to the playoffs undefeated, with lone 3 touchdowns each season. With a large crippled against the Kingston Sharks connected the horizon, WOLFPAAC plans to proceed its winning streak, said Knight.
"Obviously it's different undefeated squad we're playing against and we've played teams that are ranked higher than america and person the aforesaid magnitude of wins we do, but we're going to spell successful and play and that's each that matters," she said. "We're going to instrumentality unneurotic arsenic a household and the lone radical that tin bushed WOLFPAAC mentally is our ain team."
Kickoff is acceptable for 4 p.m. connected Saturday astatine London's City Wide Sports Park.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isha Bhargava is simply a multiplatform newsman for CBC News and has worked for its Ontario newsrooms successful Toronto and London. She loves telling existent affairs and quality involvement stories. You tin scope her astatine [email protected]