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Manitoba Fearless players are getting ready to face the Regina Riot in a game in Brandon on Sunday, May 27.
A senior women’s football game in the Wheat City next weekend could be a stepping stone to more gridiron opportunities for Westman females.
The Manitoba Fearless and Regina Riot of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League will go head-to-head on Sunday, May 27 at Vincent Massey High School at 1 p.m. The WWCFL is a seven-team league with clubs in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge, Alta.
Local football coach and organizer Robert Cullen said next weekend’s game is a way to build interest for a potential Brandon team that could begin play next season.
"Tannis Wilson of the Manitoba Fearless in Winnipeg has asked me whether or not we could actually start a program out here," Cullen said. "And the easiest way (to gain support here) is actually to bring the talent of the league out here to Westman and let everybody take a look. That’s kind of the premise here is to gauge some interest. I’ve got about 22 ladies that said they’d like to be involved, so we’ll see where we’re at right now."
While football has grown rapidly in Westman, the game is still played predominantly by boys here, but Cullen sees plenty of potential to put together a women’s team.
"I know we’ve got such a great following, great support with local girls rugby in the high schools, I think it would be hard for us actually to not drum up enough females who would be interested in playing," he said.
Cullen is the commissioner of the Westman Youth Football Association and he’d also like to see a girls division — something that already exists in Winnipeg — set up in the future. He said there are seven girls right now in the Westman youth league, for ages nine to 14, but a free camp will be held on June 2 at Neelin in an effort to introduce more girls to the game.
"We’ll provide the equipment and we’ll see what the interest level is."
AUDIBLES: Admission for next weekend’s WWCFL game will be $5 for ages 17 and over, and free for 16 and under … For more information on the planned senior women’s program or on the clinic, Cullen can be reached at 729-5882 or by email at cullenr@yahoo.com.
» rhenders@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 18, 2012
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