A group of sports-savvy students at the University of Toronto are putting together a powderpuff football team.
The powderpuff initiative, once it’s fully up and running, will provide U of T students with a competitive female flag football team to compete in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Powderpuff football — or flag football — has been an intramural sport for several years here at U of T, and draws on a large cast of colleges and faculties for its players. Despite the strong intramural league, the university has never had an official team to send to tournaments.
To break into Ontario University Athletics, a group of dedicated Varsity Blues football and rugby players are putting together a powderpuff football team to participate in a three-day tournament hosted by Laurier this February. They will be drawing on the incredibly talented and motivated pool of intramural players as well as tapping into the frosh population.
The university has a proud heritage of supporting athletics at all levels, and Patrick Yan, Commissioner and CEO of the powderpuff team, has complete faith in the project as it goes forward because of the “persistent and hardworking executive council, and the interest shown by current female students at U of T.”
Powderpuff football — and yes, it is actually named after the cosmetic applicator — got its start in the 1970s at a Connecticut high school. The athletic director at the time wanted to integrate more girls into sports.
And contrary to popular belief, powderpuff football is a great way to break stereotypes, “especially if we play hard, train hard, and play to win,” said Kimberly Wong, Communications Director and Universtiy of St. Michael’s College intramural flag football player. “It’s also a great way to stay active and meet different people who attend the same school.”
If you’d like to play this year, contact [email protected].
