ottawa’s love for flag football is opening doors for a generation of girls
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camara wilson and laiya evraire co-lead carleton university's women's flag football team. women's flag football is booming across the city as the sport gains popularity ahead of the 2028 summer olympics.
tony caldwell
/
postmedia
camara wilson wishes her father could have seen her team take the field.
for years, she had been trying to build a women’s flag football program at carleton university. there were meetings, setbacks and long stretches when progress seemed painfully slow. then, in 2023, her father died.
a former carleton ravens player, he was the reason wilson fell in love with football in the first place.
when the team finally took the field not long after her father’s passing, she felt his presence.
“he’s been with me every single moment,” she said. “a lot of what i do was for him.”
for years, wilson and her teammates were searching for a place to continue playing the sport they loved after high school.
today, that pathway is beginning to take shape, not only at carleton, but across ottawa and the country.
women’s flag football is growing at a remarkable pace.
the sport will make its olympic debut at the 2028 summer games in los angeles, while u sports recently announced women’s flag football would become a pilot sport beginning in 2027-28, creating a national university pathway that did not exist for previous generations of athletes.
for players like laiya evraire, the timing feels almost surreal.
football has been woven into evraire’s life for as long as she can remember. her uncle is ken evraire, the former ottawa rough rider and longtime sportscaster. both of her parents also played the sport. she started playing at five years of age and eventually became one of the driving forces behind the creation of carleton’s club team, along with wilson.
“there wasn’t really a pathway,” evraire said. “i remember feeling discouraged.”
while many of her friends who played hockey, soccer or volleyball spent their teenage years exploring university opportunities tied to their sports, football players rarely had that luxury. for years, girls who loved football often reached the end of high school and found themselves wondering where they could continue competing.
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now they have an answer.
the u sports announcement arrived just as evraire completed her undergraduate degree and began considering her next chapter academically. suddenly, women’s flag football players could realistically imagine competing within the canadian university sports system.
“seeing this potentially being my future, it’s everything that i’ve ever wanted since i was a little girl,” she said.
one of the teammates who played a big role in carleton’s program was sylina wright, who first discovered football through evraire and the football-obsessed family that surrounded her.
wright spent years playing with the nepean eagles before becoming a defensive captain at carleton. what keeps her invested in the sport is not necessarily interceptions or championships, but the trust that develops between teammates.
“you have to trust everybody to do their job,” she said. “that’s what makes it special.”
few people understand the sport’s evolution better than stephanie thinn.
before co-founding ottawa women’s football, thinn played touch football at st. peter catholic high school in orléans. she loved the game, but, when high school ended, so did her opportunities to continue playing football competitively.
“there was nothing,” she said.
today, thinn said ottawa women’s football operates women’s leagues, youth programming, recreational programs and the hawks, a competitive travel program.
when ottawa women’s football launched its women’s league in 2021, it featured eight teams. it now has more than 20.
“the interest is huge,” thinn said. “it’s constant.”
for her, the most rewarding part is not simply the number of participants, but what that number represents. girls can now play flag football in elementary school, continue in high school, move on to university and potentially compete at national and international levels.
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“there’s no gap now,” she said. “that’s absolutely insane to see.”
the numbers emerging from football organizations across ottawa help explain why so many people are excited about the sport’s future.
at the south ottawa mustangs, president dan cooper remembers when his daughter started playing flag football about four years ago. at the time, there were only a handful of girls participating in the organization. today there are 67.
“we have eight girls teams this year,” cooper said.
across the city, similar stories are becoming increasingly common.
rodney moors, one of the leaders within the national capital amateur football association, said girls participation had climbed from roughly 55 teams a few years ago to 69 teams this season.
“it’s just crazy, the growth,” moors said.
he says part of the appeal is that flag football is accessible.
unlike tackle football, flag players wear no pads and stop plays by pulling flags attached to an opponent’s belt. the game is typically played five-on-five on a shorter field, emphasizing speed and quick decision-making.
that structure has also made it a natural fit for athletes arriving from other sports.
evraire says she regularly sees ringette players transition successfully because of their footwork and ability to create separation. basketball players often arrive with strong body control, acceleration and ball-tracking skills. wilson points to track athletes and basketball players who step onto a football field and immediately look comfortable.
the sport also remains one of the more affordable options for families.
compared with hockey, where annual costs can reach thousands of dollars, or tackle football, which requires renting equipment, flag football offers a much lower barrier to entry.
cooper believes that accessibility has been one of the biggest drivers behind the sport’s rapid growth.
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“it’s not an expensive game,” he said. “you need a ball and a bunch of players and a bunch of flags and you’re good to go.”
while flag football is clearly leading the charge, its growth has also sparked interest in tackle football among some girls.
mark ouellet, president of the cumberland girls’ football club, recalled asking girl flag football players whether they would be interested in playing tackle football if they had the opportunity to compete against other girls.
“half the room shot their hands up,” he said.
most leaders agree that, while there is an interest in tackle, flag football remains the primary driver of participation growth.
there are still challenges.
at carleton, players continue to pay out of pocket to compete. wilson has spent years searching for sponsorships and support while balancing the responsibilities that come with running a growing program. her concern is not a lack of interest, but ensuring talented athletes are not excluded because of financial barriers.
“if they can’t afford to play, they’re not going to come out,” she said.
even so, the momentum behind the sport continues.
the canadian football league recently announced a major investment in canada’s national flag football program ahead of the 2028 olympics, becoming a founding partner of the senior men’s and women’s national teams.
locally, the ottawa redblacks have also increased their involvement in grassroots football programs.
redblacks president adrian sciarra said the organization had provided funding through its community foundation, supported local leagues and regularly hosted girls football jamborees and tournaments at td place.
“flag football has really become the gateway, the entry point for football participation,” sciarra said. “it has reduced the barriers to entering the sport.”
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redblacks quarterback jake maier recently spent some time with girls football players from the gloucester south raiders organization, an example of the cfl club’s efforts to connect professional football with the grassroots.
sciarra believes the 2028 olympics will only accelerate the momentum.
“the more people throwing a football around, the better,” he said.
ottawa will find itself at the centre of that momentum during the august long weekend, when the club flag national championships bring many of the country’s top teams to the national capital.
wilson says it is another reminder of how quickly things have changed.
a few years ago, she and her friends were wondering where women could continue playing football after high school. now there are overflowing youth programs, growing university opportunities and olympic dreams that feel realistic.
she believes the sport is only scratching the surface of its potential.
“i always tell girls, ‘don’t give up,’” she said. “keep pursuing it because this sport is growing.”
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