Maritime Women's Football League
The Maritime Women's Football League is a Canadian football league in eastern Canada. It was Canada's first all-female full-contact football competition when it began operating in 2004.
Since it was established, the League has grown from two to four teams. They hail from the three major cities of New Brunswick (Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John) along with a team from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The current MWFL title holders are the Saint John Storm.
Current teams
- Capital Area Lady Gladiators Fredericton New Brunswick Team Website
- Halifax Xplosion Halifax Nova Scotia
- Moncton Vipers Moncton New Brunswick Team Website
- Saint John Storm Saint John New Brunswick
Modified rules
In the MWFL, the playing field is a regulation Canadian football field, 65 yards wide, but offences are permitted four downs (rather than the usual three) to move the ball forward 10 yards. The one-yard neutral zone is the same as in regular Canadian football.
Instead of 12 players per side, MWFL teams play with 11 per team according to the league's 2012 rules.[1] As of 2012, the four timed quarters are each 12 minutes long ordinarily, but 15 minutes long in the final two weeks of the regular season.[1]
The league's former rules in 2007[2] stipulated that games were played with 10 players per team, in four quarters of 10 minutes each.
League champions
The league championship is known as the SupHer Bowl, while the championship trophy is known as the Judy Upward Trophy.[3]
| Year | Champion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Simmonds Seagals | |
| 2005 | Saint John Buccaneers | |
| 2006 | Capital Area Lady Gladiators | |
| 2007 | Capital Area Lady Gladiators | |
| 2008 | Saint John Storm | |
| 2009 | Moncton Vipers | |
| 2010 | Saint John Storm | |
| 2011 | Saint John Storm | |
| 2012 | Moncton Vipers | |
| 2013 | Capital Area Lady Gladiators | |
| 2014 | Saint John Storm | [4] |
| 2015 | Saint John Storm | [5][6] |
| 2016 | Saint John Storm |
External links
- League Facebook homepage
- League Twitter page
- Bleacher Report preview of the tenth season, 2013
- Original MWFL official site Last recorded May 3, 2012 (Web Archive)
References
- ^ a b "Maritime Women's Football League Special Rules (2012)". Football New Brunswick. Web Archive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Maritime Women's Football League Special Rules (2007)". Football New Brunswick. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ "History - Saint John Storm Women's Tackle Football Team". Saintjohnstorm.weebly.com. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
- ^ "Storm finish undefeated season" (2014) Mark Staffieri, Canada Football Chat
- ^ "Storm post second undefeated season" (2015), Mark Staffieri, Canada Football Chat
- ^ "Women's Professional Football League Champions", LuckyShow.org