Calgary women's football team sees spike in new players, including girls who grew up tackling

Amira Harb, a rookie linebacker with the Calgary Rage, says she was drawn to play football because of the game's in-your-face physicality. "I love tackling," the 16-year-old said during a recent team practice.  Harb also plays football for Chestermere High School, but she says there's something more intense about playing with the Rage in the Western Women's Canadian Football League. "High school, it's slower," she said. "It's still fast-paced, but it's not as rough as this." Harb finds the intensity of playing with the WWCFL empowering. "It makes me feel like I'm a better football player, because I'm surrounded by women," she said. "I feel like they understand me more as a player."

Tatrina Medvescek has been on the team since the beginning. This is her 14th season with the Rage. She started as a quarterback and now plays safety.  "It's amazing to see so many women playing football," she said, referring to the growth the team has experienced.  The Rage also have a new partnership with the Stampeders, Calgary's Canadian Football League team. The teams are working to promote each other, and some players, such as Medvescek, are participating as coaches for their fellow squad's training camps.  For Medvescek, the increased publicity surrounding the Rage has made a real difference. When she goes out, people come up to her knowing what the Rage is.

"Not having to explain myself, or explain what our sports is, it means the world to me that people know who we are," she said. "People come to us now." In the past, there was sometimes the misconception that the Rage was part of a lingerie league, not full contact football, the same game as played in the CFL.

The growth of the women's game opens opportunities for football to be a