Sask. football teams welcome a more competitive Western Women's CFL

As the perennial powerhouses in the Western Women's Canadian Football League were gearing up for their first meeting of the season Saturday night, both teams came into the contest knowing the gap between them and the rest of the league has likely narrowed.

The Regina Riot and the Saskatoon Valkyries are scheduled to face each other at Saskatoon's SMF Field at 7 p.m. CST.

The Riot and Valkyries have dominated the eight-team league — Canada's largest for women's football — over the WWCFL's eight-year existence.

The Valkyries have five league championships to their credit.

The Riot have won three of the last four titles, including last year's win over Saskatoon in the final.

None of the league's other teams — which hail from Alberta and Manitoba — have claimed a league championship.

In fact, prior to last weekend, the only losses the Riot and Valkyries had suffered in their history were to each other.

Unfamiliar territory

But that all changed when the Manitoba Fearless stunned the Riot 34-9 at Mosaic Stadium last Sunday.

Riot running back and receiver Mallory Starkey said the other teams are catching up.

"Even last year, we could see that Manitoba was working really hard to get to a higher level of competitiveness," she said.

"We saw it in a couple of the games they had, and the scores they had against Saskatoon and us, as well."

Starkey said it's good for the league.

"Losing is never fun," she said. "But having more competition and a stronger league overall is awesome to see and it's exciting to watch women's football grow."

Valkyries general manager Michelle Duchene echoed Starkey's assessment of what the Manitoba win means for the WWCFL.

"It's looking like we have another team now that's up and challenging," she said. "And whenever you get great games, that obviously helps with the league development and just for the future of the league."

Duchene said more competition will enhance the fans' experience.

"Within our league, I think things are evening out a bit, which is always great to see," she said. "It's always fun for players and for fans to be able to see a competitive, down-to-the-last-minute game."

Exciting rivalry

Regardless of whether the Saskatchewan teams' domination of the WWCFL continues, Starkey said the rivalry with Saskatoon will always be exciting.

"But I think it goes beyond just women's football," she said.

"Regina and Saskatoon in football have had a rivalry forever and being a part of that — the intensity from the coaches who've also been on the player side of the rivalry — just adds to the excitement and the focus for the game."