Dozens of athletes got a behind the scenes look of an organization opening up doors for the next generation.

140 girls, along with their coaches, celebrated the start of another Blue Bombers High School Flag Football League by participating in the Game Changers Leadership Conference on Thursday.

“Having a lot of people show up like this today, proves females are a big part of any sport and can be a big part of anything, whether it’s a predominantly male sport, they can still make a difference and show up,” 17-year-old football player Ciara Sharpe said.

Athletes and coaches heard from Wade Miller, elite athletes, inspirational speakers and more, who all highlighted the massive growth of girls flag football.

“I only joined last year and I already love it,” football player Chryssa Scaramuzzi, 17, said.

The Bombers started the high school girls flag football league just two years ago.

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Now 40 schools have a team, including in Morris, which has 22 girls on the roster.

“Our girls jumped at the chance the first time we brought it up and we had a lot of girls show up and it’s been growing ever since,” school principal and coach Mike Watson said.

As a relatively new sport for girls, flag football has attracted a lot of multi-sport athletes. They say it’s helped them in many aspects of their lives.

“I just think it’s so fun and I think the extra practice helps me become a better soccer player as well,” Scaramuzzi, said.

It’s also helped form new friendships.

“The girls I played with last year, just because it was a mix of all age groups, it brought me close some girls that I probably wouldn’t have been friends with outside of that sport so I thought that was really nice,” Sharpe said.

The league kicked off this week and runs to May 14. Select teams will get to play during halftime of the Blue Bombers’ game on May 29.

The league’s long term goal it to attract even more athletes in the years to come.

“Not every high school has joined yet but we are a growing league so our hope is that over the next couple of years, every high school girl will have the opportunity to play flag football.” Winnipeg Football Club community relations coordinator Savannah Ginter said.

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