The Lethbridge Steel are a women's football team in the

Western Women's Canadian Football League The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. The league plays an annual season in the spring or summer, and with eight teams it is the largest wome ...

's (WWCFL) Western Conference. The team is based in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, Alberta.

Team history

The Steel were founded in 2010 and joined the Edmonton Storm and the Calgary Rockies in creating a new league, the Alberta Female Football League (AFFL). The league played just one season before the three Alberta teams became charter members of the WWCL, joining the

Manitoba Fearless The Manitoba Fearless are a women's football team in the Western Women's Canadian Football League's (WWCFL) Prairie Conference. The team is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is the longest running Winnipeg-based women's tackle football team, founde ...

and new teams in Winnipeg, Regina, and Saskatoon. The WWCFL began play in 2011 as a seven-team league. The WWCFL was divided into two conferences, with the three Alberta-based teams forming the Western Conference. In the inaugural WWCFL season the Steel posted a 1-3 record; they lost their first three matches before winning their final regular season game by a score of 34–32 over Calgary. They then lost a re-match against the Rage in the first round of the playoffs. However, Lethbridge was the host city for the first WWCFL Championship game, in which the

Saskatoon Valkyries The Saskatoon Valkyries are a women's football team in the Western Women's Canadian Football League's (WWCFL) Prairie Conference. The team is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They are the most successful WWCFL team, winning eight of the leagues ...

defeated the Storm to become the first league champions. Lethbridge had its most successful run from 2012–2014, losing just one regular season game in three seasons and advancing to the WWCFL title game as the Western Conference champion all three seasons. However, the Steel finished as the runner-up all three years, losing the Final to Saskatoon each year. During this period the Western Conference also expanded to include two new teams, the Northern Anarchy and the Okotoks Lady Outlawz. Okotokz played only the 2013 season before suspending operations. In 2018 the Steel posted a strong regular season with the best defense in the WWCFL, allowing only 33 points against during the regular season. However, they lost a dramatic first-round playoff match against Edmonton by a score of 45–44, which ended their season. The WWCFL cancelled its 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Steel struggled after play resumed in 2022, losing their first game 69–0 and failing to win a game in either the 2022 or 2023 seasons.

Year by year

IFAF competitors

Two members of the Lethbridge Steel have competed in the

IFAF Women's World Championship The IFAF Women's World Championship is the international championship for women in American football. The first event was held in 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden, with six countries competing. The United States took home the gold while not letting an ...

as members of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

, both at the 2017 IFAF Women's World Championship: Wendy Iwaasa and Rebeckah Heninger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel Canadian football Sport in Western Canada Women's sports in Canada Women in Alberta 2010 establishments in Alberta Sports clubs and teams established in 2010

Team history

Year by year

IFAF competitors

See also

References