The Cumberland Panthers are a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

organization based in the Orleans area of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and the largest minor football organization in eastern Canada. The Cumberland Panthers were founded in 1993, starting out in the Mosquito level of the

National Capital Amateur Football Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Progressively, they have increased the number of teams being fielded as their players aged. In 1994, the organization added a team to compete in the Peewee level, followed by Tyke in 1996, and Bantam in 1997. The Panthers previously had three teams competing in the Ontario Provincial Football League in Varsity (Under-20) Junior Varsity (Under-17) and Bantam Varsity (Under-15) levels. In 2004, the Panthers fielded their first Junior Football team, in the

Quebec Junior Football League The Quebec Junior Football League (QJFL) is a junior Canadian football competition held in Quebec, Canada since 1970, as a successor to the Quebec Juvenile Football League. It began competition as a conference of the Canadian Junior Football League ...

, joining the

Ottawa Sooners The Ottawa Sooners are a Canadian football team based in Ottawa. The team plays in the Ontario Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League. The team has achieved success during its play in the CJFL, winning a total of four Nation ...

and

Ottawa Junior Riders The Ottawa Junior Riders are a Canadian football team based in the Nepean area of Ottawa that plays in the Quebec Junior Football League. The Junior Riders play at the Nepean Sportsplex, but have previously called Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne ...

as the leagues entries from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The Cumberland Panthers organization also fields Girls' Touch Football teams, as well as Tyke and Mosquito Flag Football teams and a cheer squad. Various training programs are also offered, including Jr Panthers, for ages 5, 6 and 7 and the off-season Varsity training program for players age 15-19. The Panthers wear royal blue, silver, and white uniforms. The Panthers currently use

Millennium Sports Park Millennium Sports Park is a 34 hectare sports and recreational complex, consisting of 15 soccer and football fields located at 100 Millennium Blvd in the Orleans sector of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The closest major intersection to the Sports Park ...

as their home field. Notable players

Jesse Luketa Jesse Shimba Luketa (born January 15, 1999) is a Canadian-born professional gridiron football outside linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. Early life and high s ...

Championships

The Panthers have won multiple NCAFA Championships since joining the league, most recently the 2018 Tyke, Peewee and Bantam City Championship. The Panthers also won the inaugural OPFL Junior Varsity Championship by a score of 28-24 over the Essex Ravens at Queen's University on Aug 6th, 2017.

Executive

President - Mike Schmidt Vice President, Operations - Mike Rouleau Vice President, Administration - Sarah Schmidt

Coaches (2019)

Bantam NCAFA - Sean Baptise PeeWee NCAFA - Mike Schmidt Mosquito NCAFA - Erik Anderson Tyke NCAFA - Jay Grosset & Steve Pranschke Jr Panthers NCAFA - Curtis Halderson Cheer - Jennifer Ouellet Girls' Touch - Kirk Culkin

External links

Sources

* http://www.cumberlandpanthers.com/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20090517065041/http://www.ncafa.ca/clubs/panthers.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20090226004824/http://www.ovfootball.ca/pages/ottawa_cumberland_panthers_jr.php

References

{{Ontario Sports Canadian football teams in Ottawa Sports clubs established in 1993 1993 establishments in Ontario