The Calgary Kookaburras is a ladies
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
club based in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
, Canada. They play at the
Queen Elizabeth School,
Hillhurst and are members of
AFL Canada
AFL Canada (formerly the Canadian Australian Football Association, ) is the governing body for men's and women's Australian rules football in Canada.
AFL Canada was formed on 30 July 2004, when the Canadian Australian Football Association chan ...
. They were the first women's football club formed in Canada.
History
The Calgary Kookaburras were formed on April 30, 2007, at a meeting of five girls at
Hillhurst's Riley Park. Jake Anson was appointed as the club's inaugural coach, with Bri Johnstone as the club's first captain.
The first major tournament that club members participated in was the first women's international matches of Australian football, held at Vancouver's Thunderbird Stadium on August 4 & 5. Fourteen Calgary Kookaburras represented Canada in matches against the USA national team.
The club continued to gain momentum on- and off-field throughout 2007. The club developed an independent club structure in August, to focus on growing women's Australian football throughout southern Alberta. In October, the club was invited to compete in the US National Championships, held in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. The Calgary squad combined with women from the Washington First Lady Eagles to compete in the championships. The combined team lost three official matches against Arizona, Milwaukee and Atlanta. In an unofficial match, Calgary 6.7 (43) defeated Washington 4.2 (26).
In 2008, a full pre-season and some innovative recruiting saw the club grow to become the largest women's footy team outside Australia. Two feeder clubs were formed to provide regular match practice for players and the club's profile in the Calgary community grew through exposure in the press and on television. In October the club again competed in the US National Championships, held in
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
. The squad performed outstandingly and went through the tournament undefeated to become only the second women's football club to win the championship. Calgary 4.3 (27) defeated Atlanta 3.4 (22) in the final.
In 2011 the Calgary Kookaburras again traveled to the United States to compete in the 2011 Nationals held in Austin, Texas and hosted by the United States Australian Football League. Coach Holly Greatwich, formally of the Bridgetown Bulldogs and a previous, fierce player for the Kookaburras, will make history at the tournament when she becomes the first ever female coach of an international women's AFL team.
Tournament Championships
Alberta Cup (Gaelic Football) Champions Calgary, AB - 2007
US National Champions Colorado Springs, CO - 2008
Canadian National Champions Vancouver, BC - 2009
Feeder Clubs
The
Alberta Footy Women's League was formed in 2008 to provide intra-club competition for the Calgary Kookaburras representative team. Calgary currently fields two sides in the competition:
*
Hillhurst Nighthawks
*
Kensington
Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
Kingfishers
See also
External links
Calgary Kookaburras
{{Alberta Sports
Kookaburras
Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic o ...
Australian rules football clubs established in 2007
2007 establishments in Alberta
Australian rules football clubs in Canada
Women's Australian rules football clubs
Women's sports in Calgary
Women's sports clubs and teams in Alberta