102-495: Canadian football , or simply football , is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone . American and Canadian football have shared origins and are closely related, but have some major differences . Rugby football , from which Canadian football developed,
204-438: A "0" or "00"; in most stadiums today, only the yard markers in multiples of 10 are marked with numbers, with the goal line sometimes being marked with a "G". The centre (55-yard) line usually is marked with a "C" (or, more rarely, with a "55"). "Hash marks" are painted in white, parallel to the yardage lines, at 1 yard (0.9 m) intervals, 24 yards (21.9 m) from the sidelines under amateur rules, but 28 yards (25.6 m) in
306-407: A "direct snap" to a running back is also not uncommon. If the quarterback or punter receives the ball, he may then do any of the following: Each play constitutes a down . The offence must advance the ball at least ten yards towards the opponents' goal line within three downs or forfeit the ball to their opponents. Once ten yards have been gained the offence gains a new set of three downs (rather than
408-791: A Western team, the Winnipeg Pegs (soon to be known as the present-day Blue Bombers) captured the Grey Cup, after they defeated the Hamilton Tigers (one of the forerunner teams to the modern Hamilton Tiger-Cats) 18–12. However, despite Winnipeg's national title (or perhaps even indirectly because of it) football in Western Canada was in crisis by the mid-1930s. The Great Depression , which had caused serious financial difficulties for professional sports across North America , hit Western Canada particularly hard. Making matters worse
510-676: A college or CFL game. Prince Edward Island , the smallest of the provinces, has also never hosted a CFL game. On 13 February 2023, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and Football Canada announced in a joint statement that the Canadian Amateur Football Rulebook would be an accepted rules code for international play, but would not be a substitute for world championships or world championship qualification. "As Football Canada continues to work with IFAF, I believe this opens
612-573: A complete merger of the two regional conferences. In 1981, the CFL's two conferences agreed to a full merger and a full interlocking schedule. Although the WFC has carried on since that time as the CFL's West Division, full authority was now vested within the CFL itself. The decision to create a full interlocking schedule meant that the teams were playing fewer divisional games, consequently the league decided to add two extra divisional games per team, thus extending
714-428: A one-point attempt. Conversely, the offence can attempt a two-point convert following a defensive penalty on a one-point attempt. Penalties may occur before a play starts (such as offside), during the play (such as holding), or in a dead-ball situation (such as unsportsmanlike conduct ). Penalties never result in a score for the offence. For example, a point-of-foul infraction committed by the defence in their end zone
816-435: A pass interference infraction), or from where the ball ended after the play. Penalties on the offence may, or may not, result in a loss of down; penalties on the defence may result in a first down being automatically awarded to the offence. For particularly severe conduct, the game official(s) may eject players (ejected players may be substituted for), or in exceptional cases, declare the game over and award victory to one side or
918-659: A permanent basis for the 1936 season, was the introduction of automatic divisional playoffs. Other than the aforementioned short-lived Tri-City League, prior to the formation of the WIFU, the playoff format in Western Canadian football was similar to the format used in U.S. professional leagues right up to the introduction of the Super Bowl in that playoff qualification was limited to union winners and intra-provincial playoffs were only used (when necessary) to break ties in
1020-450: Is 10 feet (3 m) above the goal line. The goalposts may be H-shaped (both posts fixed in the ground) although in the higher-calibre competitions the tuning-fork design (supported by a single curved post behind the goal line, so that each post starts 10 feet (3 m) above the ground) is preferred. The sides of the field are marked by white sidelines , the goal line is marked in white or yellow, and white lines are drawn laterally across
1122-543: Is 150 yards (137 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, within which the goal areas are 20 yards (18 m) deep, and the goal lines are 110 yards (101 m) apart. Weighted pylons are placed on the inside corner of the intersections of the goal lines and end lines. Including the end zones, the total area of the field is 87,750 square feet (8,152 m). At each goal line is a set of 40-foot-high (12 m) goalposts , which consist of two uprights joined by an 18 + 1 ⁄ 2 -foot-long (5.6 m) crossbar which
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#17327798070551224-423: Is declared the winner; otherwise, the two teams each get another chance to score, scrimmaging from the other 35-yard line. After this second round, if there is still no winner, during the regular season the game ends as a tie. In a playoff game, the teams continue to attempt to score from alternating 35-yard lines, until one team is leading after both have had an equal number of possessions. In U Sports football, for
1326-402: Is divided into two 15-minute quarters. The clock counts down from 15:00 in each quarter. Timing rules change when there are three minutes remaining in a half. A short break interval of 2 minutes occurs after the end of each quarter (a longer break of 15 minutes at halftime), and the two teams then change goals. In the first 27 minutes of a half, the clock stops when: The clock starts again when
1428-461: Is dramatically different from during the first 27 minutes. Instead of the penalty being 5 yards with the down repeated, the base penalty (except during convert attempts) becomes loss of down on first or second down, and 10 yards on third down with the down repeated. In addition, as noted previously, the referee can give possession to the defence for repeated deliberate time count violations on third down. The clock does not run during convert attempts in
1530-488: Is not enforced upon a player who has blocked a kick). The quarterback may not be hit or tackled after throwing the ball, nor may he be hit while in the pocket (i.e. behind the offensive line) prior to that point below the knees or above the shoulders. Infractions of the rules are punished with penalties , typically a loss of yardage of 5, 10 or 15 yards against the penalized team. Minor violations such as offside (a player from either side encroaching into scrimmage zone before
1632-455: Is not ruled a touchdown, but instead advances the ball to the one-yard line with an automatic first down. For a distance penalty, if the yardage is greater than half the distance to the goal line, then the ball is advanced half the distance to the goal line, though only up to the one-yard line (unlike American football, in Canadian football no scrimmage may start inside either one-yard line). If
1734-704: Is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division . With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911, and with a few additional exceptions the Western champion has played the Eastern champion for the Grey Cup . Although its teams have been members of the CFL since 1958,
1836-967: Is played by many after high school before joining the university ranks. There are 19 junior teams in three conferences in the Canadian Junior Football League competing for the Canadian Bowl . The Quebec Junior Football League includes teams from Ontario and Quebec who battle for the Manson Cup. Semi-professional leagues have grown in popularity in recent years, with the Alberta Football League becoming especially popular. The Northern Football Conference formed in Ontario in 1954 has also surged in popularity for former college players who do not continue to professional football. The Ontario champion plays against
1938-408: Is typical for the team that wins the coin toss to kick to begin the first half and receive to begin the second. Play begins at the start of each half with one team place-kicking the ball from its own end of the field: the 35-yard line in the CFL, the 45-yard line in amateur play. Both teams then attempt to catch the ball. The player who recovers the ball may run while holding the ball, or lateral throw
2040-400: Is within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Prior to a pass that goes beyond the line of scrimmage, a defender may not be impeded more than one yard past that line. Otherwise, any player may block another player's passage, so long as he does not hold or trip the player he intends to block. The kicker may not be contacted after the kick but before his kicking leg returns to the ground (this rule
2142-583: The 1948 Grey Cup in which fans of the Western and eventual Grey Cup champion Stampeders brought pageantry to the event for the first time, with pancake breakfasts at Toronto City Hall, riding a horse through the lobby of the Royal York Hotel, and the first Grey Cup parade. This development proved decisive in turning the national football championship into big business, and the Big Four and WIFU quickly dropped all pretense of amateurism. Despite this,
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#17327798070552244-819: The 1995 season , all eight Canadian teams competed in the North Division, although the championship game was still an East–West affair as the Baltimore Stallions of the South Division defeated Calgary to become the only U.S. team to claim the Grey Cup. Prior to the 1996 season , however, all of the American clubs disbanded, with the Stallions ownership establishing a revived Alouettes franchise in Montreal . The pre-1987 divisional alignment
2346-542: The Alberta Football League . The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is in Hamilton, Ontario . The first documented football match was a practice game played on November 9, 1861, at University College, University of Toronto (approximately 400 yards or 370 metres west of Queen's Park). One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was Sir William Mulock , later chancellor of
2448-626: The BC Lions joined the league, thus giving the West the same five teams that compete in the modern CFL. By the end of World War II, the WIFU had upgraded its quality of play to a level almost equal to that of the strongest Eastern union, the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (Big Four). From 1945 onward, the WIFU champion regularly faced the Big Four champion for the Grey Cup. An important turning point came during
2550-642: The Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU) founded June 12, 1880, which included teams from Ontario and Quebec. Later both the Ontario Rugby Football Union and Quebec Rugby Football Union (ORFU and QRFU respectively) were formed (January 1883), and then the Interprovincial (1907) and Western Interprovincial Football Union (1936) (IRFU and WIFU). The CRFU reorganized into an umbrella organization forming
2652-609: The Edmonton Eskimos joined in 1938. The Eskimos lasted only two years before withdrawing following the outbreak of the war. The Bronks left the following year, but were replaced by the Vancouver Grizzlies following the collapse of the BCRFU. This arrangement lasted only one season, with the WIFU suspending operations altogether for the duration of the war in 1942. During this time, the WIFU's relationship with
2754-489: The Grey Cup are completed by late November. In cities with outdoor stadiums such as Edmonton , Winnipeg , Calgary , and Regina , low temperatures and icy field conditions can seriously affect the outcome of a game. Amateur football is governed by Football Canada. At the university level, 27 teams play in four conferences under the auspices of U Sports ; the U Sports champion is awarded the Vanier Cup. Junior football
2856-548: The Grey Cup , is one of Canada's biggest sporting events, attracting a large television audience. Canadian football is also played at high school , junior, collegiate , and semi- professional levels: the Canadian Junior Football League and Quebec Junior Football League are for players aged 18–22, post-secondary institutions compete in U Sports football for the Vanier Cup , and seniors in
2958-646: The Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1948, the Edmonton Eskimos (renamed to Elks in 2021) permanently rejoined the league in 1949, and in 1950 the third-place team was once again granted a playoff berth. The regular season schedule was also expanded, from eight games per team in 1946 to 12 in 1948 and 14 in 1949 before settling on a 16-game schedule in 1952. The West's schedule remained longer than any other regular season schedule in professional football for more than two decades. The expansion of
3060-502: The Tri-City Rugby Football League. This experiment was abandoned after one year due to travel expenses. However, the league notably introduced the concept (then established in hockey, but unheard of in gridiron football) of an automatic end-of-season playoff between the regular season winner and runner-up. This postseason format would later be adopted when the western unions merged permanently. Finally in 1935
3162-709: The Uteck Bowl , Mitchell Bowl , and Vanier Cup , the same overtime procedure is followed until there is a winner. Sports in Canada Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 202431216 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:43:27 GMT West Division (CFL) The West Division
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3264-560: The Western Canada Rugby Football Union in 1911, with the Calgary Tigers winning the first Western championship later that year. The format often changed from year to year, in large part because provincial champions often declined to participate in the Western playoffs while during the latter years of World War I the competition was suspended altogether. In the years following the establishment of
3366-756: The return of the NFL to Baltimore prompted the end of Canadian football on the American side of the border. The CFL hosted the Touchdown Atlantic regular season game in Nova Scotia in 2005 and New Brunswick in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In 2013, Newfoundland and Labrador became the last province to establish football at the minor league level, with teams playing on the Avalon Peninsula and in Labrador City. The province however has yet to host
3468-440: The 20th century. For example, the West had a different playoff format until 1973 and a longer schedule until 1974. During this time, attendances increased substantially for most clubs and television revenue gained prominence and importance. However, by the start of the 1980s rising player salaries had caused considerable financial losses for some teams. In an effort to bolster the league's stability, CFL clubs decided to proceed with
3570-603: The Alberta champion for the "National Championship". The Canadian Major Football League is the governing body for the semi-professional game. Women's football has gained attention in recent years in Canada. The first Canadian women's league to begin operations was the Maritime Women's Football League in 2004. The largest women's league is the Western Women's Canadian Football League . The Canadian football field
3672-502: The Albertan and Saskatchewan unions, leaving the BCRFU as the only purely provincial union operating in Western Canada. The WCRFU subsequently agreed to a format whereby the BCRFU and NWL champions would have the right to challenge the WIFU champion for the right to represent the West in the Grey Cup. Ultimately, no such challenge would be issued by either league, neither of which survived World War II . The WIFU expanded to four teams when
3774-535: The American stadiums. The Grey Cup was established in 1909, after being donated by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey , Governor General of Canada, as the championship of teams under the CRU for the Rugby Football Championship of Canada. Initially an amateur competition, it eventually became dominated by professional teams in the 1940s and early 1950s. The ORFU, the last amateur organization to compete for
3876-628: The BCRFU, the Western playoffs usually took the form of a four-team bracket – on these occasions, to reduce travel costs the BCRFU champion usually played the ARFU champion while the SRFU champion played the MRFU champion, with the winners of those games competing in the Western Final. Initially, Western champions were not permitted to compete for the Grey Cup, because the CRU believed the calibre of
3978-472: The Big Four was reluctant to accept the WIFU as an equal. Well into the 1950s, long after the Big Four champion got an automatic berth to the Grey Cup, the WIFU champion was often obliged to play the champion of the Ontario Rugby Football Union — the only purely amateur union still playing for the title — in a Grey Cup semi-final. However, as the 1950s wore on, the ORFU found it increasingly difficult to compete in
4080-903: The Blue Bombers won the East Division championship for the first time. In 1993, the CFL decided to expand to the United States , leading to the addition of the league's first American -based team, the Sacramento Gold Miners . In 1994, the division added a sixth team, the Las Vegas Posse . Following the 1994 season, the Posse folded while the Gold Miners moved to San Antonio and became the Texans . For
4182-635: The CFC withdrew from the CRU and renamed itself the Canadian Football League . The new league also assumed control of the Grey Cup, though it had been the de facto professional championship of Canadian football for four years before then. The WIFU was officially renamed the Western Football Conference on February 8, 1961. However, it had become known informally as the Western Conference or Western Football Conference in
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4284-441: The CFL instituted a rule that permitted a fourth-place team in one division to make the playoffs provided it had more points in the standings than the third-place team in the other division. That year in the West the first-place Eskimos (13–4–1) defeated the fourth-place Stampeders (11–7–0) by a score of 27–18. The second-place Lions (12–6–0) defeated the third-place Blue Bombers (11–7–0) by a score of 21–14. The Eskimos then demolished
4386-401: The CFL. On fields that have a surrounding running track , such as Molson Stadium and many universities , the end zones are often cut off in the corners to accommodate the track. Until 1986, the end zones were 25 yards (23 m) deep, giving the field an overall length of 160 yards (150 m), and a correspondingly larger cutoff could be required at the corners. The first field to feature
4488-522: The CRU remained strained. Teams in the Western league continued to push for rule changes intended in part to make the game more attractive to U.S. players familiar with the American game. This came to a head in 1940 when the CRU again barred the Western champion Blue Bombers from the Grey Cup on the grounds that the West had played using rules that differed from those in the East. Perhaps the most important pre-war development, implemented in both East and West on
4590-666: The Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) in 1891. The immediate forerunner to the current Canadian Football League was established in 1956 when the IRFU and WIFU formed an umbrella organization, the Canadian Football Council (CFC). In 1958, the CFC left the CRU to become the "Canadian Football League" (CFL). The Burnside rules closely resembling American football (which are similar rules developed by Walter Camp for that sport) that were incorporated in 1903 by
4692-522: The Canadian and American games stem from rule changes that the American side of the border adopted but the Canadian side did not (originally, both sides had three downs, goal posts on the goal lines, and unlimited forward motion, but the American side modified these rules and the Canadians did not). The Canadian field width was one rule that was not based on American rules, as the Canadian game was played in wider fields and stadiums that were not as narrow as
4794-571: The East Division, during seasons in which the divisions needed to be rebalanced due league expansion, contraction, or reorganization. The first organized football club in Western Canada was the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club which was founded in 1879. At the time the sport was generally called rugby or rugby football because its rules were similar to rugby union 's, although this would change drastically in
4896-553: The East Final, and only four other teams (the 2009 BC Lions , 2016 Eskimos , 2017 Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2019 Eskimos ) have won a game since. Neither crossover team won more than one playoff game. As of 2022, no team from the East has crossed over into the West playoffs. This reflects Winnipeg Blue Bombers results only while in the West Division since its creation in 1930. The Sacramento Gold Miners played in
4998-456: The East in the regular season. From 1954 to 2015, the West has won 35 Grey Cups and lost 26. This is not counting the 1995 season. Additionally two of the West's Grey Cup losses were to the Blue Bombers, who have played in the West for most of their history. The West was particularly dominant from 1978 to 1989, winning all but three Cups in that period (Winnipeg, traditionally a West team, won as an East team in 1988). For most seasons since 1950,
5100-545: The Eskimos 39–15. With the demise of the Montreal Alouettes on the eve of the 1987 season the playoff format reverted to the top three teams in the respective divisions making the playoffs (as it happened, no fourth place team achieved the league's sixth best record prior to U.S. expansion), while four teams qualified for the playoffs in 1993 and 1994. In 1997, the present cross-over rule was implemented, allowing
5202-412: The Grey Cup by remaining in their respective provincial unions – meaning that the new WIFU faced the threat of being branded an "outlaw" league. Calgary and Regina reluctantly agreed to play in both the WIFU and their respective provincial unions for the 1936 season, with both clubs fielding weaker "B" sides in provincial competition. Regina would go on to win the first Western championship following
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#17327798070555304-583: The Lions in the West Final 41–5 and advanced to the Grey Cup. In the East the first-place Argonauts (10–8–0) played a two-game total point series against the second-place Tiger-Cats (9–8–1). The Argonauts won the first game 31–17, but the Tiger-Cats won the second game by a score of 42–25—and with it, a berth in the Grey Cup final. The Tiger-Cats, in their third consecutive Grey Cup game, were victorious over
5406-639: The MRFU, the Regina Roughriders of the SRFU and the Calgary Bronks of the ARFU decided to break away from their provincial unions and form a new elite competition, the Western Interprovincial Football Union . The MRFU ceased operations almost immediately. However, the SRFU, ARFU and WCRFU all initially resisted the formation of the new league. The WCRFU insisted that Western teams could only compete for
5508-413: The ORFU, were an effort to distinguish it from a more rugby-oriented game. The Burnside Rules had teams reduced to 12 men per side, introduced the snap-back system, required the offensive team to gain 10 yards on three downs, eliminated the throw-in from the sidelines, allowed only six men on the line, stated that all goals by kicking were to be worth two points and the opposition was to line up 10 yards from
5610-648: The Toronto club is still in continuous operation today. This rugby-football soon became popular at Montreal's McGill University . McGill challenged Harvard University to a two-game series in 1874 , using a hybrid game of English rugby devised by the University of McGill. The first attempt to establish a proper governing body and to adopt the current set of Rugby rules was the Foot Ball Association of Canada, organized on March 24, 1873, followed by
5712-438: The United States playing under Canadian rules in 1995. The Expansion was aborted after three years; the Baltimore Stallions were the most successful of the numerous Americans teams to play in the CFL, winning the 83rd Grey Cup . Continuing financial losses, a lack of proper Canadian football venues, a pervasive belief that the American teams were simply pawns to provide the struggling Canadian teams with expansion fee revenue, and
5814-431: The Western clubs to be inferior to those in the East. Such perceptions were reinforced in 1913 when the Hamilton Tigers toured Western Canada for a series of exhibition games, as Hamilton easily defeated all four Western opponents they faced. It was not until 1921 that a Western team was finally allowed to compete in the Grey Cup game, when the Edmonton Eskimos lost 23–0 to the Toronto Argonauts . Initial challenges for
5916-474: The ball and gain a cumulative 10 yards. The ball changes possession in the following instances: There are many rules to contact in this type of football. The only player on the field who may be legally tackled is the player currently in possession of the football (the ball carrier). On a passing play a receiver, that is to say, an offensive player sent down the field to receive a pass, may not be interfered with (have his motion impeded, be blocked, etc.) unless he
6018-410: The ball at the opponent's 35-yard line and conducts a series of downs until it scores or loses possession. If the team scores a touchdown, starting with the 2010 season, it is required to attempt a two-point conversion. The other team then scrimmages the ball at the opponent's 35-yard line and has the same opportunity to score. After the teams have completed their possessions, if one team is ahead, then it
6120-430: The ball carrier is in a standing position but can no longer move forwards (called forward progress). If no score has been made, the next play starts from scrimmage . Before scrimmage , an official places the ball at the spot it was at the stop of clock, but no nearer than 24 yards from the sideline or 1 yard from the goal line. The line parallel to the goal line passing through the ball (line from sideline to sideline for
6222-400: The ball to a teammate. Play stops when the ball carrier's knee, elbow, or any other body part aside from the feet and hands, is forced to the ground (a tackle ); when a forward pass is not caught on the fly (during a scrimmage); when a touchdown (see below) or a field goal is scored; when the ball leaves the playing area by any means (being carried, thrown, or fumbled out of bounds ); or when
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#17327798070556324-475: The coming decades. The first organized competition in the West was formed in 1888. Winnipeg Rugby Football Club , St.John's Rugby Football Club and the Royal School of Infantry / 90th Regiment formed the Manitoba Rugby League, later re-organized as the Manitoba Rugby Football Union . Football was being played in what was to become Alberta and Saskatchewan by 1890, and by 1907 the new provinces had organized their own respective competitions and agreed to adopt
6426-429: The defenders on all kicks. The rules were an attempt to standardize the rules throughout the country. The CIRFU, QRFU, and CRU refused to adopt the new rules at first. Forward passes were not allowed in the Canadian game until 1929, and touchdowns, which had been five points, were increased to six points in 1956, in both cases several decades after the Americans had adopted the same changes. The primary differences between
6528-457: The door for international friendlies and tournaments to be staged in Canada employing the infrastructure communities have invested in for our sport from coast to coast," Football Canada president and IFAF General Secretary Jim Mullin said in the joint statement. Canadian football is played at several levels in Canada; the top league is the professional nine-team Canadian Football League (CFL). The CFL regular season begins in June, and playoffs for
6630-427: The execution of quick, distinct plays, which involve the possession of a brown, prolate spheroid ball with ends tapered to a point. The ball has two one-inch-wide white stripes. At the beginning of a match, an official tosses a coin and allows the captain of the visiting team to call heads or tails. The captain of the team winning the coin toss is given the option of having first choice, or of deferring first choice to
6732-414: The field every 5 yards (4.6 m) from the goal line. These lateral lines are called "yard lines" and often marked with the distance in yards from and an arrow pointed toward the nearest goal line. Prior to the early 1980s, arrows were not used and all yard lines (in both multiples of 5 and 10) were usually marked with the distance to the goal line, including the goal line itself which was marked with either
6834-401: The formation of the WIFU, only to find themselves barred by the CRU from competing in the Grey Cup. The WIFU had ignored a rule implemented by the CRU immediately following Winnipeg's first Grey Cup win strictly limiting the use of American players in Canadian football. By the following season, the ARFU and SRFU had both collapsed. The North Western League was organized in an effort to replace
6936-439: The founders of Milton, Massachusetts, devised rules based on rugby football . The game gradually gained a following, with the Hamilton Football Club (later the Hamilton Tiger-Cats ) formed on November 3, 1869. Montreal Football Club was formed on April 8, 1872. Toronto Argonaut Football Club was formed on October 4, 1873, and the Ottawa Football Club (later the Ottawa Rough Riders) on September 20, 1876. Of those clubs, only
7038-437: The four downs given in American football). Downs do not accumulate. If the offensive team completes 10 yards on their first play, they lose the other two downs and are granted another set of three. If a team fails to gain ten yards in two downs they usually punt the ball on third down or try to kick a field goal (see below), depending on their position on the field. The team may, however use its third down in an attempt to advance
7140-414: The fourth-place team from one division to take the play-off place of the third-place team in the other division, should the fourth-place team earn a better record. From 1997 to 2016, the fourth place team in the West has taken advantage of the cross-over rule nine times, including four times when there were equal teams in the divisions. However, it was not until 2008 that a West team ( Edmonton ) advanced to
7242-410: The kick occurs: the receiving team may not decline the penalty and take over on downs. After the kick is made, change of possession occurs and subsequent penalties are assessed against either the spot where the ball is caught, or the runback. Canadian football distinguishes four ways of kicking the ball: On any kicking play, all onside players (the kicker, and teammates behind the kicker at the time of
7344-405: The kick) may recover and advance the ball. Players on the kicking team who are not onside may not approach within five yards of the ball until it has been touched by the receiving team, or by an onside teammate. The methods of scoring are: Resumption of play following a score is conducted under procedures which vary with the type of score. The game consists of two 30-minute halves, each of which
7446-417: The kick. On scrimmages, when it starts depends on what ended the previous play. The clock starts when the ball is ready for scrimmage except that it starts on the snap when on the previous play: During the last three minutes of a half, the penalty for failure to place the ball in play within the 20-second play clock, known as a "time count violation" (this foul is known as "delay of game" in American football),
7548-401: The last three minutes of a half. If the 15 minutes of a quarter expire while the ball is live, the quarter is extended until the ball becomes dead. If a quarter's time expires while the ball is dead, the quarter is extended for one more scrimmage. A quarter cannot end while a penalty is pending: after the penalty yardage is applied, the quarter is extended one scrimmage. The non-penalized team has
7650-401: The league briefly considered temporarily leaving Winnipeg in the East in an effort to keep the divisions relatively equal in strength, but the Blue Bombers successfully lobbied to be moved back to the West immediately. Prior to 1954, Western clubs found limited success in the Grey Cup. Since 1954, however, the West has generally been on an equal footing and in recent decades has often dominated
7752-399: The league in 1938, when they were expanded to three teams, reverting again to two teams after Edmonton dropped out of the WIFU. Following the war, the league resumed play in 1945 with Winnipeg, Regina and the newly formed Calgary Stampeders . In 1945, the three teams competed in a playoff in lieu of a regular season, but the competition was fully resumed by 1946. The Regina Roughriders became
7854-411: The length of the ball) is referred to as the line of scrimmage. This line is similar to " no-man's land "; players must stay on their respective sides of this line until the play has begun again. For a scrimmage to be valid the team in possession of the football must have seven players, excluding the quarterback, within one yard of the line of scrimmage. The defending team must stay a yard or more back from
7956-411: The line of scrimmage. On the field at the beginning of a play are two teams of 12 (and not 11 as in American football). The team in possession of the ball is the offence and the team defending is referred to as the defence. Play begins with a backwards pass through the legs (the snap) by a member of the offensive team, to another member of the offensive team. This is usually the quarterback or punter, but
8058-540: The media for some years before then. Also in 1961, the WFC agreed to a partial interlocking schedule with what was by then known as the Eastern Football Conference . Although the WFC was part of the CFL, its merger with the EFC was only a partial merger for the next two decades. During this time, the conferences maintained considerable autonomy, much like the two Major League Baseball leagues operated in
8160-494: The mid-1930s, the Western provincial unions usually maintained separate regular season schedules. However, they soon set out to create a unified Western Canadian playoff structure involving the respective provincial champions, with the view that the Western champion ought to be allowed to challenge for the Canadian Rugby Union's new championship trophy, the Grey Cup . To this end, the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta unions formed
8262-513: The new environment. The ORFU stopped challenging for the Grey Cup after the 1954 season, and the Grey Cup has been an East vs. West contest since. Although the amateurs would not be formally locked out of Grey Cup play for another four years, 1954 is usually viewed as the start of the modern era of Canadian football. In 1956, these two leagues agreed to form the Canadian Football Council as an umbrella organization. In 1958,
8364-401: The option to decline any penalty it considers disadvantageous, so a losing team cannot indefinitely prolong a game by repeatedly committing infractions. In the CFL, if the game is tied at the end of regulation play, then each team is given an equal number of offensive possessions to break the tie. A coin toss is held to determine which team will take possession first; the first team scrimmages
8466-411: The original penalty yardage would have resulted in a first down or moving the ball past the goal line, a first down is awarded. In most cases, the non-penalized team will have the option of declining the penalty; in which case the results of the previous play stand as if the penalty had not been called. One notable exception to this rule is if the kicking team on a 3rd down punt play is penalized before
8568-406: The other captain. The captain making first choice may either choose a) to kick off or receive the kick at the beginning of the half, or b) which direction of the field to play in. The remaining choice is given to the opposing captain. Before the resumption of play in the second half, the captain that did not have first choice in the first half is given first choice. Teams usually choose to defer, so it
8670-467: The other. Penalties do not affect the yard line which the offence must reach to gain a first down (unless the penalty results in a first down being awarded); if a penalty against the defence results in the first down yardage being attained, then the offence is awarded a first down. If the defence is penalized on a two-point convert attempt and the offence chooses to attempt the play again, the offence must attempt another two-point convert; it cannot change to
8772-405: The play starts) are penalized five yards, more serious penalties (such as holding) are penalized 10 yards, and severe violations of the rules (such as face-masking [grabbing the face mask attached to a player's helmet]) are typically penalized 15 yards. Depending on the penalty, the penalty yardage may be assessed from the original line of scrimmage, from where the violation occurred (for example, for
8874-680: The prairies could muster. The collapse of the last such "major" Western hockey league in 1926 opened a void that was quickly filled by football, with a provincial union finally being formed in British Columbia that same year. The four rugby unions in the West were named the Manitoba Rugby Football Union , Saskatchewan Rugby Football Union , Alberta Rugby Football Union and the British Columbia Rugby Football Union . Until
8976-494: The presence of American players (later called "imports" and today officially known as "internationals") would play a decisive role in bringing the calibre of the top Western teams to a level approaching that of the top clubs in the East, it further exacerbated the disparity within the Western provincial unions. In a bid to stabilize and improve the quality of the game in Western Canada, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of
9078-416: The referee determines the ball is ready for scrimmage, except for team time-outs (where the clock starts at the snap), after a time count foul (at the snap) and kickoffs (where the clock starts not at the kick but when the ball is first touched after the kick). In the last three minutes of a half, the clock stops whenever the ball becomes dead. On kickoffs, the clock starts when the ball is first touched after
9180-490: The rules of the national governing body, the Canadian Rugby Union . Initially, interest in rugby football was mostly confined to the prairie provinces. As is the case today, ice hockey was Western Canada's most popular sport, and the presence of what were recognized to be "major league" professional circuits in Western Canada initially served to limit the resources which the fledgling senior football unions on
9282-426: The schedule coincided with the WIFU's gradual transition into a professional competition. However, players were paid under the table well into the 1940s in order to keep up the pretense of amateurism, though it was an open secret that the WIFU had become professional. The WIFU's increasing professionalism, combined with the growing use of air travel in Canada, made expansion to Vancouver a more feasible option. In 1954,
9384-411: The schedule to the current 18 games per team starting in 1986. The West Division has undergone major changes since the dissolution of the WFC. In 1987 an East Division team, the Montreal Alouettes , folded. Consequently, Winnipeg, the easternmost city in the West Division, was transferred to the East Division to keep the divisions equal in size. This led to the first "all-Western" Grey Cup in 1988 when
9486-849: The school. A football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. The first written account of a game played was on October 15, 1862, on the Montreal Cricket Grounds. It was between the First Battalion Grenadier Guards and the Second Battalion Scots Fusilier Guards resulting in a win by the Grenadier Guards 3 goals, 2 rouges to nothing. In 1864, at Trinity College , Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, Frederick A. Bethune, and Christopher Gwynn, one of
9588-412: The shorter 20-yard end zone was Vancouver's BC Place (home of the BC Lions ), which opened in 1983. This was particularly common among U.S.-based teams during the CFL's American expansion, where few American stadiums were able to accommodate the much longer and noticeably wider CFL field. The end zones in Toronto's BMO Field are only 18 yards instead of 20 yards. Teams advance across the field through
9690-399: The standings. However, the founders of the WIFU had come to recognize the popularity of the Western playoffs as well as the need to ensure as many regular season games as possible were meaningful so as to encourage fans to attend games, and therefore decided that a multi-team playoff was necessary for the league to remain solvent. The playoffs consisted of the top two teams until Edmonton joined
9792-441: The then-Western Football Conference remained a distinct legal entity until 1981. The five teams in the West Division are the BC Lions , Calgary Stampeders , Edmonton Elks , Saskatchewan Roughriders , and Winnipeg Blue Bombers . There were also two now-defunct teams from the mid 1990s United States expansion of the CFL who played in the West Division. Additionally, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have played three separate stints in
9894-413: The top three teams in the West have made the playoffs. For many years, the semi-final and final was a two-game or even a best-of-three-game series, but this was abandoned in the 1970s in favour of a single-elimination format. Quite often a fourth-place team in the West had a better record than the third-place team in the East, with the West team out of the playoffs. This was rectified beginning in 1986 when
9996-447: The trophy met with futility – a large factor in this lack of success was the requirement that the Western champion travel to the East to compete in the championship game, but the main reason was that clubs in the larger Eastern markets were able to make the transition from amateur to professional status more quickly. The first attempt to create a unified Western circuit came in 1928 when Regina, Moose Jaw and two Winnipeg sides formed
10098-484: The trophy, withdrew from competition after the 1954 season. The move ushered in the modern era of Canadian professional football, culminating in the formation of the present-day Canadian Football League in 1958. Canadian football has mostly been confined to Canada, with the United States being the only other country to have hosted high-level Canadian football games. The CFL's controversial " South Division " as it would come to be officially known attempted to put CFL teams in
10200-431: Was first recorded in Canada in the early 1860s, taken there by British immigrants, possibly in 1824. Both the Canadian Football League (CFL), the sport's top professional league, and Football Canada , the governing body for amateur play, trace their roots to 1880 and the founding of the Canadian Rugby Football Union . The CFL is the most popular and only major professional Canadian football league. Its championship game,
10302-661: Was restored, only to see Winnipeg return to the East after one season when the Ottawa Rough Riders folded. The Blue Bombers returned to the West in 2002 after an expansion franchise named the Renegades was granted in the nation's capital. With the suspension of the Ottawa Renegades for the 2006 season , the Blue Bombers moved back to the East. With the launch of the Ottawa Redblacks in 2014,
10404-560: Was the existence of massive disparity between teams within the provincial unions. For example, by 1935 the Regina Roughriders had won fourteen consecutive SRFU titles, mostly by lopsided margins. Moreover, by the 1930s the top Western teams had begun to tap the massive U.S. talent pool, signing American players who had been passed over by the National Football League and its rivals south of the border. While
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