83-746: The Chicago Bliss were a women's American football team based in the Chicago area. The Bliss were one of the first four teams to participate in the Lingerie Bowl and were carried over to the formation of the Lingerie Football League (LFL) in 2009. After the formation of the league, the Bliss played at multiple indoor and outdoor venues. In 2013, the league rebranded as the Legends Football League . The Bliss were
166-500: 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 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
249-676: 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
332-409: 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 is not enforced upon a player who has blocked a kick). The quarterback may not be hit or tackled after throwing
415-411: 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 the kick occurs: the receiving team may not decline
498-630: A front office assistant, took a quality control coaching position with the Buffalo Bills , making her the first permanent female coach in National Football League history. In 2020, Callie Brownson became the first woman to coach an NFL position group in a regular-season game when she filled in for the Cleveland Browns tight ends coach Drew Petzing . In 2013, Lauren Silberman became the first woman to try out at
581-428: 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 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
664-808: 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 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
747-412: 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 the other. Penalties do not affect the yard line which the offence must reach to gain a first down (unless
830-526: A men's social club in New York set up a scrimmage between two teams of five women each, wearing the colors of Yale and Princeton , outside the casino at Sulzer's Harlem River Park, as entertainment before a masked ball. The Sun reported that after only a few plays, the local police captain had to step in to halt the event, after the crowd of men watching the women tackling each other started pushing, and it looked like someone could get crushed. In 1897,
913-638: A person who holds another position on the team), while the best known female college football players were all placekickers , with all having primarily played women's soccer prior to converting . Patricia Palinkas is on record as being the first female professional football player, having played for the Orlando Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1970. Palinkas was a placekick holder for her placekicker husband. On October 18, 1997, Liz Heaston became
SECTION 10
#1732787606003996-408: 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 the other captain. The captain making first choice may either choose a) to kick off or receive the kick at
1079-575: 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, 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 ,
1162-843: A summer and fall season schedule. On September 1, 2013, the Bliss then won their first championship, now called the Legends Cup , over the Philadelphia Passion . They would repeat as champions the next year, appear in four consecutive championships including a third title, and win a fourth title in 2018. The Bliss had since used both Sears Centre Arena and Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois , in various seasons as their home venue. Women%27s American football Women's gridiron football , more commonly known as women's tackle football , women's American football , women's Canadian football , or simply women's football ,
1245-413: 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 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
1328-399: 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 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
1411-418: 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 is not ruled a touchdown, but instead advances
1494-491: A woman; she later went on to become an Olympic weightlifter. Brittanee Jacobs is the first female football coach at the collegiate level. She helped coach safeties at Central Methodist University during the 2012 season. Welter became the first female coach at the professional level when she took a preseason position with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015; a year later, Kathryn Smith , who had spent several years as
1577-505: Is a form of gridiron football (American or Canadian) played by women. Most leagues play by similar rules to the men's game. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States. Very few high schools or colleges offer the sport solely for women and girls. However, on occasion, it is permissible for a female player to join the otherwise male team. Women and girls were playing tackle football not long after
1660-451: 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 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
1743-768: 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 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
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#17327876060031826-572: The Charleston , and the team they faced consisted of two old men. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that this was more than a one-time event, or that other NFL franchises had similar ladies' "teams". A few women's football leagues emerged in the 1930s, including one in Ohio in 1934 and another in Los Angeles in 1939, but were short-lived. The women's game started to formalize in
1909-622: The Chicago Blitz . The Chicago Bliss is one of four teams that were introduced in 2004 for the inaugural Lingerie Bowl along with the Dallas Desire , Los Angeles Temptation , and New York Euphoria . The Bliss were defeated by New York Euphoria in the 2005 Eastern Final (where one of the Semi-Finals included a Skill Test, a 3-on-2 match, and a dance competition) at Lingerie Bowl II and then were defeated again by New York in
1992-454: 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
2075-619: The Missouri Tigers with a 30-yard squib kick on November 28, 2020. The term "Power Five" was not in use when Katie Hnida became the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I-A game in 2003; Hnida played at the Mountain West Conference , which did not have Automatic Qualifying status in the Bowl Championship Series . ) Jennifer Welter became the first female skill position player at
2158-589: The NFL Regional Scouting Combine (2013). Silberman tried out for the NFL after playing club soccer in college and taking up kicking footballs as a hobby several months before the tryout. During her tryout, she met with medical staff to address a leg injury after making two kicks, and did not complete the remaining kicks. The world governing body for American football associations, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), held
2241-626: The NFL championship that year , featured "Lady Yellow Jackets" as halftime entertainment during their game against the Chicago Cardinals , in front of an audience of 8,000. Although the NFL connection has led many to pinpoint this event as the start of women's football, a detailed account in the Philadelphia Public Ledger makes it clear that it was nothing more than a comedy act. The eleven Lady Yellow Jackets danced
2324-558: The University of New Mexico Lobos on August 30, 2003. She later became the second professional player, when she signed with the Fort Wayne FireHawks . Julie Harshbarger , a placekicker for numerous Chicago-based Continental Indoor Football League teams, became the first female player to win a most valuable player award in an otherwise all-male league in 2014. By kicking five field goals that season, she earned
2407-708: 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
2490-567: The 1940s and early 1950s. The ORFU, the last amateur organization to compete for 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
2573-465: The 1960s, after entrepreneur Sid Friedman founded the Women's Professional Football League in 1965. Leagues play American football unless otherwise noted. Of the women who have seen action in men's college and pro football, almost all have been in special teams positions that are protected from physical contact . The first professional player was a placekick holder (a position usually occupied by
Chicago Bliss - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-657: The 2006 Eastern Final at Lingerie Bowl III. Lingerie Bowls IV, V, and VI were then all cancelled for various reasons. In 2009, the Lingerie Football League (LFL) was launched with multiple games in a season instead of just an annual event. On September 4, 2009, the Chicago Bliss defeated the Miami Caliente 29–19 in the first ever game of the LFL at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois . In 2009
2739-703: 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 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
2822-572: The Americans had adopted the same changes. The primary differences between 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
2905-557: 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 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
2988-734: The Eastern Conference title but fell 27–14 to the Los Angeles Temptation in Lingerie Bowl VII. Professional wrestler Danielle Moinet also played with Chicago Bliss from 2008 through 2011, where she was cornerback and team captain. Keith Hac coached Chicago for nine seasons with a 29–6–1 regular season record. Under Hac, Chicago qualified for the playoffs eight times, reached the Legends Cup six times (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018), and won
3071-718: The Interprovincial (1907) and Western Interprovincial Football Union (1936) (IRFU and WIFU). The CRFU reorganized into an umbrella organization forming 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
3154-475: The LFL team with the most wins and the most championship titles. At the conclusion of the 2019 season, the Bliss had a league-best 40–14–1 all-time record and four Legends Cup wins. Following the 2019 season, the LFL ceased operations and relaunched as the Extreme Football League ( X League ), which first played in 2022. All former LFL teams received new brands and the Bliss were replaced by
3237-681: The San Francisco Grays played against the Oakland Browns, winning 20 to 8, in a women's football game played at the Velodrome under rugby rules. On December 8, 1922, Maui High School in the Territory of Hawaii held the first of two girls' football games that month with a team of sophomores and seniors playing against a team of juniors and freshman. The Maui News described it as "a game which afforded much amusement to
3320-781: 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 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
3403-508: 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
Chicago Bliss - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-700: The United States was in 1892, when students at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women played with "modified tackling rules". Starting in the 1890s, there were also numerous articles alluding to students at women's colleges playing football, at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and at Vassar College in New York. However, sports historian Katie Taylor questions the veracity of these accounts, and suggests that any games that did take place at Seven Sisters schools during these years were informal rather than competitive. On November 21, 1896,
3569-675: The Vanier Cup. Junior football 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
3652-404: 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 the original penalty yardage would have resulted in
3735-509: 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 the play starts) are penalized five yards, more serious penalties (such as holding) are penalized 10 yards, and severe violations of
3818-400: 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 is typical for the team that wins the coin toss to kick to begin the first half and receive to begin
3901-571: The championship four times (2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018). His overall record was 40–10–1 making him the winningest coach in the league's history and the only coach (as of 2022) to win 40 games. Sidney Lewis became head coach in 2019 and in two seasons has gone 2–4 in the regular season, qualifying for the playoffs in 2022. In 2013, the Lingerie Football league was rebranded as the Legends Football League and shifted to
3984-415: 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 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
4067-783: The coaching staff consisted of Bliss Head Coach Keith Hac, coach of the Indoor Football League 's Chicago Slaughter .; Offensive Coordinator Rasche Hill, a former member of the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Slaughter; and Defensive Coordinator DeJuan Alfonzo , a former member of the Chicago Rush and Chicago Slaughter . The Bliss defeated the Miami Caliente 20–7 to win
4150-401: 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 a "0" or "00"; in most stadiums today, only the yard markers in multiples of 10 are marked with numbers, with
4233-509: 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
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#17327876060034316-404: 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 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
4399-405: 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 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
4482-454: 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 the shorter 20-yard end zone was Vancouver's BC Place (home of the BC Lions ), which opened in 1983. This
4565-421: 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 the ball carrier is in a standing position but can no longer move forwards (called forward progress). If no score has been made,
4648-399: 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 is within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Prior to a pass that goes beyond the line of scrimmage,
4731-523: The first Women's World Cup in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2010. Six nations participated in the inaugural event: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the United States. The United States won the gold by beating Canada, 66–0. The 2013 World Championship, in Finland, was held from 30 June 2013 to 7 July 2013. The United States won gold again, beating Sweden 84-0 and Germany 107–7 in order to make it to
4814-466: The first time Spain has staged the World Championships which have been held since 1998. Normally conducted every two years, Denmark was scheduled to host the 2020 edition only for it to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Canadian football 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
4897-457: The first woman to play and score in a college football game , kicking two extra points . Prior to this game, female athletes at Duke and Louisville had come close to playing in a game but did not. In 2001, Ashley Martin became the second female athlete to score in a college football game , this time in the NCAA . In 2003, Katie Hnida became the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I-A game. She accomplished this as placekicker for
4980-440: 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 the CFL. On fields that have a surrounding running track , such as Molson Stadium and many universities ,
5063-414: 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 is 10 feet (3 m) above the goal line. The goalposts may be H-shaped (both posts fixed in the ground) although in
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#17327876060035146-511: The gold medal match with Canada, whom they beat 64–0. In the 2017 IFAF Women's World Championship , held in Canada, the six teams invited were; Australia, Canada, Finland, Great Britain, Mexico and the United States. The United States continued their dominance, claiming gold, while Canada and Mexico won silver and bronze respectively. IFAF has confirmed Palma, located on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Spain as host for 2021 IFAF Flag Football World Championship from October 6 to 10 2021. It will be
5229-435: 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, 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:
5312-455: 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 the field every 5 yards (4.6 m) from the goal line. These lateral lines are called "yard lines" and often marked with
5395-502: 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 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
5478-399: The male professional level by playing as a running back in the Texas Revolution in 2014. To date, no women have ever played a line position above the high school level. Holley Mangold , whose brother Nick played several years in the NFL and who herself played as a lineswoman in high school, declined to further pursue football in college, fearing she had no chance to play professionally as
5561-416: The masculine element", but also noted that "The Hi girls proved that when it comes to grit, they're there with the goods." In 1925, a woman's football game played at San Jose State Teachers' College between two teams drawn from the school's gymnasium classes was covered by the Associated Press and The New York Times. On November 6, 1926, the Frankford Yellow Jackets of Philadelphia, who went on to win
5644-472: 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 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
5727-415: 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 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
5810-406: The participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was Sir William Mulock , later chancellor of 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
5893-413: 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 the kick) may recover and advance the ball. Players on
5976-417: 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 a one-point attempt. Conversely, the offence can attempt
6059-401: 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 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
6142-489: 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), 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
6225-402: 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 a pass interference infraction), or from where the ball ended after the play. Penalties on the offence may, or may not, result in
6308-415: 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 the ball to a teammate. Play stops when the ball carrier's knee, elbow, or any other body part aside from
6391-451: The sport was invented in the 1880s, often in educational settings. For over 70 years, however, female involvement in football was reported in the media as a novel "spectacle". According to The Women's Football Encyclopedia , during this period, "powder bowl" events were "unusual and nonrecurring, and they were universally treated by the press as more farce than competitive football." The first recorded instance of women playing football in
6474-530: 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 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
6557-504: The title of special teams player of the year, leading all kickers in the league in scoring; with a career spanning seven seasons, Harshbarger's career was the longest documented of any woman playing in a predominantly men's professional league. In 2020, Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five football game when she took the opening kickoff of the second half of the Vanderbilt Commodores ' game against
6640-607: 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 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
6723-544: 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 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
6806-429: 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 the execution of quick, distinct plays, which involve the possession of a brown, prolate spheroid ball with ends tapered to
6889-532: 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 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
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