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80-841: The North Shore Lions football organization is currently a member of the QBFL (Quebec Bantam Football League) operating in the West Island of Montreal , Quebec, Canada. This organization was founded in 1967 when the local teams were struggling to find talented kids to play football. Since 1967 the North Shore Lions have won 38 provincial championships. The North Shore Football League plays host to teams for children aged 6–13. The different age groups are Atom (6-9 year olds), Mosquito (10-11 year olds), PeeWee (12-13 year olds), Bantam (14-15 year olds) and Midget (16-17 year olds). The first three (Atom, Mosquito and PeeWee) are hosted through

160-500: 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

240-626: 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 the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU) founded June 12, 1880, which included teams from Ontario and Quebec. Later both

320-676: 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

400-409: 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

480-490: 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, was first recorded in Canada in the early 1860s, taken there by British immigrants, possibly in 1824. Both

560-411: 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

640-850: 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 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

720-800: 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 the founders of Milton, Massachusetts, devised rules based on rugby football . The game gradually gained

800-428: 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

880-529: A house-league system. The names that were chosen for these teams were taken from the western teams in the CFL. These were the Eskimos, Stampeders, Bombers, and Lions, who, at the time, were playing their home games at Rive Boisée park. As it was becoming increasingly difficult to find enough players to make four bantam teams, a decision was made in 1966 to disband the four-team system and to create one elite team that

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960-412: 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

1040-482: A move to Hamilton for 2004 and 2005, followed by Saskatoon in 2006. Quebec City , Vancouver , Montreal , London , and Kingston have since hosted Vanier Cup games. There have been efforts at establishing new varsity football programs at institutions that currently do not have teams. A group of alumni from Carleton University in Ottawa successfully revived that school's program which returned in 2013. The team

1120-420: A nationally televised package of regular-season games to be sold to a major broadcaster. The Northern 8 would be structured as a non-profit corporation and would subsidize production costs for its telecasts: profits would be distributed to non-member schools. It would start with eight teams but could expand to 10 in the future. The Canada West conference backed the proposal. The OUA, RSEQ and AUS showed concerns for

1200-408: 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

1280-515: A record 208 U Sports alumni on CFL rosters. Maya Turner became the first woman to play in any U Sports regular season football game, on September 23, 2023, as a Manitoba Bisons kicker. She kicked the game winning field goal in overtime for the Bisons in their game against the Regina Rams . The regular season is nine to ten weeks long, depending on the conference, and, as of 2019 , opens on

1360-798: A series of parks. The Bantam Lions play in Quebec Bantam Football League's (QBFL) Bill Allan division which is the Bantam AAA first division. The Midget Mustangs play in Quebec Midget Football League's (QMFL) Bruno Heppell division which is the Midget AAA division. In the early to mid-1960s, the North Shore Football League was still in its infancy and at the time there were four bantam teams that played amongst themselves in

1440-413: 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

1520-399: 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

1600-418: 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

1680-499: Is a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports, returning football to Carleton University after a 15-year absence. The Université de Moncton investigated a possible football program in 2011, due to the construction of Moncton Stadium in 2010. In May 2011, the athletics department submitted a feasibility report to the school's president and are based part of their decision upon how

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1760-691: 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 the Alberta Football League . The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is in Hamilton, Ontario . The first documented football match

1840-402: 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

1920-855: The Canada West Universities Athletic Association , the UBC Okanagan Heat explored the feasibility of starting their own football program, partnered with the CJFL 's Okanagan Sun . UBCO would have partnered with the Sun in much the same way that the University of Regina was paired with the Prairie Football Conference 's Regina Rams . However, UBC-O lacked a stadium on campus. The Kelowna city-owned Apple Bowl Stadium did not meet

2000-577: 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, the Grey Cup , is one of Canada's biggest sporting events, attracting a large television audience. Canadian football

2080-522: The Canadian Football League . Opening Day of the 2015 CFL season saw a record 199 U Sports football players on rosters around the League. In 2022 , 205 former U Sports football players were featured on CFL teams' rosters on opening day. The following is a list of recent numbers from the CFL Draft , which is an annual eight-round event with a current maximum of 74 players drafted. From 1997 to 2012

2160-399: 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

2240-594: The Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl . The participant conferences of each bowl are determined several years in advance on a rotating basis. The winners of each bowl game meet in the Vanier Cup national championship, first established in 1965 and named in honour of Governor General Georges Vanier . The game was held in Toronto every year through 2003 when host conference bids were first accepted, yielding

2320-644: 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 the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) in 1891. The immediate forerunner to the current Canadian Football League was established in 1956 when

2400-626: The Quebec Bantam Football League (QBFL). The original MBFL championship trophy was retired and was presented by Bill Allan, then president of the MBFL and founding father of the North Shore Football League, to the Lions for having won the most championships during the time the MBFL existed. Canadian football Canadian football , or simply football , is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on

2480-505: The Saskatchewan Huskies ) and Jim Mullin announced a proposal for a consortium known as the " Northern 8 ", which would organize interconference games between its member schools. Dube felt that this plan could help improve the prominence of CIS football on a national basis outside of the post-season (which, as of the 2014 season, was the only period of the season that featured nationally televised CIS games), as it would allow

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2560-703: 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

2640-483: The CFL Draft had six rounds of selections and from 2013 to 2015 it had seven rounds. From 2002 to 2005, the CFL had nine teams, then reverted to eight teams from 2006 to 2013, and then was back to its current number of nine teams in 2014. The high-water mark of 60 players from the U Sports drafted was recorded in the 2022 CFL Draft , which was the most since 1978 . There have been 15 U Sports players drafted into

2720-754: 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 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

2800-549: The Lions won that last championship and this was the creation of the team that we now know today. In their inaugural season, under the guidance of their first head coach, Ron Hutchison, they began what was to become a winning streak of 42 straight games without a loss and their first of many provincial championship titles. In 1980, the MBFL fell into the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Football Federation (QAFF) and changed to what we now know as

2880-675: 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

2960-460: 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

3040-509: 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

3120-400: 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

3200-487: 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 the trophy, withdrew from competition after the 1954 season. The move ushered in the modern era of Canadian professional football, culminating in

3280-481: The championship trophy of the professional Canadian Football League (CFL) since its founding in the 1950s, was originally contested by teams from the University of Toronto and Queen's University and other amateur teams since 1909. Many U Sports players have gone on to professional careers in the CFL and elsewhere; a number are drafted annually in the Canadian College Draft . In 2021 , there were

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3360-415: 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

3440-401: 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

3520-509: 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

3600-404: 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

3680-662: 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

3760-405: 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

3840-454: 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

3920-560: The fans in Moncton received the Uteck Bowl in 2011. The 2011 Uteck Bowl was not well supported in Moncton, and there has been little support for a team since. A club team league , the Atlantic Football League , features four-to-five universities, depending on the season. There is hope this may lead to varsity teams featured at some of these schools. Following their successful application to become full members of

4000-421: 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,

4080-399: 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,

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4160-421: The first documented game was played at University College at the University of Toronto in 1861. A number of U Sports programs have been in existence since the origins of the sport. It is from these Canadian universities that the game now known as Canadian football began. In 1874 , McGill University ( Montreal ) challenged Harvard University ( Cambridge, Massachusetts ) to a series of games. The Grey Cup ,

4240-863: The first round of the post-season in the OUA occurs during the same week that each of the other three conferences are playing their last regular season games. Each conference has its own championship trophy; the Hardy Trophy in the West, the Yates Cup in Ontario, the Dunsmore Cup in Quebec and the Jewett Trophy in the Atlantic conference. The conference champions proceed to national semifinal bowl games:

4320-471: 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 the United States playing under Canadian rules in 1995. The Expansion

4400-440: 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 ,

4480-414: 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

4560-484: 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 the American stadiums. The Grey Cup was established in 1909, after being donated by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey , Governor General of Canada, as

4640-429: The guidelines required for entry into Canada West football after a conference site visit in 2014. The University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières explored the possibility of adding a football program with the launch planned for the 2017 season. The program would have been similar to Carleton University's in that there would be private funding from football alumni, but operated by shareholders. As of April 2015, $ 800,000 of

4720-455: 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

4800-502: 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

4880-527: 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 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

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4960-472: 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

5040-415: 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

5120-413: 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

5200-417: 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

5280-480: The plan due to travel costs and their effects on standings and rejected the plan. There are post-season awards for on-the-field excellence. The players deemed to be the best at each position are named to the annual All-Canadian Football Team as first or second team players. Additionally there are a number of individual awards for categories like "best defensive player". Many players from U Sports football have become professional athletes with most of them playing in

5360-401: 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

5440-489: 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

5520-450: 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 the Uteck Bowl , Mitchell Bowl , and Vanier Cup , the same overtime procedure is followed until there is a winner. U Sports football The origins of North American football can be traced here, where

5600-428: The regular season, single elimination playoff games are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the Atlantic, Canada West, and Quebec conferences, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. In Ontario, the top seven teams qualify with the top team receiving a playoff bye to the next round. Because the OUA teams have conference playoffs that last three weeks instead of two,

5680-471: The required $ 3 million had been raised in support of the varsity sport at UQTR. The capacity of the football stadium would then be increased from 2000 to 6270 seats. However, the UQTR Board of Regents refused to commit to the proposal. The UQTR Patriotes previously fielded a senior varsity team from 1971 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. In February 2015, businessman David Dube (an alumnus and supporter of

5760-402: 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

5840-415: 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

5920-414: 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 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

6000-638: The weekend before the Labour Day weekend. Teams play eight regular season games and regular season games are in-conference with exhibition (pre-season) games being played between conferences. Throughout the season, there are featured homecoming and rivalry games in most regions. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Hec Crighton Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of U Sports football. After

6080-439: 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 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

6160-533: 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 the return of the NFL to Baltimore prompted

6240-428: Was going to compete the following year at the inter-city level in the fledgling Metropolitan Bantam Football League (MBFL). They still needed to come up with a name for the team so it was decided that whichever of the four existing teams won what would be the last North Shore championship that year, their name would be used for the new inter-city team that was to begin competing the following year in 1967. As it happened,

6320-429: 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

6400-532: 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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