First national women's gridiron team formed for Canada world championship

Australia's first national women's gridiron team will travel to Canada in June to test their skills against some of the best female athletes in the world.

Australian Outback women's Gridiron team.

Source: SBS

Fifty-two Australian women have been selected to play in what will be the country's first ever national women's gridiron team.

The team will travel to Canada in June for the International Federation of American Football Women's World Championship. 

They'll face off against national squads from around the world, including the US, UK and Mexico.

Defensive line Jasmin Collins said it was a huge achievement.

"I never thought I would ever represent my country in anything," Ms Collins told SBS. 

"I never thought that could be possible, especially for a female." 

Cornerback Pier Pritchard grew up surrounded by men playing sport.

"As Polynesians, that's what they do, and funnily enough they actually all laughed because I was playing gridiron," Ms Pritchard said.

Now that she has made the national squad, she said that had all changed.

"They are so impressed, I think they underestimated me a lot and they underestimated the sport. So I think now they take their hats off to all of us women, as well as the sport."
The side will be led by head coach Dr Jen Welter.

The American is no stranger to elite competition, as the first female coach in NFL history.

Offensive line Renae Hanh told SBS having a female coach might give the Australians an edge over the competition.

"She's had experience playing in two world cups, and she brings a lot to us obviously from the female perspective," Ms Hahn said.

"That's something that we're going to see trickle on now that women are playing this sport."

We don't have as many coaches right now, but I think in a couple of years' time we'll be able to bring that player experience to the coaching roles as well."
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Australian Outback National Women's Team.
For these women, months of hard work had led to this moment - the chance to represent their country on an international stage.

Linebacker Matilda Quist told SBS they weren't planning to come home empty handed.

"We want a medal, definitely we want a medal, we don't just want to be participants in a sport," Ms Quist said.

Safety Renee Targett said she was hoping the first women's national side would raise the profile of gridiron in Australia and the opportunities for women to play the sport.

"I want to be able to go to schools and go to other younger girls and say 'look, these sports are out there, there are opportunities out there for you'," Ms Targett said.

The team has set up a Go Fund Me page to help cover player travel expenses. 

The Women's World Championship kicks off on June 24.

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By Michelle Rimmer


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