Regional Stories - Winter 2016


QUEBEC Iris vs Brute Squad promote gender equity 500+ take in women’s Ultimate showcase


in Montreal By Kim Morin-Coulombe


On the evening of October 15, 2016, after a memorable but intense season, an excited Iris took the field at the Centre Claude Robillard in front of more than 500 friends, fans and family. Organized by the AUDL’s Montreal Royal, the all-women’s showcase game pinned Iris face-to-face with the recently crowned US national champions, Boston Brute Squad, on a stage that few of us had experienced before.


The event, designed to promote gender equity, would be a testament to the respect and admiration the organizers have for women’s Ultimate. The Canadian Ultimate University Championships were held in Montreal on the same weekend as the showcase game, and many university athletes were in the stands cheering for their favorite players. The game was also livestreamed on the Montreal


Royal’s YouTube channel, with bilingual commentators keeping online fans in on the action. As the President and Director General of the Montreal Royal, Jean Levy Champagne, said, “considering the interest the community demonstrated, we are very interested in hosting events like these again.” On a personal level, I can attest to the exhilaration I felt running onto a field with so many screaming supporters in the stands. Having often been the one encouraging friends and loved ones during professional games, words cannot express how validating it was to have a complete role reversal and allowing our families, friends, even coworkers witness the passion we put into the sport day in, day out. We are at a time where it is crucial to host such events. Young girls need to see firsthand the level of competition and the sheer excitement of our sport, when Jessie Grignon Tomas from Iris lays out for a huge defensive play in the first point of the game or as Lauren Sadler from Brute Squad


bids earning an impossible goal. We want these moments as athletes, but we need these moments as role models to grow the sport. On a worldwide scale, it is empowering to see other gender equity initiatives such as the All Star Tour and Fulcrum Media’s commitment covering women’s games. It is vital that female athletes both young and more experienced see and are inspired by female players on and off the field; including women who coach professional AUDL teams like Guylaine Girard and Caroline Cadotte of the Royal, and Tasia Balding of the Vancouver Riptide, among others.


The entire Ultimate community in Quebec came together on October 15th to show their love and respect for the women’s game and for us as athletes. It felt great and I can’t wait for the next opportunity to support female athletes in our community.


All photos contributed by Christian d’Auteuil from the AUM. montrealultimate.ca


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Ultimate Canada Magazine - www.canadianultimate.com


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