Montreal Blitz on the move

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

Yes, it’s football. With contact. For women.

The Montreal Blitz women’s football team — the first and only women’s football team in Canada — turned a corner last season by winning games for the first time in their four-year history and are now poised for yet another rebirth with a move back to the island of Montreal.

The Blitz were bought by quarterback and Ile Perrot resident Saadia Ashraf —who grew up in Pointe Claire and teaches at Lindsay Place High School — in 2005, and after the team posted a 3-7 won-loss record in their eight-game Independent Women’s Football League 2006 regular (IWFL) season, Ashraf and her teammates are already working out in anticipation of the 2007 season, which will see them travel to such far-flung locales as Maine, New Hampshire and Delaware to play road games. The season begins in April.

“We’re expecting to be that much better this season and we’re hoping to make an impact on local football fans,” Ashraf said. “We’re playing at our new home field, at Dalbé-Viau High School in Lachine, and we think it will be a very positive way to make an impact on Montreal fans. It’s more central, and it’s between the West Island and downtown. Great facility, too.”

Last year, the Blitz played their home games at College Edouard-Montpetit in Longueuil, averaging about 100 fans per game. It was especially tough for West Island players — of which the Blitz boast nine on their roster — to attract friends and family to games, not to mention casual observers. The goal for this season is to stabilize operations and get a stream of revenue coming in, Ashraf said.

“That’s the goal for this season,” she said. “We’re trying to work on getting things done and keep winning games, making the playoffs. That’s the goal.”

From a playing standpoint, a number of Blitz players have gained enough experience where they must no longer rely solely on flag-football credentials. West Islanders such as Ashraf, running back Melissa Dykeman, wide receivers Georgina Paull and Alia Palmer, offensive linemen Kim Grubb and Lindsay Belzie (arguably the best athletes in the league at their position) have already established themselves as solid football players, with gusts up to excellent.

“Our best game wasn’t even one we won,” said Beaconsfield resident Paull, a 19-year-old McGill University student.

“We ended up losing to (perennial league powerhouse) New York on the road, but it taught us we could play with any team in this league, and that was an important psychological thing for us,” she added.

Now, the big challenge is to raise a decent bankroll and to build a loyal fan base for women's’ football in the city — and just as importantly, the West Island.

“It’s really important for people to discover us and for us to show girls and women everywhere that they can play football too. We’re also counting on a lot of support from the West Island because a lot of our players are from there and we have a good team with a quarterback who can throw — that makes a big difference for us,” Paull said.

For more information or to inquire about playing for the Blitz, call 1-866-61BLITZ, or visit www.montrealblitz.ca">www.montrealblitz.ca">www.montrealblitz.ca