IWFL, a League of Their Own

According to most, the game of "football" can be traced back all the way to the early 1840's when it began to branch out as a form of rugby. Since then it is safe to say the sport has "taken off" and has grown into a booming multi-billion dollar business and may even be considered as a religion to some. Although primarily a man's game where men compete on the gridiron every weekend, women have now entered the football kingdom to show what they can do.

Since it's conception in 2000, the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) has been an outlet for women looking to express their aggression and battle it out with other women on the gridiron. The league with a mission for "positive, safe and fun environment for the women who play the game and fans that come out to watch them,"
is comprised of 51 teams with over 1600 women total. All of the teams function independently meaning they are each responsible for supplying their equipment, player acquisitions through open try-outs which are usually conducted in October, and marketing and promotion of the team.

There are three tiers or levels in which the teams are placed. There is the main tier that is comprised of 6 divisions including teams from all the major cities that you'd expect like New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and some that you wouldn't expect like Corvallis and Portland. There is then the 2nd tier, which includes teams from smaller markets such as Holyoke, Palm Beach, and Clarksville. The third tier currently consists of three teams from Santa Rosa, Oakland, and Wisconsin, which are considered as expansion or exhibit teams.

Each team in the major conferences play each other in their division at least once and overall standings are based on a team rating which uses the Massey rating. The Massey rating system uses a formula that determines the strength of the team as well as the strength of the team's schedule. With this rating system, a victory over a tier 2 team has less significance than a victory over a tier 1 team.

For tier 1 teams, the team with the highest rating in their division is considered the division champ. After the division champions are crowned, the highest rated remaining team from the conference is then selected as the wild card team. The teams then battle each other with the overall victor claiming the IWFL World Champion crown.

For tier 2 teams, the 8 highest rating teams battle it out in a playoff system with the winner eventually being crowned as the North America Champion.

The season starts in early April with the championship and all-star games ending in July. Each team plays approximately 8-10 games not including the playoffs. Tickets are usually around $10, perfect for families, and can be purchased on the team's website or at the local box office. For more information on the IWFL including the latest news, roster reports, and team information visit the IWFL Website.

Copyright 2009 Dan Rozak

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