Regina Riot (football)

Regina Riot

Established	2011
Based in	Regina, Saskatchewan
Home stadium	Leibel Field at Mosaic Stadium
Head coach	Kris Hadesbeck
General manager	Chantal Ounsworth
League	WWCFL
Division	Prairie
Colours
Mascot(s)	"Roxy"
League titles	3 (2015, 2017, 2018)
Conference titles	5 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024)
Website	www.reginariotfootball.com

The Regina Riot are a women's football team in the Western Women's Canadian Football League's (WWCFL) Prairie Conference. The team is based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Their provincial rivals are the Saskatoon Valkyries. The Riot and Valkyries have dominated the WWCFL since play began in 2011 as the only two teams to win the league championship.

Team history

The Riot were established as a member of the Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) ahead of its inaugural 2011 season, joining the Saskatoon Valkyries as one of two teams from Saskatchewan.^[1] The league also boasted teams in Alberta and Manitoba.

In their first two seasons of play, the Riot's only losses were to the Valkyries, but this left them with 2–2 records each season and with losses in the Prairie Conference final. In the 2013 season, the Riot finally got the best of the Valkyries, handing the Saskatoon team their first ever defeat with a 15–7 decision in Regina on 12 May. This led to Regina finishing the regular season atop the Prairie Conference standings for the first time. However, that loss would be avenged by the Valkyries in the Prairie Conference final, as the Riot lost the playoff re-match 55–27 in Regina.^[2]

The 2015 season was a break-out year for the Riot. They became the first team to defeat the Valkyries in Saskatoon with a decisive 49–9 victory on 30 May.^[3] They finished the season at the top of the Prairie Conference and defeated the Valkyries in the playoffs for the first time with a 31–29 victory in the Conference final. The Riot then advanced to their first WWCFL championship match, where they defeated the Edmonton Storm 53–6 in Winnipeg to win their first title.^[4]

After falling to the Valkyries in a Conference final re-match in 2016, the Riot returned to the championship match in 2017 with a 34–24 victory over the Valkyries. This time they faced the Calgary Rage in the final, and they earned a decisive 53–0 victory to claim their second title in three seasons.^[5] The Riot continued to improve in 2018 as the team posted its first undefeated season, defeating the Valkyries twice in the regular season for the first time.^[6] Prior to their Conference Final match against the Edmonton Storm, the Riot had their uniforms stolen; the junior men's Regina Thunder lent the Riot jerseys for their match.^[7] The Riot also faced Saskatoon in the Championship final for the first time, and a 14–10 victory secured back-to-back titles for Regina, and their first one at home.^[6]

The 2019 season saw the Riot lose to a team other than the Valkyries for the first time. On 5 May, they lost to the Manitoba Fearless at home by a score of 34–9.^[8] This resulted in the Riot finishing outside the top two in the Prairie Conference for the first time. However, the Riot rebounded to return to the Championship final for the third straight season and the fourth time in five seasons, defeating the Edmonton Storm 30–8 in the Conference final.^[9] They fell short in the final, losing to the Valkyries 25–3.^[10]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 WWCFL seasons.^[11] However, the Riot played a series of exhibition games against the Valkyries in the summer of 2021. The Valkyries swept the three-game series, defeating the Riot by scores of 34–0, 42–7, and 32–7.^[12]

When league play resumed in 2022, the Riot lost for a second time to the Fearless and finished third in the Prairie Conference.^[13] They faced Manitoba again in the first round of the playoffs, and lost 20–13, meaning they would not make the Championship game for the first time since 2016.^[14] This was also the first season the Riot fell short of the Conference Final. In 2024, the Riot had their team jerseys stolen for a second time.^[15] They also advanced to the league championship final for the first time since 2019—they hosted the Valkyries, losing the title match by a score of 36–21.^[16]

Year by year

= Indicates Division Title (regular season)

= Indicates Conference Title

= Indicates League Championship

Season	League	Conf.	W	L	Conf. standing	Playoff result
2011	WWCFL	Prairie	2	2	2nd	Lost Prairie Final, 36–6 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2012	WWCFL	Prairie	2	2	2nd	Lost Prairie Final, 35–21 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2013	WWCFL	Prairie	3	1	1st	Lost Prairie Final, 55–27 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2014	WWCFL	Prairie	2	2	2nd	Lost Prairie Final, 44–15 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2015	WWCFL	Prairie	3	1	1st	Won WWCFL Final, 53–6 vs. Edmonton Storm
2016	WWCFL	Prairie	3	1	2nd	Lost Prairie Final, 29–17 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2017	WWCFL	Prairie	3	1	1st	Won WWCFL Final, 53–0 vs. Calgary Rage
2018	WWCFL	Prairie	4	0	1st	Won WWCFL Final, 14–10 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2019	WWCFL	Prairie	1	3	3rd	Lost WWCFL Final, 25–3 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2020	WWCFL	Prairie	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	WWCFL	Prairie	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	WWCFL	Prairie	1	3	3rd	Lost Conference Semi-Final, 20–13 vs. Manitoba Fearless
2023	WWCFL	Prairie	2	2	2nd	Lost Prairie Final, 19–9 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
2024	WWCFL	Prairie	2	2	2nd	Lost WWCFL Final, 36–21 vs. Saskatoon Valkyries
Totals (2011–2024)			28	20

Management

Head coaches

• Jon Baxter (2011–2012)
• Darren Fisher (2013–2014)
• Shawn McCall (2015–2016)
• Olivier Eddie (2017–2018)
• Morgan Bunce (2019)
• Kris Hadesbeck (2019–present)

General managers

• Melissa Park (2011–2013)
• Alicia Dorwart
• Chantal Ounsworth

IFAF competitors

The following lists athletes and staff from the Regina Riot that competed in the IFAF Women's World Championships as members of Team Canada.

2013[17]	2017[18]	2022[19]
Ciara Bray Claire Dore Emma Hicks Aimee Kowalski Mallory Starkey Becky Wallis Adrienne Zuck Olivier Eddie (coach)	Carmen Agar Emilie Belanger Claire Dore Katie Hungle Artemis Kouropoulou Aimee Kowalski Alex Kowalski Ashley Viklund Adrienne Zuck Celeste Schnell (reserve) Mallory Starkey (reserve) Olivier Eddie (coach)	Rebekah Koutsogiannopolous Alex Kowalski Kasey McCombs Quinn Petrinchuk Hailee Raffey Shanelle Rioux Rae-Lynn Schaffer Chris Andrews (reserve)

Community involvement

The Riot received the YWCA Women of Distinction Award - Circle of Friends in 2013 in recognition of their involvement in the Regina community. This included running and assisting with community football and sport programs, as well as programs like Athletes Against Bullying and the Regina Ovarian Cancer Society.^[20]

See also

• Women's gridiron football

References

1. "Regina team joins women's football league". CBC News. 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
2. Hamilton, Ian (2013-06-10). "Riot can't stop the ride of the Valkyries". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2023-07-12 – via pressreader.
3. Piller, Thomas (2015-05-31). "Saskatoon Valkyries defeated on home turf by Regina Riot". Global News. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
4. Harkins, Jamie (2015-07-15). "Local lead Riot to historic win". SaskToday. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
5. "Regina Riot captures WWCFL championship". Regina Leader-Post. 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
6. Harder, Greg (2018-06-24). "Riot wins second straight WWCFL championship". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
7. Vanstone, Rob (2018-06-17). "Regina Riot, Saskatoon Valkyries to meet in WWCFL final". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
8. Provost, Kelly (2019-05-11). "Sask. football teams welcome a more competitive Western Women's CFL". CBC News. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
9. Vanstone, Rob (2019-06-23). "Regina Riot earns third consecutive trip to WWCFL final". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
10. Bidwell, Derek; Piller, Thomas (2019-07-01). "Saskatoon Valkyries dedicate winning season to late coach". Global News. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
11. Lazaruk, Les (2020-03-30). "WWCFL Cancels 10th Anniversary Season Due to COVID-19 Pandemic". CJWW. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
12. Bidwell, Derek (2021-07-28). "Saskatoon Valkyries sweep provincial rivals in season series". Global News. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
13. CKRM Sports (2022-06-05). "Riot drop second in a row to Valkyries". CKRM. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
14. CKRM Sports (2022-06-12). "Riot Make Early Exit From Playoffs". CKRM. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
15. Davis, Darrell (2024-06-11). "Regina Riot ready for women's football playoffs ... finally". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
16. Lammerding, Jaime (2024-06-24). "Saskatoon Valkyries claim their 9th WWCFL women's football championship". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
17. "Team Canada - WWC2013 - WWC2013". Archived from the original on 2013-11-17. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
18. "Football Canada Unveils 2017 Women's National Team Roster". Football Canada. 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
19. Geisler, Jamie (2022-05-20). "Team Canada National Women's Team Final Roster set for Finland". Football Canada. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
20. "Women's Elite Football Development". Football Saskatchewan. 2015. Retrieved 2023-07-16.