Valkyries grow into institution in Saskatoon

Female football sees big growth since club’s birth in 2011

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

The Valkyries raise the WWCFL championship trophy in 2022.

The meteoric rise of the Saskatoon Valkyries has given Saskatoon a vibrant female football landscape.

Back in the fall of 2010, Football Saskatchewan held a women’s tackle football clinic in Saskatoon to gauge the interest of women for the sport. Roughly around 45 women ranging in ages and athletic backgrounds from Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and surrounding areas came out to give the sport a shot.

From that initial gathering, Football Saskatchewan backed the start of two 12-player women’s tackle football teams with one in Regina and one in Saskatoon. In the spring of 2011, the Regina Riot and Saskatoon Valkyries began play in the inaugural season of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League.

The Valkyries won the first four straight league titles and eight league championships overall in the circuit’s history. Since the Valkyries start, numerous players from the team have gone on to coach or take on administrative and supporting roles in the sport.

Female flag football ballooned in “The Bridge City” since the Valkyries creation. The Rush High School Female Football Flag League was born around 2014. The Saskatoon F.A.T.E. (Female Athletes Tackling Excellence) program was created last fall to allow high school aged female players to play games in the six-person version of the sport.

More female players began to show up on high school rosters. Saskatchewan began sending provincial teams to national competitions and Valkyries players have represented Canada on the international scene.

Michelle Duchene, who has been the Valkyries general manager since the team’s inception, marvels looking at what has transpired in Saskatoon since the Valkyries played their first game back on May 22, 2011 downing the Riot 56-6 at historic Taylor Field in Regina.

“The best thing has been watching the sport grow in both flag and tackle for girls, and that we have created the space for females to have a place in football,” said Duchene, whose team hosts the Riot at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. “More and more of our players are moving on to coaching tackle and flag football or finding other ways to be involved in the sport once they retire.

“Hearing athletes coming from other sports talk about how they are treated like elite athletes in our community by being part of the Valkyries is a pretty special feeling. We get calls from groups asking our player to come talk to them or teach them about being an elite athlete and our sport, which is a pretty cool ask. It is amazing hearing young athletes talk to us about how excited they are to play for the Valkyries one day.”

Valkyries MLB Emmarae Dale (#45) chases Riot QB Aimee Kowalski.

Over the years, Duchene has recruited a number of players to come play for the Valkyries. Sometimes, the sales pitch comes from planting the idea in a female athlete’s mind that she should give football a try, and she might discover she likes the game.

One of those players Duchene planted a seed with was star middle linebacker Emmarae Dale. Before Dale joined the Valkyries in 2016, she played flag football and Duchene was her coach. Duchene passed on some friendly nudges that Dale would probably like playing for the Valkyries, if she joined the team.

Dale has since become one of the Valkyries most recognizable players. She helped the Valkyries win four WWCFL titles coming in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Along with playing for the Valkyries, Dale was recruited to play for the Saskatoon Hilltops and joined the storied powerhouse CJFL club for the 2021 season. She became the first female ever named to the Hilltops roster, and she was also the first female to play in the CJFL regular season.

Dale also suited up for Canada’s National Women’s Team that played in the International Federation of American Football’s Women’s World Championship, which ran from July 28 to August 8, 2022 in Vantaa, Finland. She was one of 12 Valkyries players that was on Canada’s main roster.

Now at age 26, Dale has always loved being a member of the Valkyries and has gained a new appreciation being a veteran player of the team.

“It has been really cool to see kind of where the team has grown throughout the years,” said Dale. “It has been interesting even to just like witness my own transition from being a new player to a veteran.

“It is really awesome just to see all the rookies and new people that we’re getting out. It has been a pretty incredible career so far. I’m just really thankful for the years I’ve been able to have and will hopefully continue to have for a little bit.”

Alex Eyolfson (#15) calls a play in the Valkyries huddle.

Dale has also been active in coaching the female game in various capacities in Saskatoon. She has seen the number of female flag teams grow over the years and said it was cool to see the F.A.T.E. program debut last fall.

“It is definitely an interesting dynamic, but it is really cool being able to see both sides of the ball,” said Dale. “Us veterans that are starting to coach more, I think it has been helping our own play to able to coach as well.

“It is really honestly good to be on the coaching side and kind of get those friendships and memories too. It is kind of interesting to still be coach and an athlete for a lot of us. It has been going really, really well, and I think we all really enjoy it.”

Like Dale, receiver Ricki Obed joined the Valkyries in 2016 too. She was a member of their last four WWCFL championship teams and suited up for Canada’s National Women’s Team for worlds in 2022.

The 32-year-old enjoyed coaching in the F.A.T.E. program last year and the new realizations that continues to bring.

“Starting the F.A.T.E. league and coaching that was just such a great experience,” said Obed. “We coached it with a full female coaching team as well with most of those being Valks players and retired Valks players as well.

“It was just so cool to watch these girls get to experience tackle football and see them start to pick it up, see them start to learn it and love it was very exciting. Now, we actually have some girls on our roster that came from F.A.T.E. just last year. It is this whole big circle, and I’m just loving being a part of it.”

During her time with the Valkyries, Obed has enjoyed seeing former players become members of the club’s coaching staff including some of her former teammates.

“Obviously, the goal of the program is just to get more women involved in football,” said Obed. “To kind of watch that progression of some of our players from the earlier years becoming coaches now, we have Marci (Halseth) and Beth (Thompson), obviously, on our coaching staff.

Ricki Obed breaks downfield after making a catch for the Valkyries.

“Rienna Rueve and Beth Lalonde are out helping coach this year as well. To see that kind of shift watching them go though their career and then into coaching now is really cool. Obviously, it opens my eyes to those opportunities as well.”

Obed said all the former Valkyries players that she knows always have positive things to say about the team. She remembers being a rookie looking up to the veteran players. Obed enjoys that memory and all the memories she has made with the squad.

“It is like a family, honestly,” said Obed. “The girls in the locker room are like some of the closest people in my life.

“To have that and to meet people that way is pretty incredible. Obviously when you go to battle together, it creates a very close bond.”

Pat Barry, who has been the Valkyries head coach since 2017 and been with the club’s coaching staff since 2014, said it has been special working with the team’s players over the years and is pumped every time a new season comes around.

“I’m a long-time coach, obviously, even before this,” said Barry, whose team has regularly played their home games at SMF Field since 2015. “It is just something I’m super excited about every season.

“When you work with adults, life sometimes gets in the way, and I understand that. So many of our athletes, they come from different sports. They come from different backgrounds.

“Now some of them, football is their first sport. That is something that didn’t happen in the early years of the club, but you had players who played flag football for many, many years or now have played tackle football in the new F.A.T.E. league or on their high school teams as well.”

Of course, being able to win eight WWCFL championships has been special as well for the Valkyries over the years. Duchene said winning titles is a nice reward for the team, but when all is said and done, she wants the players to come away feeling being a part of the Valkyries was a great and special thing in their lives.

“I love watching our player reach their goals, get better each year, some go on to play for the national team, and I am so proud of them all for reaching whatever their goal is, even if it is just trying the sport for one year,” said Duchene. “The hope is that their experience with our team will help them all succeed in life after they are done their playing careers.

The Valkyries raise their helmets for a win on June 18, 2023. 

“The number of players who have come through this program is getting bigger, and it is super fun to have them come back and see the impact that they have made and relive the glory days.”

For more information on the Saskatoon Valkyries, feel free to check their website saskatoonvalkyries.com.

Sweet happenings in photos enjoys last moments of fall

By Gordie Howe Sports Complex staff
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

The Hilltops celebrate a playoff winning TD by Dillan Heintz.

The snow has yet to fall, but the chill of winter is in the air.

The final sprint of the fall sports season is nearing the finish line. During the fall months, Saskatoon Minor Football Field is often the main hub of activity at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

As October drew to a close and turned over to November, the playoff chase in various leagues like the KFL, high school football and the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops took flight.

The lead main photo for this post showcases the Hilltops celebrating a winning touchdown from Dillan Heintz with 21.3 second to play. Heintz’s major score allowed the Hilltops to down the Edmonton Huskies 33-31 in a PFC semifinal contest at SMF Field just two days ago.

While most of the action was at SMF Field, the crew with the Going Yard Training Centre got some final outdoor sessions in at Leakos Field.

Activity at the Indoor Training Centre is picking up as various sports groups stop in to train.

Still, these photos capture some of the memories that are made on our grounds. Most of these photos were taken by our Communications Coordinator in Darren Steinke, but Louis Christ checked in with a couple of spectacular shots.

Without further ado, here is a selection of 11 pictures we hope you enjoy.

Hot grounder gets snagged

In one of the last outdoor sessions held by the Going Yard Training Centre, this infielder runs down a hot shot grounder at shortstop on October 13 at Leakos Field.

Helping out on the base paths

Greg Brons, who is the High Performance Director for Baseball Saskatchewan, rakes the base paths at Leakos Field for an outdoor session help by the Going Yard Training Centre on October 13. Brons assisted the Going Yard crew with coaching at the training session too.

Final walk out of the tunnel

For a large number of years, the Saskatoon Hilltops have honoured their graduating players during the team’s last regular season home game of each CJFL campaign. The graduating players take a final walk to the field with their parents. On October 17, linebacker Emmarae Dale made that walk at Saskatoon Minor Football Field with her mother, Wendy, and father, Darren. Emmarae Dale is the first female to play in the CJFL.

Hilltops’ Dale makes history in 2021

Linebacker Emmarae Dale takes on the middle linebacker role for the Saskatoon Hilltops on October 17. Dale made history this entire season becoming the first female player to play in the CJFL. Photos like these are keepers for the archives. Dale is a familiar face on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds having played for the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries, and she is strength and conditioning coach with Ignite Athletics.

Rusholme Road rivalry fun

In this high school football clash on October 22, the quarterback of the E.D. Feehan Catholic High School Trojans evades a pursuing defender from the Bedford Road Collegiate Redhawks. The Trojans ultimately prevailed in this Rusholme Road rivalry game 20-14.

Teaching the finer points

The coaches with the Saskatchewan North Central Softball Academy get deep into detail involving the skill of hitting during a training session on October 26 at the Indoor Training Centre. In this photo, coaches Jon Equina, left, and Dave McCullough demonstrate the finer points of the skill of hitting.

Let it rip

A player drive the ball into the net during a hitting drill at a Saskatchewan North Central Softball Academy training session on October 26 at the Indoor Training Centre. The players were focused on improving on the detailed points of the skill of hitting.

Pumped up touchdown

St. Joseph High School Guardians quarterback Quinn Hofer lets out a big cheer after scoring a touchdown against the Walter Murray Collegiate Marauders on October 28 at SMF Field. The score helped the Guardians pull out a 28-14 win in a SSSAD 6A semifinal contest.

All out effort

A Steelers running back was able to score a touchdown by breaking the plane of the end zone despite the valiant effort of two Titans defenders in KFL action on October 31 at SMF Field. In this Huskie Division semifinal contest, the Steelers outlasted the Titans 26-18.

Ultimate high hurdle

A St. Joseph High School Guardians ball carrier high hurdles a Holy Cross High School Crusaders tackler during the SSSAD’s 6A football title game on November 5 at SMF Field. Louis Christ snapped this spectacular photo.

Jetting into the clear

A Holy Cross High School Crusaders running back bursts into the open field during the SSSAD’s 6A football title game against the St. Joseph High School Guardians on November 5 at SMF Field. The Crusaders claimed the championship with a 26-0 victory. The photo was courtesy the outstanding work of Louis Christ.

Hilltops make long-awaited return to SMF Field

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

The Hilltops celebrate a CJFL title win in 2018.

The last time the Saskatoon Hilltops graced the turf at Saskatoon Minor Football Field they were making yet another memorable moment.

On October 27, 2019, the storied Canadian Junior Football League club downed the visiting Edmonton Huskies 30-14 to capture the Prairie Football Conference championship. The Hilltops proceeded to march onward from there to captured their 22^nd CJFL title in team history.

That encounter with the Huskies marks the last time the Hilltops played a game at SMF Field as the 2020 CJFL season was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The Hilltops make their long-awaited return to SMF Field on Saturday, September 11, taking on their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder at 7 p.m. The will be a battle of teams that both sport 2-0 records so far in the CJFL regular season.

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said his team is pumped to be back in action.

“It is just awesome to be back here,” said Sargeant. “It is awesome to be around my coaches and my players.

“It is such a good vibe and such a good feel. We have a lot of rust. We have lots of things we have to get better at.

“There is lots in front of us. We have the right kids here. We’re ready to develop this team and take it to great places.”

The Hilltops have played most to almost all of their home games at SMF Field since 1960, when the stadium was originally called the Holiday Park Bowl. 

The Hilltops raise the Canadian Bowl in 2015.

They have won 19 of their 22 CJFL championships since they started playing their home games at SMF Field.

The Hilltops have won the last six straight CJFL titles before the circuit went on hiatus in 2020. During that run of six straight titles, two of those championship wins came on the grounds of SMF Field.

In 2015, the Hilltops hosted the CJFL title game – the Canadian Bowl - downing the Kelowna, B.C., based Okanagan Sun 38-24. That contest was played on the new field turf that was install prior to the start of the 2014 season, and both clubs were able to use the dressing rooms at the nearly completed Gordie Howe Sports Centre building.

In 2018, the Hilltops won the Canadian Bowl again dumping the Langley Rams 58-21 at SMF Field to complete a perfect 11-0 campaign. This marked the first CJFL title game played at SMF Field where all the renovations and improvements at the facility had been completed.

In 2020, the Hilltops gathered for practice for six weeks in September and October at Ron Atchison Field.

When the 2021 CJFL season was given the green light to go, the Hilltops couldn’t wait to get back into game action.

“It feels great,” said fifth-year left tackle Mason Ochs, who is a three-time CJFL all-Canadian all-star. “It has been too long.

“It almost kind of felt like it was never coming back after you lose 2020. I didn’t even know if that was my last game in 2019 there. It couldn’t be better to be back.”

The Hilltops enter their home opener with linebacker Emmarae Dale on their roster.

Jared Giddings makes an interception for the Hilltops in 2018.

Dale has been a familiar face for a long time on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds. Before joining the Hilltops, Dale starred for the Saskatoon Valkyries, who are a powerhouse club in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League, from 2016 to 2019.

She helped the Valkyries win two WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019.

Dale also works at the front desk and is a strength and conditioning coach at Ignite Athletics.

The former member of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team was added to the Hilltops roster last year.

On August 22, she became the first female player to play in a CJFL regular season game as the Hilltops downed the Edmonton Huskies 18-17 at Jasper Place Bowl in Edmonton, Alta. Dale had a special teams tackle in the win.

“It was pretty surreal,” said Dale. “I think it was just such a long time coming that it is kind of weird to think that it has already come and gone.

“It was the first game back since COVID. I think everyone is still just kind of getting the rust off after such a long wait, but it was awesome being there. I think even when I was just first putting on the shoulder pads and the Hilltops jersey it definitely kind of hit me that it was going to be a big game and very meaningful game.

“It was really awesome. It was definitely exciting and humbling. It was just a lot of emotions just kind of wrapped into one I think.”

After going through 2020 without a regular season, Hilltops fifth-year defensive back Jared Giddings said there is a renewed appreciation for the chance to take part in practices and game. Giddings said there were times where he wasn’t sure if he would get to play his fifth and final season with the team.

Along with Ochs and right tackle Jonathan Chisholm, Giddings is one of three players who are playing a fifth full season with the Hilltops in 2021. Giddings has always appreciated being part of the storied Hilltops, but he admits his spark for playing a season has been renewed.

A sign at SMF Field lists the Hilltops CJFL title wins

“Football is a grind, and sometimes coming to practice isn’t easy,” said Giddings. “Honestly, it is all just a little bit easier now.

“When we were off, you don’t know what is happening. You don’t know what is going to happen next. Every day, it is like it is a blessing.

“I don’t mind coming to practice and getting bruised up a bit and hitting some guys. It is a lot of fun. I think it brought the fun back into football for me personally.”

For more information about the Saskatoon Hilltops, feel free to check out their website at www.saskatoonhilltops.com.

Dale takes spotlight as Hilltops first female player

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Emmarae Dale is the Hilltops first female player.

When media from the big cities came calling, Emmarae Dale really realized just how big her addition to the Saskatoon Hilltops roster was.

On September 15, the Hilltops announced that Dale was officially added to the team’s roster at linebacker making her the team’s first female player. Having been a member of the Saskatoon Valkyries women’s football team and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team for four seasons each, Dale expected to be interviewed by members of the Saskatoon media, and she has interacted with a number of those media members in the past.

She did about seven or eight interviews on the day the Hilltops made the announcement.

When she started getting interview requests from media members all across Western Canada including big cities like Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, the significance of becoming the Hilltops first female player and what is believed to be the first female added to the roster of a CJFL team became greater.

“It definitely started to get real at that point,” said Dale, who has also done interviews for national outlets. “That was when it sort of sunk in this is something bigger than I even realize.

“I kind of realized this is a big moment in history. It is not anything I should be taking lightly at all.”

The 22-year-old played four seasons at linebacker for the Valkyries from 2016 to 2019 helping them win Western Women’s Canadian Football League titles in 2016 and 2019. After joining the powerhouse women’s tackle football team, Dale quickly became one of the squad’s best defensive players.

On top of playing for the Valkyries, Dale competed with the Huskies track and field team for the last four seasons at the U Sports level in throwing events. She helped the Huskies women’s team win the last three straight Canada West Conference titles.

Emmarae Dale dished out big hits for the Valkyries.

Her play for the Valkyries and athletic ability attracted the attention of storied Hilltops, who have won 22 CJFL titles since the modern version of the team hit the field in 1947. The venerable Hilltops have won the last six straight CJFL titles and nine of the last 10 CJFL championships.

Dale, who stands 5-foot-6, has been practicing with the Hilltops for the last five weeks, and she has lost count of how many interviews she has done since news broke that she was officially on the club’s roster. The graduate of Saskatoon’s St. Joseph High School has done interviews with various media outlets including newspapers, radio stations, television stations, webcasts and podcasts.

At first, she didn’t know what it was going to be like to be interviewed by media members from major cities.

“It is definitely a little nerve-racking,” said Dale. “You get kind of a feel for what the questions are going to look like and feel like just from all of the interviews.

“You still don’t really know what they are going to ask. I think the biggest thing for me is just trying to stay articulate and take my time in answering questions. You just don’t know what they are going to ask.

“Just trying to think of things on the spot can be a little bit scary, but I don’t get too nervous talking to people.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said Dale is on the Hilltops, because she is good enough to be on the team. Sargeant added Dale is powerful, strong and quick, and you can tell she has done a lot of good work at her training sessions at Ignite Athletics, which is on the grounds of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

Dale also works shifts operating the front desk at Ignite, where most of the Hilltops also train and workout. She already knew a number of players on the team, and Sargeant she fit in right off the bat.

“She is very comfortable out here right now, and very relaxed,” said Sargeant. “There is always a smile on her face.

Emmarae Dale (#45) made big plays for the Valkyries.

“She is enjoying what she is doing. You can tell she is learning and feeling good, because we are teaching some systems and getting a feel for all that. There is some newness to what is going on, and we are all enjoying it.

“She is a great kid to be around, and she is embracing the situation she is in as we are. Now, it is our job to make her better, so that she can compete at a high level and make a lot of plays for the Hilltops.”

Hilltops defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie was Dale’s head coach during her first season and her defensive coordinator in second season with the Valkyries. He saw Dale playing flag football during her high school days at St. Joseph High School and was impressed with her athletic and playmaking abilities.

Yausie, who spent time as the head coach of Canada’s national women’s tackle football team, talked Dale into joining the Valkyries and was amazed by how quickly she improved in the game.

“You basically watch her mature and grow up each year and get bigger and stronger and get more comfortable in the football systems,” said Yausie. “To me, she has gotten better and better.

“From my experience coaching the national team, I looked at her and I identified her as a player that she can make that level, if that is what she wants and be dominate at that level. She has a great work ethic, and she is tough.

“Sometimes the intangibles of football make a good football player like toughness, mental toughness. At every practice, she works as hard or harder than everybody else.”

As Dale improved, she hit the point Yausie believed she could play and contribute with the Hilltops. He figured the announcement of her being added to the roster would perk up media interest, but he never expected how wide the interest would spread.

“I’m surprised the amount of attention it has got,” said Yausie. “To me, I don’t think it is that big a deal.

“For me as a person, I just want a player who can play. I don’t care if the player is male or female or whatever. It comes back to her character.”

Emmarae Dale is honoured to play for the Hilltops.

Yausie said Dale’s character is outstanding, and the Hilltops know her family fairly well.

Dale is following in the footsteps of her older brothers, Anthony and Donovan, who played for the Hilltops in the late 2000s and early 2010s. As the weeks go on, Emmarae said it feels more and more special to be a member of the Hilltops.

“It is pretty surreal, and it is a huge honour,” said Dale. “I honestly have no other way to put it other than it is just really humbling being on the team that is the best in Canada and the best in history.

“It is just a huge honour to be able to come out and run around with the guys and compete with them. They are amazing football players, and just to be able to be here is a huge privilege and honour that is not being taken for granted at all.”