2 Sask. women selected for CFL's Women in Football program

The Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Women in Football program has returned for a second year and two Saskatchewan women will take part.

Claire Doré, from Regina and Jay Starecki, from Saskatoon are two of nine participants that were selected for the four-week development program. Doré will be joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization on the coaching side, while Starecki will be with the B.C. Lions in their Equipment Management group.

“Any opportunity I might have to improve from or learn, any of those things where I can show other women in the community that there are potential options for them out there. I want to continue to grow as a coach and see what the other side looks like,” Doré said.

Doré has a plethora of experience in the football world already, she was a member of the Regina Riot from 2011-17, earning two WWCFL Championships in that time. She then moved on to coaching in 2018 when she began coaching the Regina Victorias.

She began as a positional coach and now is currently the team’s head coach.

Dore was also the Balfour Bears High School Athletic Association position coach from 2016 through to 2021 where she also took over as head coach. She was the first women’s head coach for U18 where she attended the first Nationals last summer that was hosted here in Regina. She was also Team Canada’s receivers coach in 2022.

“When I’m coaching my hope is that other women will see this and see that they can do this through hard work, through decimation. That if you keep working at it, the opportunities will present themselves like this,” Doré said.

Doré said in the four weeks she will be with the Roughriders organization she will be a part of all meetings that the players or coaches are involved in. Doré is not sure if she’ll be working with the receivers or running backs, she hopes to also have an opportunity to work with special teams but ultimately is excited to work with one of the biggest teams in the CFL.

“I’ve been cheering for this team for as long as I can remember, so anybody in Saskatchewan would be excited to have this opportunity. I also know that all eyes are on the Riders this year. They have a lot of things to prove after last year so it’s really exciting to see how an elite organization like this builds off of last season and makes a turnaround because everybody’s expecting it to be that way.”

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This is the second year the league has launched the initiative presented by KPMG LLP (KPMG). In its first year two participants were hired full-time with CFL teams following the program.

“Women had a place in football, much like they have a place in business, in leadership and in all aspects of life. This mentorship program aligns with our KPMG values and we are proud to work with the CFL to offer opportunities for women in Canadian football,” Ruth Todd, managing partner - regions east at KPMG in Canada said in a release.

“My hope is that I’m going to show up and I’m going to prove that I’m not just here as part of a program, but that I can also bring value as a coach and as a person on the sideline, recognizing things and maybe approaching things differently. That maybe the Riders do say ‘Hey we want to keep you. We’ll pay you money,’” Doré said.

CFL rookie camps open May 10, the Saskatchewan Roughriders begin the 2023 regular season on June 11 in Edmonton.

Tickets for the Riders home-opener on June 15 will go on sale on Monday, the team said in a news release.