There is hope for a new top-level pro sports league for Canada, and Saskatchewan is reported to be on the list for a franchise when it launches in 2023.
The Canada Co-operative Championship Rugby League—OK the name is about as clunky as you get but let’s not hold that against it just yet – recently launched a website, a rather active Facebook page, and has been getting a bit of buzz in rugby media.
For me, anything rugby is of interest, so the suggestion Canada might get a league is simply exciting.
But, I take these announcements with a grain-of-salt too.
It was a couple of years ago a pro field lacrosse league was suggested with a Facebook page, but that page proved to be the extent of that effort sadly.
This CCCRL hopefully gets to the field in two years, because it has some great concepts, including having both men’s and women’s teams in the mix.
The plan is to start with six-teams in 2023, with plans to increase it to 12 teams. Six of these teams would be men and the other six women. The representation of the teams will come from five provinces in Canada.
These provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. It is unclear which specific cities these teams will come from.
So that all sounds good, but there is a sell job ahead of the CCCRL too.
Most people who follow rugby in Canada will be most familiar with union rugby (15-players aside), or perhaps 7s rugby because since it has become an Olympic sport.
The CCCRL is neither of those. It is league rugby – think the now defunct Toronto Wolfpack who were tossed unceremoniously from the UK’s rugby league loop in a blatant case of short-sightedness, where there are 13 on the field and a significantly different rule set.
And then with the CCCRL think a variant of rugby league, played with only nine players per team on the field and games only 18-minutes in length – essentially league’s counter to rugby 7s.
Even in writing this I appreciate it’s rather complicated, and I’m a fan of all rugby. For the newer fan, and the CCCRL will need to attract many new fans, unravelling exactly what they will see on the pitch will be an initial challenge.
But still colour me excited by the prospect of a high level domestic rugby league with a team in the province.
So I reached out to Chris Coates in Britain, one of the driving forces behind the loop for some more insight into what the CCCRL will look like.
The first question was rather obvious, why now for a league start-up?
“The answer to why now was there was never going to be better time to launch something in Canada,” offered Coates via email. “There's a fan base that love the game and a hunger to watch and be involved in Rugby League as a sport in Canada, the Ravens (National women’s team) are headed to the World Cup, and promising indicators about flourishing talent across Canada are there.
“The issue now is if something isn't done to not only nourish that talent and help the game grow to the next level in Canada, all the hard work everyone has put in previously to not only raise awareness of the game but grow its participants is at-risk of going to waste.”
And Coates thinks Rugby League will appeal to new fans.
“Rugby League is truly a no-compromises sport on the field. It's fierce, dynamic and exciting,” he said. “You get to see that raw passion that we know Canadians love to see on the field. Not only that, but it's truly an accessible sport. Players interact with fans are truly approachable, and it was a sport borne out of trying to make the game for everyone instead of only a few who could afford to play in the beginning.
“We want to make sure that the game gets back to those values of being for everyone, and we believe that truly will resonate with Canadians everywhere. Making this for everyone is going to be pretty unique, and what better way to show you're proud of something than owning a piece of it?”
Coates is obviously a champion of Rugby League too.
“It’s fast paced, it's sometimes pretty raw and fierce - and that's what makes it so special in that this happens in every game,” he said.
“If hockey fans like the confrontational aspect of the game they'll love League.
“If lacrosse fans love body checks they'll love the hits in League.
“If Rugby Union fans love expansive, flowing rugby with passing sequences they'll love League.
“If CFL fans love athletes making line breaks down the field they'll love League.
“If basketball fans love the end-to-end nature of the game they'll love League.
“This list can go on and on”
Obviously the idea of a co-op is not new to most in Saskatchewan where the idea has flourished for decades, but it is interesting as a foundation for a sport league.
“Co-operative in the context of the new league is shared ownership, following co-operative values,” he said.
So what does it in the context of the new league?
Coates noted a few examples, including central ownership.
“Every club is centrally owned - as are all players - and where possible deduplication of effort is undertaken,” he said. “This makes them more cost-efficient, it also ensures that the fan experience is consistent. We gain scales of economy with this model that other models don't.
“We ensure that no one club is looking out for their own interests. Every club is equal, treated equally, allocated budget equally, and given that same fair shot at winning the competition every year.”
And under this model franchises will have both a men\s and women’s squad from day one, with both receiving the same pay.
Coates said they will also focus on keeping fans engaged.
“We encourage our members and fans to vote on key topics to make sure that fans have the best chance of being able to watch in big numbers,” he said. “We want our members to not only be a part of this journey but to live this journey by being a true part of it.”
Of course Rugby League still is not as popular here as Union, so how deep is the talent pool to feed the CCCRL?
“We want to show that Canada has the rugby talent to take on the world,” said Coates. “To do this sustainably though is an important task, as to provide that pathway for Canadians to play at these level, nationwide, needs to ensure that we're not taking players completely away from the provincial game and breaking the provincial game.
“That means we've got to have a more measured approach when it comes to growth; 9s in its own right is an exciting game and is instantly recognizable as Rugby League; Sevens in that respect strays so far from traditional Rugby Union that it is barely recognizable as Rugby Union. We believe that 9s as a sport offers the opportunity not only to ensure a great pool of talent -- we're happy to talk to crossover athletes -- but that the vast majority, I'd say well over 90 per cent of the talent will come from Canada.”
Being Canadian will be important.
“This has to be built as a Canadian sport, for Canadians to play,” said Coates. “That pathway to show players who play at the provincial level that there are opportunities to play on bigger stages is an important step to that. There won't be a minimum number of Canadians or a quota, but at the end of the day pure logistics will play its part in ensuring Canadians get their shot. This really is an opportunity to create a Canadian sport, owned by Canadians, played by Canadians, for Canadians to watch -- and the wider world to see how the game can be.”
The CCCRL plans to start with six clubs, representing both women’s and men’s competitions - so 12 sides in total.
“We do have further roadmaps of expansion - there are a few different options, but those are not set in stone understandably because we want to grow in a manner that works with our fan base too. We want to listen to fans about where the game will grow from, out of these early seeds,” added Coates.
With Saskatchewan on the list for the starting six, which city it might be based out of is not yet known.
“As soon as we've sorted out all the details, we'll be feeding information in about each team,” said Coates. “There are a lot of moving parts and we need to make sure everything is lined up before we announce those things understandably. That said, we're asking questions and we're asking the public even now where they really want to see teams, we want to give the fans as much as possible what they want so they turn out in big numbers.”
I did suggest, in the spirit of co-operative design, a Saskatchewan team might split home dates between Regina and Saskatoon.
“Understandably ... I can't say specifically, but I see no reason provided that both players and potentially interested parties in both Regina and Saskatoon can work together, that a side in Saskatchewan can't be one that spreads its geographical footprint to both areas,” said Coates.
“We'd love to entertain discussions from multiple parties to make that a reality.”
