Fearless family making mark on gridiron

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This article was published 11/05/2023 (1109 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lori Turski owes her football career to a speeding ticket.

She was standing in line at the Law Courts getting ready to pay her fine when she saw a woman, Terri Wolfe, wearing track pants with the words ‘Women’s Tackle Football’ running down the side of the leg.

As a longtime fan of the gridiron game, it immediately caught Lori’s attention.

“So, I said to her, ‘You play tackle football?’ And she’s like ‘Yeah, do you want to play?’ And I was like ‘Absolutely,’” Lori, a 48-year-old from Lorette, told the Free Press on Thursday.

“She said their season was over but she’d take my number and contact me about next year. So, we exchanged numbers, but I never thought anything of it… And then in January, I get this message saying ‘Hey, are you still interested in playing tackle football?’ And I’m like ‘Oh my god, yes.’ So, I came out and started practising with them and that was it.”

The team was the Manitoba Fearless of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League (WWCFL), and eight years later, Lori is still playing and excelling as a key member of the offensive line. Wolfe is still involved, too, now in a coaching role.

The 2023 season, which started last weekend with a 78-0 thrashing over the Winnipeg Wolfpack at East Side Eagles Field, has been even more special for Lori as two of her daughters — 18-year-old Cassidy and 16-year-old Payton — are also on the team.

Cassidy is catching passes as a wide receiver while Payton — who’s in her first year in the league after putting up some impressive numbers in the Manitoba Girls Football Association (MGFA) — plays defensive line and earned rookie of the game honours in Week 1.

“I’m so proud of how they’ve taken on the challenge and just being able to watch them be successful is such an amazing feeling,” said Lori. “Every time they have a good play, I’m like ‘Yes! That’s my girl!’ So, it’s super exciting.”

Cassidy and Payton were eager to follow in their mother’s footsteps and were interested in getting involved in a contact sport.

“There’s a lot of people in the league, but not a lot of them get to play with their family members, especially their mom or their sister,” said Payton.

“It’s fun because you always have somebody you get to go home with after and you’re not just on the field and playing together. I feel like it has brought us closer together.”

As for making the transition from the family room to the football field, there’s been no issues.

“We’re usually super supportive… We’re all really there for each other. Sometimes if I’m not paying attention her mom side will come out, but that’s about it,” said Cassidy.

The Turskis will have even more to offer in the near future as the youngest daughter, Addison, who turns 15 next month, is the next to come up through the MGFA. She’s currently making a name for herself on the O-line with the St. Vital Mustangs.

“(Addison) has told me I can’t retire until she can come play with me at least for one year. She can’t play until 2025, so we’ll see what happens,” said Lori.

The Fearless are back in action Sunday afternoon when they host the defending champions, the Saskatoon Valkyries. Saskatoon is also 1-0 after beating the Regina Riot 34-7. The Valkyries, who have won a record seven WWCFL titles, knocked off Manitoba in last year’s final.

Teams play four-game seasons before the post-season begins in early June. The winner of the Prairie Conference playoffs — featuring Manitoba, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Regina — plays the Western Conference champion in the WWCFL title game. The teams in the West are the Calgary Rage, Edmonton Storm, and Lethbridge Steel.

“It’s huge because basically if you can beat the first place team, that gives you homefield advantage throughout the playoffs instead of having to travel that extra game. So, it is a big game, and I think after losing to them twice last year, it would give us a lot of confidence that we can compete with them, and we are a team that is to be reckoned with,” said Lori. “We’ve added some pieces that we might have been lacking last year… I think all around we got more weapons on both sides of the ball so it’s gonna give us a little bit more of a competitive edge.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31