Congratulations to JL Ilsley alum Laurel MacInnis, who won a silver medal on July 3 at the Women’s inaugural tackle football world championships in Stockholm, Sweden.

Laurel is proud to be part of the Canadian women’s national tackle football team. Although almost every high school has a tackle football team for me, tackle football for women is more rare. Laurel played touch football through high school and became interested in tackle football while playing with male friends.

The St. FX student got into women’s tackle football as a player with the Halifax Xplosion, playing in the first women’s tackle football league in Canada.

“I do feel that we are making history here,” Laurel told me on Friday, before going into the game.