Isn't It Time for a Canadian Women's Basketball League?

Currently, Canada are one of the highest-ranked national basketball teams and in their history have been champions of the AmeriCup and Pan American Games and medalled twice at the World Championships in addition to making six Olympic appearances - and that’s just the women.

Canada’s women have outshone the men on the international scene over time, but while the men’s squad have the capacity to draw and nurture talent from their two national domestic leagues, the women's team don’t have that, as there is no Canadian basketball league for women.

Seeing what they have achieved and with more and more talent emerging from the country, Canada’s female players are proving that the standard is there. This seems like a big indicator that a Canadian women's professional league is due.

Professional's Point of View

“Having a league for women in Canada would be monumental,” says Emily Potter, record-setter for the Utah Utes and Canada international who currently plays in the Czech Republic. “It would allow us professional players to play the game we love in our own country and for more girls and women to aspire to be professionals,” she exclusively tells us here at To The North.

Giving more opportunities closer to home for Canadian players and engaging and encouraging aspiring young athletes are two things that would be provided for by the presence of a women’s national league, as well as another key issue - exposure.

“In Canada, if you want to support, play or watch basketball, one really has to put in a lot of effort and I don’t think that should be the case,” Potter says of the latter issue.

She isn’t the only one who believes that Canadian women’s basketball is not getting enough representation. Prominent players Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, Alisha and Tamara Tatham have all said that the women’s game is in need of more air time, with Tamara saying, “If no one gets to see us play, no one's going to actually know who we are … If there's ever a time to put (Canadian women’s basketball) on TV, it's now."

Picture: FIBA.com

Creating Role Models

Greater exposure of the women’s game would also have the added advantage of giving future generations of players something to aspire to.

“Girls, say, in the United States have a lot more visible role models, like in the NCAA and WNBA. In Canada we don’t have that,” says Emily Potter. “Having a domestic league would provide young girls with the opportunity to watch and see where the game can take them right in their own country.”

She also believes that seeing women play professionally in Canada would be critical in giving young Canadians a clear picture of what their career progression as a basketball player would look like: “A lot of the time... certain girls were good in high school and even in university in Canada, but they have no clue what they need to add to their game to get to that next level.

“A league in our own backyard would help create realistic expectations of how to get to that next level … it would be a tremendous measuring stick for young players to know exactly what level they need to be at to (play) professional basketball.”

NBA star DeMar DeRozan has even weighed in on this issue. During his time with the Toronto Raptors, he spoke of the need “to have a system where women are able to express themselves in the sport of basketball in Canada as well. It would go a long way. There’s a lot of up-and-coming young girls who are aspiring to play.”

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

The absence of a women’s national league also creates the problem that Canadian players have to leave their homes and travel overseas to learn their game and continue to play.

Travel is something familiar to many female basketball players - notoriously, WNBA players join teams outside of America in the league’s eight-month off-season – but aspiring players from Canada have the added pressure of knowing from day one their journey will be longer than most, both metaphorically and literally.

Kim Gaucher, one of Canada's most successful and recognisable players with more than 200 national team appearances, is a notable example of how far Canadian players can find themselves from the homeland. She has suited up for teams reaching as far as Hungary, Spain, Belgium an France, as well as two seasons in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs, since turning professional in 2006.

Emily Potter recognises the issue of being away from home, and can see how having a league in Canada could have helped her both early on in her career and at present: “I think it definitely would’ve opened my eyes to the possibility of playing pro a lot sooner than I realised I could."

“I love basketball so much that I am willing to live abroad to continue to play and make money, but I wish I didn’t have to go so far to do what I love," she says. "I love Canada not only because it is home, but it’s a great place to live. If I could make a living doing what I love in my home country it would be all I could ask for.”

Everything that is needed for a Canadian national league is there - world-class homegrown athletes who can stock teams, infrastructure already in place to support it, as well as the long-term benefits of helping grown the women’s game in Canada in so many ways. Most of all there is a need and a want for it, from both players who would jump at the chance to play basketball at home and from fans who would equally want to see them do just that.

A national women's basketball league would be a welcome addition to the Canadian sports scene, all that’s needed is for someone to finally make it happen.

Updates to the original article were made in March 2021.