N.S. doubles number of women's flag football teams

These are some of Nova Scotia's young flag football players honing their skills in one of the fastest growing sports in the country. The number of female players in the province has jumped more than 200% in the past four years. There's so many more girls playing now and it's really good to see. Instead of tackling, players pull a flag from an opponent's waist. The lower impact reduces the number of injuries. Tackles. The number of girls' teams has nearly doubled in the past couple of years, from 20 to almost 40 today. Very fast-paced sport, not a lot of downtime within it. I think it's just one after the other. Thank you. Thank you. It can be a very high-scoring game, so just those types of things. Thank you very much. And really, at the end of the day, the competitiveness of it, I think, is what kind of brings the girls back. Canada's women's team are world champions, and the sport will be in the Olympics for the first time in Los Angeles. There's so many people that us girls can look up to. And I just feel like a lot of girls are joining the sport just because they see that there is something to look towards. There's no need for expensive helmets or other protective gear, making it more accessible. You can play it anywhere, and lots of people can play no matter your skill level. I think that's a big thing. And everybody's kind of starting from square one together, so I think that kind of brings people back as well. Universities are also introducing women's flag football as a pilot sport. Providing another pathway for players. I think it's like a huge thing for football. Like it's, us girls have something to work towards. We have the opportunity to maybe get a scholarship at the collegiate level and maybe even play in the Olympics. Football Nova Scotia is targeting further growth, hoping to see overall player numbers double to 5,000 in the next two years. One, two, Scotia! Gareth Hampshire, CBC News, Windsor.