The Canadian Men's Flag Football Team will hold its selection camp in Winnipeg in a few weeks; photos courtesy Football Canada
Paul LaPolice and Canada’s national men’s flag football will be making a pitstop in Winnipeg later this month on their quest for a spot in the 2028 Olympics.
Football Canada and the Blue Bombers announced Monday the national’s men’s squad will be holding its selection camp in Winnipeg from April 30-May 3 at Princess Auto Stadium, bringing in 30 players in advance of the IFAF World Championship in Germany this August.
Of the crew gathering in Winnipeg, 20 will then be invited to a training camp in June in Chula Vista, California before a final roster of 12 will trek to the World Championships in Dusseldorf from August 12-16. That event is the first chance for both the men’s and women’s teams to qualify for Los Angeles in 2028, where flag football is debuting.
Two qualification spots for the men’s and women’s team will be on the line in Dusseldorf.
“Our roster is heavy with a Montreal influence, but we do have players from across the country and with Winnipeg being so central this works really well for us,” said head coach Paul LaPolice in a chat with bluebombers.com.
“We’re really appreciative of Wade (Miller, Blue Bombers President & CEO) and Football Manitoba for this. We’re really trying to create an awesome experience for these guys.”
Added Miller in a Football Canada press release:
“On behalf of the Winnipeg Football Club, we’re proud to welcome the Canadian Men’s Flag Football Team to Princess Auto Stadium. Providing a first-class environment for these athletes to train and prepare is exactly the kind of opportunity we want to be part of — flag football is growing fast, and Canada is building toward something special on the Olympic stage.
“We look forward to welcoming local flag football coaches and players in Winnipeg to see Canada’s national team up close as they prepare for the World Championship this summer with an Olympic berth on the line.”
Two Manitobans will be among the 30 at the selection camp — former University of Manitoba quarterback Jackson Tachinski, who remains a prospect in the Canadian Football League and will attend as an observer as he is heading to Edmonton Elks training camp, and Winnipegger Domenic Horvath.
The camp will also feature quarterback Michael O’Connor, receiver Anthony Auclair — who spent six seasons in the NFL as a tight end — along with former Blue Bombers receiver Daniel Petermann.
Daniel Petermann during his days as a Blue Bomber
LaPolice said local flag football coaches and fans will be invited to take in the camp with further details to be available through the Blue Bombers, Football Manitoba and Football Canada.
A former Blue Bombers head coach and a member of the 2019 Grey Cup squad as an offensive coordinator, LaPolice has been at the helm of the men’s team since last May. Now also an analyst with TSN, he helped Canada defeat Team USA last year — the Americans first loss in eight years — and has become a very public face, along with B.C. Lions Nathan Rourke, in working to improve the profile program.
“Here’s the line I use with the players and with everyone who works with this program: there are nine professional football teams in Canada playing in the CFL. We are the 10th professional team in how we operate and how we do our business,” said LaPolice.
“Our defensive coordinator Joel Lipinski has had some experience in the CFL and so has Patrick Bourgon, another of our coaches. Our equipment guy and trainer have CFL experience.
“It’s been amazing for me. It’s been a lot of hours because I’ve approached it as a full-time job because I’m passionate about it. It’s been a big learning curve for me to learn about this game. We’ve been using the same video editing software CFL teams use, and we’ve spent months breaking down the film of 16 different countries and how they run their offences and defences.
“I started out running what I know by trying to put a CFL offence on a flag football field. A lot of that was successful, but there was also a lot of that I’ve changed and grown over the last few months that have made us even better.
“The competition is fierce around the world because there are many talented countries playing this.”
