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APRIL 1,20«___________________________________
• sports •
Enough Powder Puff
Fighting Fillies tackle empowerment
with full-contact force
The Portland Fighting Fillies may be a young
team, hut they aren’t wasting any time rising to
the challenge of competing against more estab
lished women’s football teams. Formed in 2009,
the player-owned and -operated professional
team was undefeated in its division last year and
went on to compete in the playoffs.
The Fighting Fillies are members of the Wom
en’s Football Alliance, a league with a National
and American conference and more than 60
teams. The WFA is one of a handful of women’s
full-contact football leagues in the United States.
One of the Fillies’ founding members,
38-ycar-old T racy Sand, came to the team with
eight years’ experience playing for the Portland
Shockwave, a team in the International Women’s
Football League.
“That team provided me with an amazing
experience and growth, but I wanted to try
something new with a new league,” Sand, a
player and member of the board, recalls. “I
played football since I could walk. I would have
liked to play in high school, but things were dif
ferent back then. The coach at my high school
was absolutely against girls being on the field.”
Now, the Fillies provide opportunities for
women and girls that they otherwise might not
have, inspired by the team’s motto, “Empower
ing women, one yard at a time.”
“Empowerment comes from supporting one
another in whatever path or pastime we choose,”
Sand explains. “Part of fulfilling our mission is
to provide camps for kids that encourage being
healthy through play. Football is a great form of
play and an outlet for the aggression women are
taught to suppress."
It’s also an opportunity for women to bond,
whether on the field or in the van traveling to a
faraway game. Despite the stereotypes, Sand,
who is gay, points out the team is not full of
lesbians— more like half full.
“It’s my belief that teams recruit and find tal
ent in the queer community out of comfort, but if
we reach out more to other areas and broaden our
scope of recruiting, then teams would certainly
hang around 50-50 or even with a more ‘straight’
base,” she explains. “I think the tough straight
girls just haven’t heard about us enough yet.”
The team strives to be accessible, creating a
WWW.JUSTOUT.COM
zon Dragons, Portland’s only all-lesbian team.
“I used to commute over the Marquam Bridge
and happened to see the Rose Fest races in
progress and it looked like fun,” says Sandra
Lutz-Harden, 45. She’s been with the team
since 2000 and assists the advisory council. “I
was on a women’s list serv and the Amazons
were looking for new paddlers and I
responded.”
Started in 1991 as a visibility effort by the
Lesbian Community Project, the team initially
just participated in the Rose Festival but now
attends Row for a Cure and other local races
throughout the March-October season.
Dragon boat racing originated in China more
variety of ways for people to get involved. For than 2,000 years ago and is a traditional compo
those who would rather not be on the field, there nent in the ancient Duanwu Festival. The Rose
are opportunities to coach, volunteer, perform at Festival dragon boat races are organized by the
games and, of course, cheer the team on.
Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association.
To learn more , visitfightingfillies.com or catch the
This year will be the Amazons’ 20th Rose Fes
next home game against the Utah B litz A p ril 1 6 a t La tival. The team won that race in 2008, and has
Salle H igh School in M ilw aukie.
placed first in races in Kent, Wash, and in the
•
— E rin R ook
Row for a Cure. Newbies interested in joining
this diverse group of women are invited to attend
three practices before they make a decision.
Paddle Power
“Paddling gets into your system and you re
ally jones for it,” Lutz-Harden says. “Well, at
Amazon Dragons make a splash for
least I did and do.”
lesbian visibility
Lutz -Harden compares dragon boat racing to
Anyone who has walked along or over the synchronized swimming because it requires
Willamette River during the spring and sum paddlers to work in perfect unison. Each boat
mer has likely seen dragon boats gliding across holds 16-20 paddlers, a caller and a tiller (to
the water, paddles moving in graceful unison. steer) moving forward toward the finish line.
Among those dedicated paddlers are the Ama
Fortunately, the Amazons have dedicated fans
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