The Winnipeg High School Football League will see a shift in their divisional alignment starting for the 2023 Season.
The traditional A, AA & AAA has been replaced with AAAA & AAA to keep alignment with other MHSAA sports along with having the right level of competition based up on school sizes play each other.
Based upon school population size the Activity Council of the WHSFL this was recommended and voted on this past spring to proceed with scheduling for the upcoming fall season.
The AAAA Conference will feature four geographical divisions:
North East
- Elmwood High School
- Springfield Collegiate
- Kildonan East Collegiate
- Murdoch McKay Collegiate
- College Miles Macdonell Collegiate
- River East Collegiate
North West
- College Sturgeon Creek Collegiate
- Sisler High School
- West Kildonan Collegiate
- College Garden City Collegiate
- John Taylor Collegiate
- Maples Collegiate
South West
- St. Paul’s High School
- Oak Park High School
- Portage Collegiate
- Vincent Massey High School, Brandon
- Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, Brandon
South East
- Dakota Collegiate
- Kelvin High School
- Vincent Massey Collegiate
- Grant Park High School
- Steinbach Regional Secondary School
AAAA Regular season play will have each team play their divisional rivals minimum once per season and they will also play 2-3 crossover games for a total of 7 regular season games.
Crossover games are based on the previous year's standings.
Playoffs for AAAA
- The best record in each division will make playoffs as the #1-4 seed
- The 4 highest-ranked teams in the Wild Card standings will enter as Wild Card teams (Seeds #5-8). This is determined by record and a series of tiebreakers
- These 8 teams would play in a bracket for the AAAA Championship - The Anavets Bowl
- Teams #9-12 in the Wild Card Standings would play in a 2-game playoff for The Vidruk Bowl
- Teams #12-16 in the Wild Card Standings would play in a 2-game playoff for The Bramwell Bowl
- Teams #17-20 in the Wild Card Standings would play in a 2-game playoff for The Gustafson Bowl
- Teams #21 and #22 would play one single Consolation game
The newly formed AAA Division will feature the following teams:
- St. John’s High School
- St. Norbert Collegiate
- Dryden, Ontario
- Fort Frances, Ontario
- Daniel Mcyntyre Collegiate Institute
- Beaver Brae, Ontario
- Churchill
- Tec Voc
The Junior Varsity Conference will see two divisions this year with a 12 & 9 Person Divisions.
12 Person Division:
- Miles Mac
- St. Paul’s
- Dakota
- Oak Park
9 Person Division:
- Vincent Massey, Brandon
- Vincent Massey, Winnipeg
- Steinbach
- Grant Park
“These new alignments through our league will bring us closer to the comparison and compete levels of the other major MHSAA Sports while allowing for some friendly rivalries to be built and create lasting friendships on and off the field” noted returning Commissioner Jeffrey Bannon for his second stint in the role since returning from his time with the Edmonton Oilers the past two years.
Also joining Commissioner Bannon is new Junior Varsity Commissioner Michael Garlinksi who has an extensive resume within the football community from this time with the MMFA as President, Coach to his unwavering commitment as Treasurer of Football Manitoba and his years spend with Bannon on the U18 Provincial Team. “The ability to be able to continue to help the football community is what drives me, it’s a passion that for decades has allowed myself, my family to give back to the sport we so much love” said Commissioner Garlinksi.
2023 Fall Camps can open on Monday, August 21st with the Season Opener slated for Thursday, September 7th. The Full 2023 Schedule can be found here.
