HoopQueens running the court as semipro basketball league for women shows signs of growth

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

On a grey but warm Sunday afternoon, the gym at Humber College in Toronto was bustling with excitement.

I was attending the second week of the HoopQueens League's season. The gym was filled with spectators, many of them players from the area who are home from universities and colleges. There were women's sports influencers, families and community members gathered to support the league.

The orange, white and black signage was clear and staff and volunteers were also wearing touches of orange or HoopQueens merchandise. Large banners reading "The Queens Run This Court" were draped over part of the stands, while the dressing rooms were stocked and ready for the players.

Proper facilities and equipment is what the players deserve and what HoopQueens demands they have. Toronto is still bubbling with excitement from the WNBA pre-season game that was held at the Scotiabank Arena last month, so it is fitting that the hype around HoopQueens continues to soar. 

Keesa Koomalsingh founded the league in 2022. As a former university player, she knew all too well that although there is a thriving culture of women and girls' basketball in Toronto, there was nowhere for players to actually play after finishing their post-secondary education. The only alternatives were trying to play professionally in the U.S. or overseas, or forced retirement.

Now HoopQueens is in its second year and plays every Sunday for five weeks. There are four teams with 10 players on each roster. In May the league held a combine and 70 players attended, all hoping for a spot in the first league in Canada to pay its players.

"It was an amazing time for the community to just see the women who want that opportunity to get paid. Unfortunately we only had 40 spots, but we picked the best of the best," Koomalsingh said. "Hopefully, next year we get to scale and have more teams and more women."

The demand for this kind of league is so high that there are players from Barrie, Windsor, Montreal, and as far as British Columbia. 

HoopQueens has partnered with Footlocker, TikTok, LayUp, and the Justice Fund, while Training Ground is the official app and Nike Toronto is the main sponsor.

The foundations of HoopQueens are opportunities for women to play, providing consistent space, embracing and engaging in community and making sure that youth know what is possible.

"My priority is to ensure that young girls and young boys see that there are female refs, coaches, staff involved in this," Koomalsingh said. "I really want to create that representation for the next generation."

HoopQueens also has a junior program that provides exposure and learning for girls 4-13.

Koomalsingh has a background in accounting and works in sports so she understands the potential and power of this product, coupled with the importance of growth. She pulled in friends, family and the best people she knew that would help her achieve this goal. Koomalsingh has four key people on the core team: Adeola Ojo, director of public relations and communications, Christian Cassimer, who runs in-game operations and the junior HoopQueens programming, and Ashley Docking, the league's director of marketing and media.