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 Casimier, who runs in-game operations and the junior HoopQueens programming, and Ashley Docking, the league's director of marketing and media.

Docking, a freelancer journalist and a head coach with Football Ontario's U20 women's program, connected to Koomalsingh via mutual friends last year.

"I just thought what they were doing was amazing," she said. "I helped them come up with a social media plan and worked with the digital team. And I got more involved than I initially planned."

For Docking, the vision of HoopQueens and what Koomalsingh is doing aligns with her own passions. For her, being part of this league is an easy sell.

"It's easy to believe in. Like, who doesn't want women to succeed? Who doesn't want female entrepreneurs to succeed? Who doesn't want a space for BIPOC individuals to be seen? That's what this is." Docking said. 

"And it's good hoops."

The hoops are what drew Justina King to the league. King hails from Scarborough and is a point guard who is playing her first season with Team 5-0 this year. Before coming to HoopQueens, King played NCAA basketball in California and Ohio.

To play at the highest level, King had to leave Canada — but now she can play at home.

"I haven't been able to play in front of my family or friends in so long," King said. "There is really nothing for women in Canada … after your post-secondary career. You kinda just hang up your shoes or make it overseas."

King believes that having a league to showcase talent is essential and thanks Koomalsingh for creating the league. King is deeply connected to the sport and comes from what she says is a basketball family. Her mother is a former player and is a referee in the league (she does not officiate her daughter's games.) Kings' father and brother play as well.

Playing in HoopQueens has been nostalgic for her, playing against former rivals and teammates. 

"There are so many people in this entire league that you play with since you are young," she said. "Seeing everyone again is such good energy."

For Aycha Hamaoui, HoopQueens provided a place for her to coach after the season was over. She is an assistant coach with the Humber College women's basketball program. Hamaoui and Koomalsingh knew each other from the basketball scene and when Koomalsingh called Hamaoui to ask if she wanted to coach a team, Hamaoui didn't hesitate — even with a toddler.

After work as a middle school teacher, Hamaoui takes her daughter to HoopQueens practices. As a Muslim woman in this space, it is important to her that she does.

"When I was growing up and playing, you never saw someone with my background or my religion … nothing," she said.

Hamaoui says that for too long, people didn't take women's sports seriously, but that is changing and it matters that leagues and programs are accommodating moms in the field as they build.

"It would be near to impossible if Humber didn't accommodate me with my daughter when she came, and if Keesa wasn't accommodating with our schedules — many of us have children," she said.

Things like a room so her husband can take care of their daughter while she coaches and flexible hours are important. Hamaoui says women coaches often feel lost and forgotten if they step away from their family obligations.

"I think Keesa has provided a great opportunity for those mothers to feel like coaches again," she said.

The HoopQueens community boasts moms as players, officials and coaches like its sister league in the East, the Maritimes Womens Basketball Association. Koomalsingh wants to see HoopQueens grow and continue to be a place for women to learn and grow on and off the court.   

For players like King, HoopQueens has made an indelible mark and its impact can not be overstated.

"You don't see women's sports outside of university and college. But now, you can see there is pro ball life … and locally," King said. "So, I really think this is going to make a huge difference. This is only the start and it's going to get bigger from here."