2013 Team USA Members
Three D.C. Divas Selected for USA Football 2013 Women’s National Team
By Neal Rozendaal
Three members of the D.C. Divas – tight end/running back Donna Wilkinson, defensive back Callie Brownson, and offensive tackle Becky Worsham – are among the 45 players that have been selected to participate on the 2013 United States National Team as part of the second IFAF Women’s World Championship Tournament.
The 2013 IFAF Women’s World Championship is the premier international women’s football competition in the world. National teams from six countries will gather in Vantaa, Finland, just outside the national capital of Helsinki to participate in the 2013 WWC Tournament. Five of these countries were also represented at the first IFAF women’s tournament held in 2010.
The six countries participating in the 2013 IFAF Women’s World Championship are:
• Team USA, which won the gold medal in 2010
• Team Canada, which won the silver medal in 2010
• Team Finland, this year’s host nation which won the bronze medal in 2010
• Team Germany, a nation with a long history of supporting women’s football that placed fourth at the 2010 tournament
• Team Sweden, the 2010 host nation that placed fifth in the 2010 tournament
• Team Spain, the lone newcomer to the 2013 tournament, replacing Team Austria
The six countries have been divided into the following two groups:
Group A
USA
Sweden
Germany
Group B
Canada
Finland
Spain
Team USA will begin the IFAF tournament with a game against Sweden on June 30 before taking on Germany on Independence Day, July 4. Based on the results of those games, teams will be slotted into one of the three final games held on July 6. Gold medal, bronze medal, and fifth place games will be staged on the final day of this tournament, which promises to showcase the global reach of women’s football.
Representing the D.C. Divas on Team USA are Callie Brownson, Donna Wilkinson, and Becky Worsham. At age 23, Brownson stands out as the youngest member of Team USA. Wilkinson won a gold medal with Team USA in the first IFAF tournament in 2010 and is making her second appearance in international women’s football competition. Worsham, the 2010 Posey Award winner, is in position to get significant playing time on the offensive line for Team USA.
In addition, former D.C. Diva Tea Törmänen will be making her second appearance on the roster of Team Finland in the Women’s World Championships. We wish all four of these Divas the best of luck, and we will be cheering for the red, white, and blue in their quest to bring home another gold medal!
