ocal export to the Empire State and women’s professional football pioneer Andra Douglas will be honored this month along with a fellow teammate as representatives of women’s football as the Sportswoman of the Year Award is presented on October 21.

Douglas is a creative director and athlete. After graduating from Zephyrhills High School and later with honors from Florida State University where she was a member of the two-time National Champion Women’s Rugby Team, she began playing semi-pro golf. In 1983 she moved to New York City where she received her masters degree in communications design from Pratt Institute.

Nineteen years later, she resides in her 1837 brownstone in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. After leaving Time-Warner as a Vice President, she works from her rooftop studio as a creative consultant for the entertainment industry doing packaging, advertising, and copywriting.

In August of 2000, Douglas purchased the New York Sharks Women’s Tackle Football Team. Her roles on the New York Sharks include owner and one of two quarterbacks on her 40-player roster. The Sharks, after only three years in existence are ranked number one of over 70 teams across the nation.

Despite success on the field, the purse strings are tight for the organization. With an annual budget of $75,000 to $100,000 per year to operate, Douglas and the Sharks rely on a non-profit foundation called Fins Up Foundation for Female Athletes to help defray costs as well as spread the word of the sport and community involvement to the New York area. She also devotes a good portion of her time to giving speeches to aspiring female athletes.

“We try to get women involved in the sport (football),” she said. “It builds confidence and gives you an arsenal for life.”

Two of Douglas favorite professional accomplishments include a novel about her childhood passion of football, and the recent national title won the the Sharks on July 6, in Ashland, Oregon.

The Sportswoman of the Year Award recognizes the exceptional athletic performances and achievements of female athletes over a 12-month period. Criteria are based on new records and world championships won during the 12 months. The winners will be announced next Monday at the Annual Salute to Women Sports Award Dinner.

Douglas will be honored as a pioneer in the sport and her co-quarterback Valerie Halesworth has been nominated for the award. Halesworth plays quarterback and strong safety for the New York Sharks. The Sharks competed in the inaugural Independent Women’s Football League Championship and defeated the Austin Outlaws, in July of 2002 to finish off their undefeated 9-0 season.

The New York Sharks originally started as a women’s flag football team called the Long Island Sharks. They played in international tournaments and were national champions.

In 1999 the Women’s Professional Football League was formed. It consisted of two teams, the Minnesota Vixens and the Lake Michigan Minx. They barnstormed around the country playing each other in what was called the “No Lins” Tour. They had heard about the success of the Long Island Sharks and challenged them to a full contact, tackle football game.

The Sharks accepted the challenge and with two months to prepare converted their flag football team to a tackle football team.

The New York Sharks prepared for the 2001 season as a member of the Women’s Professional Football League. But there soon became some disagreements between the league and the Sharks on what was expected from each party. The Sharks already had the players set to go so management decided to pull the team out of the WPFL and play the 2000 season as an independent team.

The 2001 season consisted of a 10 game schedule with some games against the WPFL, like the Tampa Tempest and old arch-rival New England Storm but also included other independent teams. Some of these teams were members of other leagues like the IWFL Arizona Titans, while another was a team that had also pulled out of the WPFL, the Syracuse Sting (formerly known as the New York Galaxy).

The season was a strong one for the Sharks as they finished the season with 6-1 record.

On September 11th, the World Trade Center was attacked. Fear and sorrow surrounded the nation and especially around New York City. The games were postponed for the next 3 weeks as it was difficult for teams to get flights to New YorkCity and playing football just didn’t seem right with Ground Zero being only 10 miles away.

While Douglas’ athletic career is winding down, she plans to continue helping women’s football through its struggles for acceptance and success.

Dave Hasselman