Friday, 8 May, 2026. A sold-out Coca-Cola Coliseum. 8,210 people waiting for the Toronto Tempo to make history during the WNBA season opener as the first Canadian basketball team to join the league.
It was loud. The cheers moved through me physically and, for the first few minutes, I completely forgot how to be a photographer. The game had begun; every little movement had the fans roaring and I stood there breathing hard, fumbling with the same camera I’ve carried for five years. The shift in Toronto has been building since the news broke in 2024: Toronto was getting its own women’s basketball team. Even at my local court its impact is apparent: more young girls showing up to play, more adults like me returning to the game with some kind of hopeful energy.
The deeper story here is the community forming around this team. Women’s sports create spaces that are, by instinct and because of what they fight for, welcoming, inclusive and safe. Not only is it evident in the actions of the players on and off the court, but in the league itself. At the draft watch party in April I met people who had never watched a basketball game. They were there, eager to find out which rookies we were getting. I find that fandom genuinely moving.
There is a personal thread running through all this. My secondary school basketball coach in Hong Kong lent me his film camera for a summer on the condition I’d show him what I shot when school resumed. When I did, he told me to keep going and gave me the camera. Thank you, Mr Pennel! Seventeen years later, I’m able to bring those two worlds together.
