Evidently, Whitehorse is a soccer city.

At least, the interest in recreational and semi-competitive footy is there.

Building a top-level league, however, can be trickier.

The men's Senior Metro Soccer League seems to have fewer hitches; even a competitive co-ed league has recently sprung from a two-team drop-in format to a four-team league.

Now Pattie Flather, co-organizer of the recently-revised women's Senior Metro Soccer League, is hoping to garner as much attention – and success.

The new women's league held its first session/game Nov. 11 and its second last night at the Yukon College gym.

Of course, a women's soccer league has been tried out in Whitehorse previously – to varying results, Flather said.

"But this is brand new, this format with the drop-in and coaching in the first hour,” she said.

"Some of the women who may have been intimidated about coming out for a competitive women's game in the past, we're trying to welcome them and say,

‘Even if you're not a really experienced soccer player, we still want you to be part of our

program, we want to help you improve,' so that we have a strong women's program for a lot of different women.”

Earlier this season, organizers attempted to hold a competitive women's league at the Canada Games Centre on Monday nights, but failed to attract enough players to commit to the entire season.

Roughly 20 women showed interest, Flather said, but that number was too few to pay for rental and referee costs.

"We found a lot of them wanted a more drop-in format, so that's what we're trying; we've adapted it, we want to try and make it really accessible. Now we actually have drawn in other women who wouldn't commit to the whole season,” Flather said.

Thursday night's session featured – as it will in the future – a guest coach to run practice: Jake Hanson, technical director for the Yukon Soccer Association.

Player Caitlyn Wintemute said both a women's league and the current format were much needed.

Wintemute, who was a member of the Yukon contingent which competed in the 2001 Canada Summer Games, also plays in the competitive co-ed league Monday nights.

She had reservations about spending the first hour on skills and drills.

"I was a bit skeptical at first, I just like to come out and play, but I came out tonight with a positive attitude and actually really enjoyed it,” Wintemute said.

"It's a good way to get a number of different women that we haven't seen out in the community playing games and practising and getting a competitive league going again. It's something we've been trying to do for a number of years now.”

Anyone interested in playing in the women's league can drop in to the Yukon College gym 8 p.m. next Thursday.

The hour-long training session is free; the following game costs $5 for students and $7 for adults.