OTTAWA - It’s official, when women’s professional soccer returns to Ottawa next spring, it will be as Ottawa Rapid FC! The capital region’s entry in the newly formed Northern Super League (NSL) unveiled its team name, badge and colours today at an event attended by fans, supporters and youth soccer players. Ottawa Rapid FC CEO, Tom Gilbert, was joined by NSL President, Christina Litz and Ottawa Mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, in making the announcement at TD Place – the home pitch of Ottawa Rapid FC.

Prior to the logo and name reveal, Gilbert announced three key additions to the front office team – COO, Stephanie Spruston, Chief Sport Officer, Heidi Bloomfield, and Technical Director Kristina Kiss. Spruston, currently an executive with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), will be joining the club in September, while Kiss – a former national team member- and Bloomfield are already active in their roles. 

“We are here today to continue the push for gender equity in sport so that every kid growing up can be inspired by icons who look like them,” said Ottawa Rapid FC CEO, Tom Gilbert. “When the opportunity came up to take on a role as the owner and operator of a club, with my deep personal connections in Ottawa, seeing the way that this city has rallied behind women’s sports, and knowing the incredible soccer community that exists here, I jumped at the opportunity to bring a team to this city.”

On the process of selecting the name:

We worked with an amazing agency, Critical Mass on the branding and the name. Looking across the landscape, we identified two distinct naming conventions, one (North American) that focused on iconography and mascots: Lions, Tigers, Kraken, Fire, and another that focused on places and team identifiers: United, Sporting, etc. 

We wanted to find a place between these two, something that gave us some iconography, but wasn’t completely grounded in something outside the game, but also something that was really connected to place and spoke to the emotion of what we were building. 

Rapid is a name that came up early in discussions and hung around. We looked at a few different waves of alternatives and kept coming back to this. 

We had an amazing committee working with us and Critical Mass that included some national team players, some Ottawa locals and some marketing execs who’d been through the process a number of times. The more we talked about it, the more it connected with us. It triggers such a great visceral reaction, the speed, the motion, the progress; but has this double meaning that’s deeply connected to the city and the geology of the Ottawa valley. 

About the badge and logo:

• The badge represents a Peregrine Falcon, native to Ottawa and the fastest animal on earth.
• The falcon is drawn in an attack position to set the stage for who we are.
• The symmetry of the wings is a nod to the structure and formations on the field, and the negative space between the wings is representative of Ottawa’s three main rivers, the Ottawa, the Rideau and Gatineau.
• The circular crest, and concentric circles of the badge are a nod to the “O” of our home, Ottawa.
• The negative space created when using two birds, the shape of a heart, is a reference to the cartographic shape of our city.
• The color palette uses shades of blue that refer to water, sky, and the power of nature all around us.
• Our accent neon orange is a reference to the Centennial Flame: a fountain that doesn't freeze, a flame that never dies, a symbol of our resilience that gives back to the community.
• The typography uses forward movement, indicating a name and a team that constantly evolves, who is never still.

The club will be releasing additional merchandise and information about season tickets over the coming weeks. In the meantime, fans are encouraged to stay up to date on club news by following on social media @ottrapidfc and signing up for the team’s newsletter at nsl.ca/club/ottawa

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jamie Deans
jamie@ottawawfc.ca

About the Northern Super League (NSL)
Northern Super League is a new Canadian professional women’s soccer league, which currently consists of six clubs in key Canadian markets and is set to kick off in spring of 2025. The league is built by players and supporters of the beautiful game with best practices from around the world and aims to further Canadian excellence in sport, equity and inclusion. For more information and updates on the Northern Super League, please visit www.NSL.ca