Flag football and the 2028 Summer Olympics aren't proving to be a distraction for quarterback Nathan Rourke.
The CFL's top Canadian and outstanding player last season has started playing flag football to acclimate himself with the sport should Canada qualify when it debuts at the Los Angeles Games. But he's doing so with the B.C. Lions' approval.
"They know (flag football) won't take away from my (CFL) preparation," Rourke said recently. "I do this on weekends for a couple of hours.
"I wouldn't do it without their blessing."
Last season, Rourke became the first Canadian quarterback since Russ Jackson in 1969 to win both the top Canadian and outstanding player awards in the same season. He  joined Jackson, Brady Oliveira, Jon Cornish and Tony Gabriel as the only players to win each honour in the same year.
Rourke, of Victoria, established career-highs in passing yards (5,290, most ever by a Canadian), touchdowns (31), rushing yards (564, tops among quarterbacks) and rushing TDs (10). B.C. (11-7) finished its regular season with six straight wins to take second in the West Division.
After dispatching Calgary 33-30 in the West Division semifinal, B.C.'s season ended with a 24-21 road loss to eventual Grey Cup-champion Saskatchewan. That defeat drastically tarnished Rourke's lofty individual accomplishments.
"That's always the case and always will be," he said. "The season is a means to get to the playoffs and that's where you make your strides of determining what kind of team, what kind of player you want to be.
"Certainly there's plenty of work to do."
And for Rourke, there's no better place to start in 2026 than by cutting down on his interceptions. Last season, Rourke and Winnipeg's Zach Collaros were tied for the most picks at 16 apiece.
"I had too many last year," Rourke said. "My goal is to be in single digits … I don't want to continue to give our defence short fields to work with."
B.C. led the CFL last season in offensive points (31.1 per game), net yards (430.2) and passing (325.4 per game). Receiver Keon Hatcher was tops in targets (145), catches (102), yards (1,688) and yards after catch (611) while adding nine TD grabs and running back James Butler was third in rushing (1,213 yards, 5.3-yard average) and tied for first in rushing TDs (11).
But gone are stellar offensive lineman Jarell Broxton (free agent, Winnipeg) and receiver Ayden Eberhardt (free agent, Ottawa) who had CFL-best 19.3-yard average per catch.
"Eberhardt and Broxton are big losses for us on offence but we'll find ways, we have to," Rourke said. "We've still got a really good receiver room with Hatcher, Justin McInnis, Jevon Cottoy and Stanley Berryhill III and we've got James and Zander Horvath in the backfield so we've got some really great weapons.
"We've got to figure out who's going to be the guy up front or in the receiver room but that's what training camp is for. That's what's great about pro sports, the opportunity to compete every single day and earn your spot regardless of how many seasons you've played or what you did last year."
Rourke heads into training camp with a full season under his belt in head coach Buck Pierce's offence. Instead of learning new schemes, Rourke will be able to build upon what worked -- and fix what didn't -- in 2025.
He hopes that helps B.C. finish atop the competitive West Division and host the final rather than be on the road for it.
"I'm not saying that's why we lost in the West final last year but it doesn't make it any easier," Rourke said. "If we could host that playoff game and get a bye late in the year, that would be a huge get for us and be very helpful.
"Every game will be tough but that's what makes it fun and we'll be doing some good things if we're able to host that second game."
But it's sustained success Rourke is chasing with the Lions.
"That's why you look at people like Zach, (Hamilton starter) Bo Levi Mitchell and (Saskatchewan's) Trevor Harris," Rourke said. They're guys who've have incredible careers and sustained success, which is why they're great players.
"If I want to be a great player and to win championships, I have to reach that level of sustained success and do it over multiple seasons. Who cares about one? In pro sports, if you're not great every year, your job isn't safe."
This report by ¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû was first published April 9, 2026.
