Before he was a record-breaking quarterback and Player of the Year for the Manitoba Bisons, Winnipeg native Jackson Tachinski plied his trade in flag football. 

The youngest of four standout Tachinski athletes, he took his first reps in grade four, fostering a love for the game that eventually led him to greatness at the tackle level with the Vincent Massey Trojans (high school provincial champ) and Bisons. 

“My brother did it, my sisters did it and I just really wanted to play sports that they played. I got really into it. I started playing quarterback with all my buddies in my neighborhood and just went from there. I played up all the way to grade 12,” he recalled. 

“I ended up going to nationals in three different years. I won two bronze medals and a gold medal in my final year, so that was really cool. I have a good amount of experience playing the game, especially when I was a kid.”

Tachinski’s national title in grade 12 with Manitoba in 2018 featured a roster that included five future Bisons teammates in receivers Vaughan Lloyd, Payton Yakimishyn and Tristen Hutter, along with defensive backs Keyshawn Gaskin and Joseph Funk-Clements. Team ‘Toba went 10-0 during the tournament, beating BC 20-19 in the final. 

In 2019, Tachinski put his sole focus on tackle at the University of Manitoba. He went on to set school records in career regular season rushing touchdowns for a quarterback (24) and rushing yards for a quarterback (1,676). 

In 2024, he was also named Canada West Player of the Year, becoming just the third member of the program to earn the honour, and the first in 22 years. 

“Jackson has been one of the most prolific players in the history of our program. His leadership and competitive spirit will be missed in our locker room,” said Bisons head coach Stan Pierre shortly after Tachinski’s graduating following the 2025 campaign. 

Now, T-Time is returning to his roots. 

This week, he was added to Team Canada’s 16-man Senior Men’s National Flag Football roster. The group of athletes – which includes 11 other U SPORTS alum – will continue through Football Canada’s high-performance pathway as the nation prepares for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany from August 13-16.  

A total of 16 different countries will be competing in Germany, in an attempt to qualify for the  2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It’s the sport's biggest global event ahead of its historic Olympic debut. 

The buzz for flag has grown exponentially over the last number of months, with U SPORTS recently announcing the addition of women’s flag football as a pilot sport in 2027-28, ahead of LA28. 

“It’s a really exciting game,” said Tachinski. 

“The games, they’re not as long as a tackle game, they’re a little bit quicker but they’re pretty action packed and you get a lot of scores, a lot of turnovers, a lot of touchdowns and a lot of big plays, one-handed catches, throws to the corners and stuff like that. It’s a pretty entertaining sport. It can be pretty hectic. Not a lot of leads are safe. Leads can shrink quickly and you can overcome a lot of things.”

‘It means a lot to represent Manitoba’

This weekend, Canada – led by head coach and Grey Cup champ Paul LaPolice – are heading to Chula Vista, California for training camp. Afterwards, they’ll be bussing down to Los Angeles to play a friendly against Team USA. 

The following weekend, Canada will go to Montreal to compete at the Senior Flag Football National Championship, with the final roster for Düsseldorf being announced shortly after. 

Tachinski is one of two Manitobans named to Canada’s roster, with the other being 26-year-old rusher Dom Horvath, a graduate of Miles Macdonell Collegiate and former Defensive MVP at flag nationals. 

“It means a lot to represent Manitoba. Flag is pretty important in this province, growing up and seeing it. We’re always doing well at nationals in flag, and we have a huge touch football league, the PIT league. We just have a huge football fanbase in general,” Tachinski said. 

“The Bombers do well, the Bisons do well, the [CJFL’s Winnipeg] Rifles do well, whatever it is. We have people that love football and want to play football. To see two people from our province going, it means the world. It shows the grit and the heart that Manitoba gives. Hopefully we can put it on full display in front of the world.”

Tachinski and Horvath were also at national team training camp in March in Chula Vista, and Horvath took part in Canada’s selection camp in Winnipeg in May. Tachinski was still competing for a spot on a CFL roster as a receiver at that time. He was added to Canada’s squad following his time at Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp. 

“Lapo was giving me my best shot to make any CFL team that I could. I tried to do that. I got released, so I just called him and told him I think I’m good to go for flag. It was always on the table. I was preparing for it, as well as tackle,” he noted. 

“It was a good plan that fell into my lap.”

Tachinski will be taking reps at receiver and quarterback for Canada, using the same skill-set that helped earn him a reputation as one of the most versatile pivots in U SPORTS.

“I’ll be doing a hybrid role, a receiver that gets some laterals and stuff. I’ll be throwing the ball for sure. I just like having the ability to make plays. You only have five guys on the field. A lot of times you’re lateralling the ball, you’re side snapping, you’re doing shovel passes, and multiple people are allowed to throw. Obviously you’re allowed to do that in tackle, but no one really does it,” he said.