| CELEBRATING CAAWS’
30TH ANNIVERSARY – PROFILING WOMEN IN SPORT AND PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY
2011 marks CAAWS’ 30th anniversary. To
celebrate this landmark achievement, every month we are showcasing
key milestones, and the women behind them, that have contributed
to CAAWS’ vision of an equitable sport and physical
activity system in which girls and women are actively engaged
as participants and leaders.
“Through the years CAAWS has had the pleasure of working
with so many great women and men who are passionate about
making a difference for girls and women in sport and physical
activity. We still have work to be done but with our 30th
anniversary we want to stop for a moment to profile some of
these leaders” – Karin Lofstrom, CAAWS Executive
Director.
Marion Lay – One of CAAWS’ Founding Mothers
Marion Lay is an accomplished athlete, coach and leader within
the Canadian sport community, and a strong advocate for getting
females off the sidelines and into the game – in various
capacities and positions. In 1974, Marion, along with Penny
Werthner, Abby Hoffman and Petra Burke, organized Canada’s
first women and sport conference. In addition to her leadership
during the founding of CAAWS, Marion was also instrumental
in establishing many organizations including: ProMOTION Plus,
WomenSport International, and the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific.
To learn more about Marion Lay, click
here.
Edmonton Grads Women’s Basketball Team –
The record-setting women’s basketball team
The legendary Edmonton Grads were formed in 1912 when J.
Percy Page became the coach of McDougall Commercial High School’s
women’s basketball team. In their first year together,
the team won a local high school tournament, and by year two,
they were Alberta’s provincial champions. When the players
graduated from high school, Page agreed to continue coaching
them. In 1922, the Edmonton Grads faced the Shamrocks from
London, Ontario, in the finals of the Dominion of Canada’s
Women’s Basketball Championships. The first of the two-game
Championship match was played by girls’ rules, with
six players on the court; the second by the boys’ rules,
with five players on the court. To learn more about this amazing
team, click
here.
Marie-Josée Turcotte – Paving the way
in sports journalism
Marie-Josée Turcotte is a leading sports anchor and
correspondent reporting on regional, national and international
sporting events. She was the first woman to give a sports
report on Quebec television, the first female to host a sports
television show, and one of the few female leading anchors
to cover Olympic Games; she was the only woman to anchor broadcast
coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Canada. To learn
more about Marie-Josée Turcotte, click
here.
Women’s Ski Jumping Team – A long and
hard-fought battle for inclusion
On April 6th, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved
the addition of women’s ski jumping to the 2014 Winter
Games program in Sochi, Russia. The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter
Games will mark the first time ever that women ski jumpers
will be allowed to participate at the Winter Olympics. While
the women ski jumpers can now celebrate, they waged a long
and hard-fought battle for this inclusion. To learn more about
this amazing victory for gender equity, click
here.
Men as Allies of Women in Sport and Physical Activity
Men have an important role to play in supporting the participation
and leadership of girls and women in sport and physical activity.
In 1994, David Morrison, a father of two young girls, became
a champion for gender equity in sport when he spoke out against
the inequity of financial funding for female sporting clubs
in his hometown of Coquitlam, BC. To learn more about this
case, click
here.
The Firth Sisters - Canada’s cross-country
skiing leaders
From 1972 to 1984, twins Sharon and Shirley Firth dominated
the Canadian women’s cross-country skiing scene. Throughout
their memorable careers the Firth sisters were members of
Canada’s national cross-country team for an unparalleled
17 consecutive years, won 79 national championship medals
between them, and represented Canada in four consecutive Winter
Olympic Games. To learn more about these accomplished athletes
and women, click
here.
Abby Hoffman: The Game Changer
Abby’s pursuit of gender equality in sport started
at a very young age, when she cut off her hair at the age
of eight to play incognito for a Toronto boy’s Junior
A ice hockey team; at the time, there were no teams for girls
in the Toronto area. The team’s success eventually led
them to the playoffs where all team members were required
to produce their birth certificates. It was at this point
when the coaches, managers and league discovered that Abby,
or “Ab” as she was called, was in fact Abigail
and she was no longer allowed to play. Abby’s mother
defended her daughter’s participation, stating "I
think children should be out playing hockey, not watching
it. And any of these sports that are good for health and teaching
fair play should be good for girls as well as boys."
To learn more about Abby Hoffman, click
here.
Chantal Petitclerc – Paralympic champion and
world record holder
Chantal Petitclerc, one of Canada’s most decorated
athletes, was born on December 15, 1969 in Saint-Marc-des-Carrières,
Québec. Chantal lost the use of her legs in an accident
when she was 13 years old but her high school physical education
teacher, Gaston Jacques, encouraged her to stay active and
involved in sport through swimming. A few years later, at
Université Laval, Pierre Pomerleau, a trainer at the
university, introduced Chantal to wheelchair sports, and she
hasn’t looked back since. To learn more about this great
Canadian athlete, click
here.
Manon Rhéaume: One of Canada’s most
famous female hockey players
Born on February 24, 1972, Manon Rhéaume started on
her path of hockey excellence in the small town of Lac Beauport,
Québec. With no local hockey team in Lac Beauport at
the time, kids living in the area had to travel to nearby
centres in order to play. For Manon’s father, Pierre
Rhéaume, however this was not right. So he built an
outdoor rink and started his own hockey league for all the
local children who wanted to play. With no other kids wanting
to be goalie, Manon willingly donned the pads and mask. All
the ice time with her father’s team in Lac Beauport
served her well, as Manon progressed through the various levels
of hockey playing on boys’ teams in boy’s leagues.
To learn more about this famous female hockey player, click
here.
Organizations
Canada’s three provincial organizations dedicated to
increasing opportunities and encouraging girls and women to
participate and lead in sport and physical activity.
- ProMOTION
Plus is the British Columbia organization for
girls and women in physical activity and sport. Established
as a non-profit society in 1990, the organization was the
first provincial organization dedicated to increasing opportunities
for girls and women in the sport and recreation delivery
system.
- Alberta’s InMotion
Network is comprised of a group of energetic
individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting increased
physical activity opportunities for girls and women as both
participants and leaders. Through networking, advocacy and
education, members of the network hope to see that girls
and women enjoy a balanced, healthy lifestyle through participation
in a full range of physical activities in a safe and equitable
environment. InMotion is a “network of networks”
linking various agencies and organizations around the province
of Alberta with groups of people who share their vision
as advocates of girls and women in sport and physical activity.
- Égale
Action is a non-profit organization dedicated
to encouraging the participation of women of all ages in
sport and physical activity, and creating an equitable sport
and physical activity system in Québec. Driven by
the fact that, until recently, there was no framework that
supported participation of women, that was able to exert
itself politically, and provide recommendations and act
as a reference organization in Quebec, an idea germinated
and an organization was born.
More...
On the Move: Increasing Sport and Physical Activity
Opportunities for Inactive Girls and Young Women
On the Move is CAAWS' national initiative to increase opportunities
for inactive girls and young women (ages 9-18) to participate
in fun-filled, female-only, recreational sport and physical
activity. On the Move works at the organizational level to
address social and systemic barriers and create positive environments
where girls and young women can fully realize the benefits
available through sport and physical activity.Since the initiative
was launched in 1994, it has provided a foundation for much
of CAAWS’ work promoting enhanced opportunities for
girls and young women. More...
CAAWS
Before CAAWS came into existence, Canada’s sport system
did very little to promote and support girls and women. There
were low levels of participation, inequitable distribution
of practice times, few women in leadership positions as volunteers
or administrators, virtually no women in coaching, and it
was rare to see a story about women athletes in the sports
section of the local newspaper. More...
Stay tuned as we continue to celebrate the women whose actions
and accomplishments have made an impact in sport and physical
activity for girls and women in Canada.
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