Two years after 18-year-old Stacey Levitt was struck and killed by a car while jogging, an athletic and educational fund established in her memory is helping young women across Canada achieve their goals.
Supported by the fund is the Stacey Levitt Women and Sport Scholarship, and the first recipients:
Hayley Wickenheiser of Calgary,
the University of New Brunswick Red Blazers Women’s Varsity Hockey Team,
Claire Sault of Victoria, B.C.,
Amber Louise Stevens of Prince Albert, Sask., and
Jill Sadler of Moncton, N.B..
“It was an emotional experience reading all of the wonderful applications for Stacey’s scholarship,” said her mother, Cheryl Levitt of Toronto. “Clearly there are many talented and inspiring young women in our country. In fact, all of the young women seem highly qualified and worthy, and I was struck by the interesting blend of physical activity and sport they pursue.”
Eighteen-year-old University of Calgary student Hayley Wickenheiser is a star of Canada’s women’s ice hockey team, currently preparing for the 1998 Olympic Games at Nagano. A member of Canada’s 1995 World Junior Softball team, she has also set her sites on playing softball at the 2000 Olympic Games. Wickenheiser plans to use the scholarship to help her parents make the trip to Nagano and to meet a portion of the high cost of training at the elite level.
“With the exciting growth and interest in women’s sports, I consider myself a role model for the next generation of female athletes,” said Wickenheiser. “Like Stacey, I believe balance between sport, education, work, friends, and healthy living is key to being a successful athlete.”
Just as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) announced the establishment of a national ice hockey championship for women, to be held for the first time in February 1998, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) team learned that despite faculty support, no funds are available in the 1997/98 athletic budget. As Therese Brisson, a kinesiology professor at the university and a member of Canada’s national team explains, the scholarship, bolstered by fundraising and sponsorships, will be used to fund the team’s participation at the CIAU championships.
“The scholarship will benefit not one, but 20 very deserving and enterprising women student athletes,” said Brisson. “They have demonstrated a keen interest in their sport and have taken the initiative to make women’s varsity hockey at UNB a reality.”
Claire Sault, who credits softball with giving her the self-esteem to pursue her dreams, developed three teams of different ages groups for the qualifying tournament of the North American Indigenous Games in Victoria in August. She will use her scholarship to target young Aboriginal women with leadership abilities and enroll them in the national coaching program.
“Through sport we can develop pride and confidence and create opportunities for the advancement of young Aboriginal women,” said Sault.
Also headed to the Indigenous Games was Amber Louise Stevens, one of Saskatchewan’s top female swimmers and an aspiring Olympian. The scholarship helped to defray the costs of travelling to Victoria with her mother.
“The support provided by this scholarship is critical to Amber’s pursuing her Olympic dream,” said Janice Henry, president of the Metis Women of Saskatchewan. “This young Metis woman represents the future of Canada, and we must collectively provide nurturing and support to our children to ensure a strong Canada.”
Mount Allison University science student Jill Sadler, volleyball rookie of the year, intends to use her scholarship to pay for her education.
“I want to continue to give as much as possible, not only to myself and my team, but to women’s sport,” said Sadler. “Women must be strong and continue to enter the gym, the rink, and the field with a ‘never say die’ attitude.
“Sport was important to Stacey Levitt, who was a superior athlete in many sports,” said Marg McGregor, executive director of CAAWS, which assisted in selecting the five recipients from 35 applications. “By endowing this scholarship, Stacey’s family have chosen a wonderful way to honour her love of the camaraderie and the team work of sport.”
Also supported by the fund is the Stacey Levitt Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding graduating female athlete of Northern Secondary School in Toronto, and a bursary to Outward Bound Canada – Women’s Empowerment Program to assist cancer patients and victims of abuse.
