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Dr.
Kimberley Amirault-Ryan has worked in professional sport since 2001
becoming the first and only woman to be the Performance Consultant
with the New York Rangers, the New York Knicks, the Columbus Blue
Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers. She has worked in Olympic sport
since 1998 and has worked with the Gold Medal winning teams of the
Canadian Women's Hockey Team, the Canadian Cross Country Ski Team,
and the Canadian Speedskating Team. For the 2010 Vancouver and 2012
London Olympics she was the Lead of Sport Psychology for the Canadian
Olympic Committee. Currently Kimberley is the Lead of Sport Psychology
for the 2014 Sochi Olympics for the Canadian Olympic Committee;
the Performance Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers; and a motivational
speaker to corporations across North America. For her groundbreaking
work, she has received numerous awards including the Women’s
Executive Network Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100; Avenue
magazine’s Top 40 Under 40; and this is the second time Dr.
Amirault-Ryan has been named to the CAAWS Most Influential List.
With
Team Canada’s participation in the Games of the XXX Olympiad
successfully completed, Caroline Assalian returns to the CAAWS Most
Influential List for a third time because of the impact of her team
work and leadership. The constant pressures and building to create
optimum conditions in which Canadian athletes can succeed are what
make Assalian’s role so influential. Responsible for the development
and execution of the COC’s annual and long-term strategic
plan for sport, Assalian is a problem-solver, an energetic leader
as well as a role model for women in leadership. In addition to
the challenges of preparing the Canadian Olympic Team for the London
Olympic Games, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2015 Pan American
Games are fast approaching and required strategic games preparation
in 2012, making this past year extremely intense for Assalian and
her colleagues and partners.
International
sport leadership is still very much dominated by men, but Loreen Barnett
is helping to change the game. Re-elected as Secretary General this
past year thanks to her stellar work, Barnett who is a member of Triathlon
Canada’s Hall of Fame (Builder Category) helped to significantly
increase the prize money and exposure for athletes, engaged key stakeholders
in major decisions, and helped lead a working board grounded in ethical
governance. Success has also translated into an increase in the number
and types of quality events hosted by more federations. It is interesting
to note that the ITU, which represents 168 national federations, remains
the only international federation in the Olympic Games with women
in the top two leadership roles (their President is Marisol Casado).
This is Barnett’s—originally from Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan
and who was the first Canadian woman to compete in the Hawaii Ironman—first
time on the CAAWS Most Influential List.
Although
skiing pioneer and role-model Sarah Burke died tragically in early
2012, the influence of this exceptional individual was such that
she remained an inspiration throughout the year, and her legacy
will remain in the future. Burke helped change the game and influenced
women's participation in major halfpipe competitions including the
upcoming Olympic Games. Thousands of friends, family and supporters
travelled to Whistler Village for the Sarah Burke's Celebration
of Life in April 2012, attesting to how many lives she had touched
and how she transformed her sport, Poems were read, pictures were
shown and songs were sung as she once again brought a community
together. One of the constant themes in 2012 was that Sarah, who
had won every honour and competition open to a freeskier, inspired
people to pursue their dream in sports and physical activity. Burke
was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012. This
is Sarah Burke’s first appearance on the CAAWS Most Influential
List.
Sandra
Chénard is Speed Skating Canada's most successful female
technical official, both domestically and internationally and is
the only Canadian female official assigned to World Cup events.
In 2012, she was recognized with the FOX 40 Kitch MacPherson
Award of Excellence, a national officiating awards program
recognizing a male and a female technical official/judge who have
made a significant contribution to officiating. Nationally, Chenard
was a driving force behind the Speed Skating Canada Domestic Development
Committee and most recently the Speed Skating Canada Competition
Development Committee. Internationally she has been assigned to
five World Cups and two World Team events. Over the past several
year, Chenard, has also contributed as a facilitator for the delivery
of national officiating clinics, and has also written and reviewed
several training manuals for technical officials. This is Chénard’s
first appearance on the CAAWS Most Influential List.
This
is the second time that the team of Chandra Crawford and Marie-Hélène
Thibeault are on the CAAWS most Influential List because of the
impact of Fast and Female, a non-profit organization dedicated to
inspiring girls to stick to sports and healthy lifestyles by exposing
them to innovative programming led by world-class female athletes
who act as ambassadors and role models. In 2012, under the leadership
of both Crawford and Thibeault, Fast and Female hosted more than
25 events in Canada, the US and Australia in a broad variety of
sports and impacted more than 1,500 young women and their families.
In addition to expanding its signature events for young women ages
9 to 19, Fast and Female’s programming has also grown to feature
online content such as Fast and Female TV and the Fast and Female
Facebook page – all of which are intended to support the retention
of young women in sports. 
Three-time
Olympian and four time Pan American Games gold medallist Tanya Dubnicoff,
who transitioned into coaching excellence post her highly successful
competitive cycling career, led and shared her wealth of knowledge
with Canada’s Women's Team Pursuit squad who took home bronze
at the London 2012 Olympic Games—where the discipline was
contested for the first time at an Olympic Games. A Level IV coach
and member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, Dubnicoff achieved
success with her Olympic team pursuit squad with only a fraction
of the budget of the gold medal winning British squad. She is an
inspiration and motivational force for women who want to coach at
the highest national and international levels which are still very
much in need of women coaches. This is Tanya Dubnicoff’s first
time on the CAAWS Most Influential List, however she was named as
One to Watch in 2005, which highlights emerging leaders.
Dr.
Vicki Harber, a two time Olympic rower, is a motivational force
on the Sport for Life (CS4L) Leadership Team, which is a movement
to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada.
She is a contributor to the gradual awakening around the world that
countries must invest in the healthy development of girls so they’ll
grow into empowered, resilient women and, consequently, into fully
engaged citizens. And that speaks to the health—and wealth—of
a nation. Harber is a contributor to the Actively Engaging Women
and Girls CS4L supplement, published in 2012, which examines the
psycho-social factors that influence female athlete development,
leadership and lifelong participation in sport and physical activity.
This is Dr. Harber’s second consecutive time on the CAAWS
Most Influential Women List.
Jennifer
Heil is a celebrated ambassador of community service, well know
for her work with the Because I am a Girl initiative which promotes
the advancement of girls in underdeveloped countries. Jenn initiated
her fundraising challenge to raise $1,000,000 for the cause and
has helped raise over $945,000 to date. She also runs her own girls
only mogul ski camp mentoring the next generation of female athletes.
In 2012, Heil who is a student at McGill University, was part of
the Lève-toi et bouge campaign promoting physical activity
as well as the CS4L Active for life campaign. She also continued
to influence change while working at the London Olympic Games as
a member of the media focussing on such issues as gender equality.
This is Jennifer Heil’s first appearance on the CAAWS Most
Influential Women List.
Clara
Hughes continues to inspire Canadians and the world with her openness,
strength and charisma. In 2012, while training for her sixth and
final Olympic Games, this queen of competition worked tirelessly
on her campaign to promote frank talk about mental health. This
same year, her dedication and perseverance was recognized with many
honours, including being inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall
of Fame; being named to the Women’s Executive Network Canada’s
Most Powerful Women, Top 100 List; and also being recognized in
the Strombo List of Canadian Women Who Rock. Hughes, who is the
first Canadian woman to have won multiple Olympic medals in both
Summer and Winter Olympic Games, visited Rwanda and Uganda in November
with Right to Play and also joined Right to Play’s International
Board in 2012. Hughes has now appeared on the CAAWS Most Influential
list four times.
Claudine
Labelle is the founder of FitSpirit, a foundation that promotes
a healthy, balanced lifestyle among teenage girls. FitSpirit is
driven by Labelle’s vision to enable girls to adopt an active,
healthy lifestyle so that they can develop greater self-esteem,
as well as a greater sense of ability and self-empowerment in order
to counter the national trend of teenage girls dropping out of sport
and physical activity. Since its founding in 2007 and with the assistance
of athletes, health experts, motivators and mentors—nearly
67,000 teenage girls in Quebec and Ontario have been inspired to
get moving after attending presentations by elite, Olympic and Paralympic
women athletes. In 2012, Labelle received the Women of Distinction
Award (YWCA of Montreal) in the Sports and Wellness category. This
is Labelle’s inaugural time on the CAAWS Most Influential
List.
Allison
McNeill coached the Canadian women’s basketball team leading
up to, and at, the 2012 Olympic Summer Games with incredible brio.
Under her auspices, the athletes proved they were true medal contenders,
contributing to the Canadian resurgence in team sport success on
the Olympic scene. The Basketball Team’s motto was "win
the day" and they did this three times to qualify for Olympic
Games, and then made an inspiring run to the quarterfinals. McNeill
is a coach who truly wanted to get to the Olympic Games more for
her athletes than for herself. She coached the senior women’s
national team for 12 years and announced her retirement at the end
of 2012 leaving the team in the top ten globally. She leaves as
the longest-serving national team women’s head coach. She
will continue to serve at the grassroots level and is a role model…an
outstanding example of what a coach should be. This is Allison McNeill’s
third appearance on the CAAWS Most Influential List (2009, 2006).
A
passionate, creative, and inspiring leader, Anne Merklinger has
more than 20 years of management experience with national sport
organizations—which served her well in 2012, an Olympic Games
and Paralympic Games year. A skilful CEO, Merklinger strategically
heads an organization with the momentous mission of making Canada
a world leader in high-performance sport. Highly respected by the
sporting community, in 2012 she worked with partners to strengthen
national policy, programs, sport delivery system and commitment
to excellence for both winter and summer high-performance sport.
Merklinger’s life-long experience in sport as an athlete and
professional is complemented by extensive volunteer experience with
a number of organizations including the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.
Anne is currently a member of the Board of Special Olympics Canada.
This is Anne Merklinger’s fifth time on the CAAWS Most Influential
List.
Bring
Back Play is the new battle cry developed to counter growing rates
of obesity and inactivity in Canadian children. It was launched
by ParticipACTION’s energetic President and CEO, Kelly Murumets,
in 2012 and was designed to bring home the message that play is
an essential contributor to healthy lifestyles. Under the leadership
of Murumets, ParticipACTION has been rebranded, and launched the
campaign because of evidence garnered from the Active Healthy Kids
Canada Report Card. Murumets can be credited with bringing on governments,
sponsors and partners to hammer home the message of the power of
activity and play in new and creative ways. The campaign focuses
on engaging kids in the simple, active play that their parents enjoyed
so much as children. A leader in the world of physical activity
and a contributor to the Huffington Post, Kelly Murumets has been
named to the CAAWS Most Influential List three previous times (2011,
2009, 2007). In 2012, Kelly Murumets was named as one of CBC’s
10 Most Influential Figures in Sport.
Maureen
Orchard’s tireless efforts as volunteer President and Secretary
General of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation have
been instrumental in the development of the sport. In 2012, through
her leadership to create a sport that is inclusive to all, Orchard
has developed improved policy, strategy, internal regulations, and
equipment standards. Recognizing the importance of growing the game
in new communities she worked to provide smaller countries with
ample opportunities. Throughout the past year, she worked to ensure
the success of wheelchair basketball at the London 2012 Paralympic
Games, and under her leadership the women's game has grown to include
an U25 Women's World Championship and an independent Senior Women's
World Championship - which will be held separately from the Men's
event due to the sheer number of teams participating. Her mission
is to create a legacy through these two events that will lead to
increased participation amongst women. This is Maureen Orchard’s
first¬ time on the CAAWS Most Influential List.
Sport
leader and five-time Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc, one of the
most decorated athletes of all time with 14 Paralympic gold medals,
was recruited by the ParalympicsGB athletics team as a coach in
2012 for the London Paralympic Games. This respected veteran also
acted as a mentor and attended all key preparation camps and competitions
and worked directly with Britain’s wheelchair racers. In 2012,
Petitclerc was also selected and began preparation for her role
as Canadian Team chef de mission for 2014 Commonwealth Games, representing
the first time a Paralympic athlete will be chef de mission in a
multi-sport Games. An ambassador for Paralympians and all athletes,
Petitclerc also continued her role on many board of directors in
sport and physical activity, as well as continuing her work with
many volunteer organizations such as Right To Play and Le défi
sportif. This is the seventh time Chantal Petitclerc has been named
to the CAAWS Most Influential List.
Olympian
Beckie Scott an advocate of drug free sport throughout her illustrious
career was named to the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping
Agency in 2012, recognizing her contribution and expertise on the
subject. This respected Olympic medallist works with fellow Canadian,
Minister for State for Sport, Bal Gosal on the board of WADA’s
ultimate policy-making body. This past year, Scott also continued
with a host of other commitments including serving on the IOC's
Co-ordination Commission for Sochi 2014 as well as her appointment
as co-chair of Cross Country Canada’s Women’s Committee,
whose mandate it is to facilitate opportunities for girls and women
in all facets of the sport. She has just begun her fourth season
with Ski Fit North, a joint program operated by Cross Country Alberta
and Cross Country Canada that gets disadvantaged First Nations youngsters
started in the sport. A Canadian icon, Beckie Scott has been named
to the CAAWS Most Influential Women seven times.
First
named as a 2010 One to Watch by CAAWS, and then on the 2011 CAAWS
Most Influential List, Mary Spencer is strengthening her legacy
as a leader while simultaneously building her career as a trailblazer
in boxing. Making history by competing in boxing the first time
the event was held for women at an Olympic Games in 2012, ensures
she is in the record books. She competed fiercely and made Canada
proud. And even with greater recognition and commercial success,
Spencer has never lost site of the prize by continuing to work with
Aboriginal youth. As a member of Motivate Canada’s GEN 7 Aboriginal
role model initiative, she has been developing sport, physical activity
and empowerment programming with Aboriginal youth in First Nation
communities and continues to visit community centres and schools.
Elisabeth
Walker-Young was Canada's Assistant Chef de Mission for the London
2012 Paralympic Games. Bringing an athlete-centred perspective to
this core leadership role, Elisabeth contributed to the planning
and delivery of operations in London, proudly supporting all members
of Team Canada. Her contribution to promoting the Paralympic Movement
was enormous. In London, Walker-Young did hundreds of media interviews
and also served as CTV's commentator for the broadcasts of the Opening
and Closing Ceremonies, an opportunity she used to share her passion
and expertise for parasport with Canadian audiences. In addition,
Elisabeth acted as a liaison with the Canadian Paralympic Committee's
(CPC) corporate and government partners during the Games. Throughout
the year, Elisabeth was very active on social media which added
to the influence and connection with Canadians and the sport community
she nurtured through her role. In 2012, Walker-Young was also the
spokesperson of the Power Walk for Dress For Success Vancouver and
Member of CPC's Paralympic Development Committee. This is Elisabeth
Walker-Young’s first time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women
List.
Gail
Hamamoto is a recognized and trusted expert in parasport. In addition
to being named Executive Director of BC Wheelchair Sports in 2012,
she is the volunteer Director of Paralympic Development for the
Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC); the Chair of the Canadian Wheelchair
Rugby Management Committee (Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association);
and was the Co-Chair of the 2012 Canada Cup International Wheelchair
Rugby Tournament. In her role with the CPC, Hamamoto oversees the
strategy and initiatives involved in growing parasport in Canada
from the grassroots up. Working with staff, key successes in 2012
included five regional Parasport Festivals, an expanded Paralympic
Schools Program, the launch of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD)
Summits for Paralympic sports, the "It's More Than Sport"
recruitment campaign, and the first ever provincial Parasport Summit
(held in Ontario in December 2012).
A
star of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Kaillie Humphries finished
off 2012 dominating her sport by winning seven World Cup and a World
Championship in bobsledding. Humphries is using her success and
status to get more people involved in sport. She says that other
women inspired her to push the limit—and she now aims to get
more women into the four-person bobsled event. At the Olympic level,
she advocates for a four-person women's bobsleigh competition (presently
there is only the two-person event for women). Humphries also contributes
to charities including Right To Play and the Special Olympics.Canadian Association for the Advancement
of Women and Sport
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