Community Sport Programs for Aboriginal Girls and Young Women Announced

For Immediate Release Wednesday August 24, 2005

Ottawa, ON . . . The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) and the Aboriginal Sport Circle are pleased to announce four community programs that will be funded through Team Spirit: Aboriginal Girls in Sport. Team Spirit is a national project to increase community sport participation opportunities for Aboriginal girls and young women. The Project is funded by Sport Canada, a branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of British Columbia will provide Aboriginal Girls in Action for local bands and the Greater Victoria urban region. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg will deliver a “Girls Night Out” program targeting Aboriginal girls and young women at six clubs across the City. Saskatoon’s Joe Duquette High School and the University of Saskatchewan will collaborate on a “Hoops and Dreams” basketball program. A multisport program integrating badminton, volleyball and basketball will be provided by Tallcree First Nation in Alberta. These four new programs will join Indian Brook, Nova Scotia in collaborating with CAAWS and the Aboriginal Sport Circle on the Team Spirit project. Two additional programs will be funded in each 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, bringing the total number of funded programs to nine over the course of the Team Spirit project.

CAAWS Executive Director, Karin Lofstrom, spoke about the value of collaborating with community-based programs. “Team Spirit provides us with an opportunity to learn about the needs, interests and experiences of Aboriginal girls and young women, and the successes and challenges confronted by organizations providing community sport programs for this target population. Project communication will enable us to share this information with other communities and organizations across Canada.” Gina Doxtator, Manager of Aboriginal Coaching and Leadership for the Aboriginal Sport Circle, discussed the overwhelming response to the community funding. “We received 32 submissions for four pockets of funding. This speaks to the need for funding to support community sport programs for Aboriginal girls and young women. The Aboriginal Sport Circle and CAAWS will work with our national and provincial networks to identify other existing sources of funding, and advocate for more funding to become available.”

Team Spirit builds upon On the Move, CAAWS’ national initiative to increase opportunities for inactive girls and young women (ages 9-18) to participate in sport and physical activity. For more information about On the Move and Team Spirit: Aboriginal Girls in Sport visit www.caaws.ca/onthemove.

Sydney Millar National Program Manager Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity N202-801 King Edward Avenue Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 Tel: 613 - 562 - 5667 Fax: 613 - 562 - 5668

'CAAWS appreciates the financial support of Heritage Canada, Sport Canada