FINAL CALL for Game on Leadership Program Applications

Canadian Women & Sport is looking for 15 sport and physical activity organizations from across Canada to deliver Game On, a program designed to foster leadership skills and increase participants’ motivation to be physically active by supporting coaches to create safer, more inclusive, and more engaging sport and physical activity experiences for girls.

Prior to COVID- 19, as many as 62% of Canadian girls were not participating in any kind of sport and physical activity across adolescence (Canadian Women & Sport, The Rally Report, (2020)). Now, 1 in 4 Canadian girls who were previously physically active are not committed to returning to sport post-COVID (Canadian Women & Sport, COVID Alert Study, 2021). Not only do girls who leave sport prematurely miss out on the full benefits of their participation, but this also limits the pool of potential future women coaches and sport leaders who would help to boost representation of women in leadership and to engage and retain the next generation of girls in sport (Canadian Women & Sport, Actively Engaging, 2012). Through 8 weekly sessions, Game On combines girl-centered programming with leadership training opportunities to increase participants’ perceived value of sport, social connection, and leadership skills. These factors are key to helping keep girls in sport (Canadian Women & Sport, Actively Engaging, 2012).

After the conclusion of two successful pilots, sport leaders observed that their participants’ relationships as teammates and friends grew stronger and their understanding of the positive role sport can play in their lives increased:

“The girls seem to be a lot closer as a team and working together. It’s not just their little cliques, there’s a lot more bonding that I can see.”

“Our participants gained a greater appreciation for what sport has given to them.”

“I can see a difference that [participants] are more confident and not focusing so much on comparing themselves with each other but it’s more about their own development.”

Game On is for girls ages 14-18 and can be delivered:

• in-person, virtually or in a hybrid format, and;
• as a stand-alone program or the activities can be layered-on to existing sport programming to best meet the needs of your organization.

Organization Commitments: 

• Recruit a minimum of 10 participants aged 14-18 and two sport leaders;
• Sport leaders must attend one 90-minute virtual training session:
• Option 1: Tuesday, December 7th at 12:00pm ET
• Option 2: Thursday, December 9th at 7:00pm ET
• Sport leaders to complete pre- and post-program evaluations;
• Participants to complete pre- and post-program evaluations; and
• Organizations must commit to completing the delivery of Game On by no later than March 13th, 2022.

The benefits of participating:

Participating organizations will gain the following:

• Keep Girls Engaged in Sport – This program will provide an opportunity to continue to engage with girls in a meaningful way to help your organization and participants recover and come back stronger. As a result, 88% of the participants reported that the program increased their desire and ability to be a leader in sport.
• Build Knowledge and Competency – Sport leaders will gain access to training and guidance to better understand the needs and motivations of girls to keep them involved in sport.
• Professional Development – Free licenses of the Keeping Girls in Sport e-module provided to participating sport leaders.
• 1-to-1 Support – Canadian Women & Sport staff will provide up to 2 hours of 1-to-1 support to the sport leaders delivering Game On.
• Financial support – Participating organizations will receive $1000 honorarium to support activities associated with the program.
• Program Materials:
• Coaches: hard copies of the program materials and Canadian Women & Sport swag
• Participants: workbooks, Canadian Women & Sport swag, and Certificates of Completion
• Networking Opportunities – Opportunities to share and learn with other organizations from across the country will be provided.

Program Timeline: 

• October 18th – November 5th, 2021 – Application portal is open
• December 7th-9th, 2021 – Coach training and participant recruitment (1 90-minute training)
• March 13th, 2022 – Program delivery and evaluation completion deadline

Interested in participating?

APPLY NOW!

Deadline for submissions is Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. 

Please contact Vanessa Wallace, Program Coordinator at vanessa.wallace@womenandsport.ca if you have any questions.

Acknowledgements:

Game On was first piloted in partnership with MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) Launchpad in 2019.  This project is funded by the Government of Canada.