Hockey Canada has announced the second session of the Beyond the Boards Summit will take place Nov. 14-15 in Ottawa, Ontario, building off the success of last year’s inaugural event in Calgary.
Led by external subject-matter experts and individuals with lived experiences, the next edition of Beyond the Boards will focus on the outcomes of unhealthy hockey culture, including gender-based violence, homophobia, sexism and transphobia.
“As we work towards building a healthier hockey for all Canadians, bringing together our Members and other key stakeholders for a second Beyond the Boards Summit is incredibly important to better understand the deep-rooted issues that are detracting from participants having positive experiences in hockey,” said Katherine Henderson, president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada. “Last year’s event was eye-opening for all of us and reinforced that there is still so much work to be done, which is a challenge we take very seriously.
“We are grateful for the speakers and panellists who will be educating us throughout the two days in Ottawa and thank them for their commitment to advancing hockey with us.”
Hosted by Hockey Canada, the summit will include keynote speeches from Normand Hector, an acclaimed speaker on diversity, equity and inclusion, and Mark Tewksbury, a two-time Canadian Olympian who is recognized as an international leader with the global 2SLGBTQI+ movement.
Marni Panas, the chair of the board of directors for the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion and a member of the LGBTQ2S+ Apology Advisory Council, will be the summit moderator.
The session will feature three panels of individuals with lived experiences, with Ailish Forfar, John Laing and Catherine Laroche speaking on gender-based violence and sexism, Sean Addis, Dre Barone, Brian Burke and Claire Buchanan on homophobia, and Harrison Browne, Fae Johnstone, Kiara-Kumail and Kai Scott on transphobia.
On the second day, Égaux sans Égo and White Ribbon will each lead invited participants through a workshop to wrap up the summit.
The agenda for the summit can be found here.
“The Beyond the Boards Summit is one of the initiatives that we are prioritizing as an organization to help change the culture of the game, and we could not do it without the support of our board of directors,” said Denise Pattyn, senior vice-president of people, culture and inclusion for Hockey Canada. “Engaging in uncomfortable conversations about unhealthy behaviours with subject-matter experts and those with lived experiences is integral to help us as we build out a roadmap for change in hockey and sport, and we trust that this second session will be just as impactful for all participants as last year’s was for all of us.”
Media interested in attending the summit are kindly asked to RSVP to media@hockeycanada.ca by Nov. 7.
For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
For more information, please contact:
Jeremy Knight
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
jknight@hockeycanada.ca
647-251-9738