CAAWS – The free model offers an effective tool for supporting the advancement of female coaches

Ottawa, November 15, 2017 – The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport (CAAWS) and the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) are pleased to announce the release of the Female Coach Mentorship Model: a free, turnkey tool designed to increase retention and advancement of female coaches.

Now available on the CAC’s website for free download, the Female Coach Mentorship Model consists of three guides: a sport administrator’s guide, a mentor guide, and a mentee guide. Together, these resources offer a guided approach to establishing effective and sustainable mentor-mentee relationships.   

“Female coaches bring unique and significant value to the sport system at all levels, but often face complex barriers when trying to advance in their coaching careers,” says Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CAAWS CEO. “This mentorship model is a pragmatic and proven tool that any sport can use to encourage and support female coaches as crucial leaders within their sport and the Canadian sport system as a whole.”

Four National Sport Organizations piloted the model for a full year, including Canada Basketball, Tennis Canada, Wrestling Canada, and Hockey Canada. In the University of Toronto’s evaluation of the pilot, mentor and mentee coaches reported an array of positive outcomes, such as clear perceived personal and professional growth and tangible advancement towards coaching goals.

“The process of mentorship supports the coach and creates the opportunity for professional development while also providing an atmosphere of support, which is often not currently available to female coaches,” says Lorraine Lafrenière, CEO of the Coaching Association of Canada. “So when the pilot project showed such encouraging outcomes, we knew that opening it up to the Canadian sport community would bring even more supportive opportunities and experiences to female coaches.”

CAAWS and the CAC recently shared information about the model in a  pre-conference workshop at the 2017 Petro-Canada Sport Leadership sportif conference in Calgary. The mentorship model will also be a feature topic at the CAAWS Lunch & Learn on November 28^th, in Ottawa. Please click here for more information or to register.

CAAWS and the CAC are grateful to the project’s Advisory Committee, the University of Toronto, Canada Basketball, Tennis Canada, Wrestling Canada, and Hockey Canada for their collaboration in developing and testing this model. The Female Coach Mentorship Model was made possible with funding from Status of Women Canada.

For more information on the Female Coach Mentorship Model and to download the guides, visit www.coach.ca.

About CAAWS

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating an equitable sport and physical activity system in which girls and women are actively engaged as participants and leaders.  CAAWS provides a number of services, programs and resources to a variety of clients, including sport and physical activity organizations, teachers, coaches, athletes, volunteers, health professionals and recreation leaders.  Since 1981, CAAWS has worked in close cooperation with government and non-government organizations on activities and initiatives that advocate for positive change for girls and women in sport and physical activity.

Follow CAAWS on Twitter and on Facebook.

About the Coaching Association of Canada
The Coaching Association of Canada unites stakeholders and partners in its commitment to raising the skills and stature of coaches, and ultimately expanding their reach and influence. Through programs, such as the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP), the CAC empowers coaches with knowledge and skills, promotes ethics, fosters positive attitudes, builds competence, and increases the credibility and recognition of coaches. For more information, visit www.coach.ca or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact:

Terri Temelini

Manager of Projects and Communications

Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity

416-901-0484 | caaws@caaws.ca

Isabelle Cayer

Senior Coaching Consultant, Women in Coaching

Coaching Association of Canada

613-235-5000 x 2376 | icayer@coach.ca