In the Loop – CAAWS eNetwork July

CAAWS is seeking nominations for individuals to fill two positions to be elected to the CAAWS Board of Directors at the 2019 Annual General Meeting on September 17, 2019. The deadline to submit your interest is July 31!

Are you a talented writer with an interest in gender equity and sport?

CAAWS is looking for a writer to help us script a new e-module training on Gender-Based Analysis. The deadline to submit a proposal is July 29!

With the support of Sport Canada, the CAAWS team is currently developing a new, three-part “Gender Equity Playbook” for sport organizations, including:

• A new eLEARNING MODULE to help leaders increase their understanding of gender considerations in sport and enhance their competence in applying a gender lens in their day-to-day decisions; 
• An EVALUATION SERVICE to help sport organizations identify areas for improvement by assessing their policies, programs and services and evaluating them against evidence-based gender equity benchmarks;  
• And a collaborative ACTION PLANNING SERVICE, engaging sport organizations in identifying and working to close gender gaps in their policies and practices.

These resources will be available starting in 2020, but we’ll be seeking support from the sport leaders along the way to join our pilots, creating a suite of offerings built with and for Canadian sport. 

Check back here and on the CAAWS News page for updates!  

CAAWS also offers a variety of workshops and presentations including:

• presentations on the importance of gender equity and how to achieve it at the board level;
• presentations on LTAD considerations for girls and women;
• networking and professional development workshops for women; and,
• workshops on addressing homophobia in sport.

To learn more about our new resources or book a workshop, email us at caaws@caaws.ca!

Features
What’s catching our eye this month?

“Prior to Title IX, over 90% of all head coaches in women’s sports were female nation-wide, and today its just about 43%.”

Title IX is known for drastically improving the opportunities available to athletes in the United States. Unfortunately, the effect on coaching has not been the same. The percentage of women coaches in the United States has been declining since Title IX was passed in 1972, and based on research conducted in 2014, that number had been stagnant since 2004.  

Game On: Women Can Coach, a documentary co-produced by Twin Cities PBS and the Tucker Centre for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, highlights the achievements of ground-breaking women coaches and the barriers to their success.

Spotlight
Celebrating organizations that #ChampionChange

The File Hills Qu’Appelle Rookie Baseball League started in 2018 with a partnership between the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council and the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Jays Care Foundation. Based in Saskatchewan, the council’s main goals in introducing the program were to engage their community, create intergenerational connections, and reduce mental health issues reported in the summer months by providing a unique, fun baseball league for their 11 Nations.

The league does outreach through “community tours” where they promote their program, exposing girls to women role models who enjoy participating in sport to help them gain the confidence to participate.

The league is open to anyone, but the Tribal Council hosts Sport Development Sessions leading up to the Saskatchewan First Nation Summer and Winter Games where the league practices once a week with the girls baseball teams to develop sport skills, confidence, and create a community of girls and women who “heal” through sport and physical activity.

While this girl-centred activity focuses on teams going to the Games, the league season is based on a points system rather than wins or losses. Teams can get points in many ways, such as having fans come to the games, having a Chief or Council members present, or having an Elder open the game. This takes the pressure off winning and leaves room for fun and community support – these are also factors that help to create positive sport experiences for girls.

Get the Edge
Research that drives us forward