Making #HERstory: Girls who play on boys’ teams and supporting the lone girl in sport
On October 7, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) kicked off its 2021-2022 season. After having a season cut short and another cancelled altogether, this season looks different for the OHL. And it isn’t because of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In June, Taya Currie became the first female athlete drafted to the OHL. Selected in the 14th round by the…
Swim Together: A new model of co-participation for women and girls in sport
“… as a mom, it’s really easy to tell your kids what you expect. But to show them what you expect is harder. And so I think the benefit of Swim Together is feeling good about what I’m modeling for my kids.” – mom participant in the Swim Together program Parents and guardians are frequently left on the “sidelines” watching their children participate in…
“Dwelling in the tensions:” Research in the intersections of second-generation teen girls’ sport experiences
In 2019/2020, Canadian Women & Sport partnered with graduate student Amina Haggar to explore the experiences of second-generation African Canadian teen girls in a community sport program in Ottawa, Ontario. Haggar, an MA Candidate under the supervision of Dr. Audrey Giles at the University of Ottawa, conducted interviews with eleven sport coordinators and coaches involved…
Understanding deselection in competitive female youth sport
View the summary of this research here. Project summary Deselection (or being “cut”) is the elimination of an athlete from a competitive sport team based on the decisions of a coach. Given the competitive sport structure in Canada, it is inevitable that many athletes will be deselected every year. However, little is known about how…
Corporatizing sport for aboriginal girls: Connecting corporate social responsibility, the ‘Girl Effect’ and aboriginal-focused sport, gender and development programs
Project Summary This study explored how urban Aboriginal young women understand and experience their participation in a sport for development (SFD) program administered by the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Society Centre (VAFCS); and investigated how corporate funding and involvement in the VAFCS SFD program impacted targeted beneficiaries. The three specific objectives of the research were: To…
Keeping Girls in Sport: Evaluating the Impact of an Online Coach Education Resource
International Day of the Girl is celebrated globally on October 11th, focusing attention on the need to amplify girls’ voices, advocate for their rights, and elevate their position in society. Within the Canadian sport and physical activity sector, International Day of the Girl provides a reminder of the persisting challenges girls and young women confront…
Exploring social support, sport participation, and rural women’s health using Photovoice
Project Summary Research Objectives: Conclusions: See Results Research methods Study participants used the photovoice method which includes picture taking with cameras, recording in log books, and group interviews. Participants first participated in a Research Orientation session, then took relevant photos and recorded in logbooks for two weeks, following which the log books were retrieved and…
Influencing Gender Equity through an Infographic
On the 2019 International Day of the Girl, the Valley Female Leadership Network (VFLN), in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, posted an infographic on the status of girls and women’s participation and leadership in sport and recreation. The infographic was shared across the country, but most importantly used by the VFLN and their stakeholders as a…
Rwandan girls’ perspectives on their lived experiences of physical education and sport: Challenges and solutions to sport participation
Project Summary The objectives of this research were to: Though this research took place in Rwanda, the tools developed to gather girls’ perspectives and feedback and to integrate them into decision-making processes are relevant and can easily be adapted to a Canadian context in order to contribute to a better understanding of physical education and…
Exploring the process of lifelong learning: The biographies of five Canadian women coaches
Project Summary The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches using Jarvis’s theory of human learning to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching development. Coaches learn from a number of different situations and their past experiences influence what…