Researchers at the University of Alberta partnered with JumpStart Charities to evaluate the reach and impact of the Keeping Girls in Sport online module. Survey findings demonstrated some interested uptake patterns, and reinforced the value of the program for increasing awareness and know-how to create positive sport environments for girls.
Applications for the 2020/2021 SIRC Match Grant Program are due Sunday, Dec. 13. Get your proposal in!
Stress fractures are observed more frequently in female runners, compared to males. Analysis of women’s perception of risk and behaviors discovered those with a history of fractures increased their training load more quickly, and, despite knowing the benefits, they did not prioritize a balanced diet and complementary cross-training.
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 to realizing the benefits of participation, and the opportunities for action.
Current evidence shows that only 39% of Canadian children and youth between the ages of 5-17 years are meeting the physical activity recommendations found in the Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth, with an overall reduction in physical activity involvement between the ages of 12-17 years (ParticipACTION, 2020). Further, gender-related disparities have been highlighted among Canadian children and youth (ages 5-17 years), showing girls’ participation is approximately half that of boys (ParticipACTION, 2020). This is concerning given the number of social and physical benefits associated with participation in physical activity and sport, including:
As highlighted in great detail in the Rally Report (Canadian Women & Sport, 2020), withdrawal from sport and physical activity is most prevalent in girls during adolescent years. Specifically, high drop-out rates have been observed around 13-14 years old, at which time girls often withdraw from competitive sport, choosing to engage in non-competitive physical activity at their leisure, or become inactive (Harber, 2010; Eime, Casey & Harvey, 2020). 
Research suggests the high rates of dropout during this time are influenced by a lack of access to quality sport opportunities; safety and transportation concerns; social factors; reduced enjoyment in sport or decreased quality of experience; financial barriers; shifting life priorities such as school or part-time work; body image concerns; and a lack of female athletes as positive role models (Staurowsky et al., 2020; Eime, Casey & Harvey, 2020). However, with appropriate knowledge and increased awareness, coaches, program leaders, sport administrators, teachers and parents can address these barriers and support sustained, positive sport involvement for girls and young women.
To help address the knowledge gap, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, in collaboration with Canadian Women & Sport, the Respect Group and the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), developed Keeping Girls in Sport (KGIS), an online resource that helps coaches and youth activity leaders create safe and respectful environments for female athletes. The KGIS program requires about 90 minutes to complete, and consists of four modules exploring the participation trends of girls in sport, factors influencing drop-out, various types of injuries specific to the female athlete along with prevention strategies, and insights to keep girls engaged. At the beginning of the program, learners are guided through a self-assessment of their coaching or leadership philosophy, which is revisited and reassessed at the end. In this way, the KGIS program provides a comprehensive and insightful educational experience supplemented by the opportunity to engage in self-reflective practice. Launched in October 2018, it was time to ask, “What has been the impact of the KGIS program?”
With support from a Match Grant from the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC), researchers in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport & Recreation at the University of Alberta collaborated with Jumpstart Charities to explore the uptake and impact of this unique education program. Researchers developed and distributed an online survey to everyone who had completed the KGIS module to understand who had taken the module and collect feedback on the module’s content.
Analysis of the survey responses revealed a number of interesting characteristics about the KGIS participants. The survey was distributed to the 1,548 individuals who completed the KGIS program and a total of 511 responded, a response rate of 33%. Representation of women and men was well matched, with 56% of survey respondents identifying as women and 43% identifying as men. The majority of survey respondents were residents of Ontario (49.8%), with 11.5% from British Columbia; 13.6% from Alberta; 5.6% from Saskatchewan and 6.7% from Manitoba. There was little representation from elsewhere in Canada among our survey respondents, with 3.6% from Quebec and 8.8% from the Maritime provinces. Less than 1% of respondents resided in the North West Territories, Yukon, or Nunavut. This demonstrates the KGIS program has been well promoted and shared within Ontario sport systems, likely because the educational resource was made mandatory by some Ontario sport organizations, such as Ontario Soccer. However, the demographic information made researchers wonder if less population-dense and more remote regions of the country lack representation among survey respondents as a result of reduced girls sport programming in general and therefore, fewer sport leaders who are interested in this training.
Survey respondents occupied a variety of sport roles, including coach, athlete, mentor, administrator, parent, volunteer, and teacher. Although respondents individually embodied various roles within the sport context (i.e.: one respondent might identify as athlete, coach, and parent simultaneously), 69% of respondents indicated it was their role as a coach that inspired them to take the KGIS online resource. This demonstrates the KGIS program is considered primarily a coach-education tool, despite being beneficial for numerous other roles in sport and physical activity. Participants also represented a diverse range of sports – more than 50 sports were represented including hockey, basketball and ringette. Soccer was the most frequently reported sport across the survey respondents, likely because of the mandated training mentioned above. To increase the reach and impact of KGIS across the country, other sport organizations could consider mandating this unique educational resource to support uptake. Moreover, promoting the KGIS program as a professional development tool for non-coaching leadership roles may also support further uptake.
Feedback provided in the survey demonstrated the KGIS program was well received, with 99% of respondents rating various attributes of the program (length, quality of interface, accessibility, understandability, and quality of content) as “Good” (22%), “Very Good” (42%) or “Excellent (35%). Respondents described the program as “thought provoking” and said it “helped [to] conceptualize the scope of the issue”. Respondents appreciated that the KGIS program offered insight to a perspective different from their own, helping to better understand motivations and barriers experienced by girls and young women. Even those who reported a high level of existing knowledge and experience found the program useful and expressed desire for more widespread uptake across leadership in girls’ sport.
From the survey analysis, two important takeaways emerged relating to the value of the KGIS program. The first related to improved understanding about how to foster positive sport environments for girls. Respondents emphasized factors such as feeling safe, being engaged with coaches and teammates, having fun, and socializing as a way to do so. Within the survey comments, there was warning that creating a “fun” atmosphere can be misinterpreted by some leaders: “Coaches take this as ‘we have to play games all the time and never push the girls outside of their comfort zone.’ Once girls love a sport, being challenged and competing IS fun to them.” Cultivating positive environments that will help keep girls in sport requires attention to the specific physical, emotional and social needs of girls.
The other main takeaway related to exploring the nuanced differences between girls and boys within sport environments. This has previously been highlighted in work by Dr.Vicki Harber, professor emeritus from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport & Recreation, who suggested more effective and supportive sport and physical activity environments for girls can be created, keeping in mind that “women are not men and children are not small adults” (Harber, 2010, p. 2). The KGIS program was commended by survey respondents for recognizing the unique needs of girls and their varying needs throughout their developmental stages.
In addition to these key takeaways, recommendations for supplemental and subsequent educational materials were gathered from the survey data and will be useful as future resources are created on this topic. Learnings from the survey results revealed opportunity for broader public health impact of the KGIS program across sport and physical activity leadership that could be realized through updated content focused toward a more diverse audience.
To complete the Keeping Girls in Sport online resource, or to share the program with your network, visit https://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca/pages/keeping-girls-in-sport
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 tool to increase support for female-only programming in the Valley. This blog is the story of our infographic.
In many communities and amongst many sport and recreation organizations, female-only programming and leadership development opportunities are common; and the situation in the Valley is no different. Female-only programming is designed to address inequities in the participation and leadership of girls and women in sport and physical activity (Canadian Women & Sport, 2012). However, we continued to hear questions from parents, administrators, community members and decision makers such as “Why do girls and women need special programs?” and “What about the boys?”
We would reply, sharing the research and anecdotal stories, but some people remained skeptical. They didn’t understand the social and systemic barriers women and girls confront to participation and leadership, hadn’t experienced girls’ reluctance to try a new sport. And sometimes we didn’t feel we had access to strong enough evidence that reflected the experiences of girls and women locally, or in our region or province. We realized we needed a tool to help share the evidence and the need for action – something that was quick, compelling and easy to disseminate. An infographic would be perfect.
According to the Marriam-Webster Dictionary, an infographic uses graphic elements to present information in a visually striking way. Girls and women’ involvement in sport and physical activity is a very broad topic – the amount of information can be overwhelming. We knew it was important to clarify from the beginning the purpose of our infographic, then collect and select the best data for this purpose. So what information should we include?
For us, the content was driven by three considerations:
With those considerations in mind, we sourced local, provincial and national statistics from a range of reliable sources, including the Nova Scotia Arena Access Study, Women Active Nova Scotia, Canadian Women & Sport, Sport Nova Scotia, Recreation Nova Scotia, and the provincial government.
The women in leadership bar graph packs in a lot of information and perspective into a concise display.
~Active Communities and Recreation Coordinator
The development of the infographic was a partnership between VFLN and Women Active Nova Scotia. A co-op student working for Women Active Nova Scotia in the spring of 2019 provided the research support required. Investing time to create a meaningful resource that would have a lasting impact as well as be informative and valuable for our community stakeholders was a priority for this project. Having someone dedicated to the project, rather than an existing staff person doing it off the corner of their desk, was key to success. We used Canva as a tool to help turn our ideas and statistics into a compelling infographic.
VFLN wanted to be strategic about launching this resource. Although it was ready for distribution in the summer, we wanted to connect the launch to an established day that celebrates women and girls to take advantage of the hype, discussion and connection to recognizing the need to support girls and women. We chose International Day of the Girl on October 11th. On social media, our initial post had more than 5,000 impressions – not bad for a small committee! However, we know the infographic was picked up by several other organizations and redistributed, greatly expanding the reach.
VFLN also broke down the infographic into its three sections and posted it leading up to International Women’s Day 2020 – another great opportunity to share the evidence and amplify our message in conjunction with a celebration of women and girls. Focusing on each section to bring awareness and create that impact of what is happening in the Annapolis Valley.
The infographic is a resource that our partners can take to meetings or submit as a background and education tool when talking about opportunities for women and girls within sport, physical activity and recreation – whether it is municipal government reporting to council, or for community or provincial sport organization board members. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and other regions in the province are now looking to create a similar tool that reflects their region and communities. Municipal Recreation Departments are utilizing the infographic as a tool to share with their community stakeholders, and we plan to use the infographic to help engage and educate school administrators.
“The infographic provided concrete LOCAL evidence why we need more funding and programs to foster female participation, engagement and leadership. It also supports intergenerational female programs”.
~Community Recreation Coordinator
Long term, we hope through this tool we will impact and influence decision makers, which will in turn influence policy development in various sport and recreation programs and services. This will generate a positive, supportive, and welcoming environment for women and girls to be active and get involved as leaders in our communities.
Our infographic was about gender equity, but our approach could be used to create a tool to support and influence any kind of change you want to see in your community. In addition to our insights above, our advice is:
The Valley Female Leadership Network’s mission is to engage with stakeholders to build capacity and create supportive environments for girls and women within the Valley region through networking, training, recognition, and program support. Our Vision is that girls and women are participating in, leading and influencing physical activity, sport & recreation in our communities. Valley Female Leadership Network has focused their time on three priorities: developing leadership, communication and celebration. For more information, follow VFLN on Facebook and Instagram.
Research shows girls and young women’s involvement in sport and physical activity is influenced by a number of people, including parents, siblings, coaches, and physical education teachers. In recognition of International Day of the Girl Child (Sunday October 11, 2020), consider your role in enhancing the participation and quality of sport experiences for girls.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “inclusion” is the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure. True inclusion involves authentic and empowered participation and a true sense of belonging for all participants. However, if we want to be successful with inclusion, we must intentionally plan for it – if we are not specific and clear about how we create inclusion in sport spaces and places, we will continue to fail those on the margins.
During a keynote session at the 2020 Canadian Sport for Life Summit, I facilitated a discussion about participant-centered approaches to inclusion. More than 400 sport, recreation, education and health leaders worked to define core principles of inclusion, and how they could be integrated into policy and practice within their organizations. This article shares the highlights from that conversation and provides examples of how organizations are bringing the principles to life.
Principle 1 – Respect is a deep admiration for someone’s abilities, qualities, or achievements; and would be lived by appreciating everyone’s unique journey and lived experiences.
The Hijabi Ballers project, based in the Greater Toronto Area, seeks to recognize and celebrate the athleticism of Muslim girls and women, and increase their participation in sport spaces and programs around the city. The name Hijabi Ballers represents three things: being a female of Muslim faith, being an athlete, and being a boss. The project is meant to shine a light on those who visibly represent their faith, while portraying themselves as athletes. The word “baller,” an umbrella term for all athletes, holds a strong connotation of being a boss, being successful, and being bold.
Principle 2 – Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically; and would be lived by meeting participants at the place they are at so they can engage in different ways and levels.
Skate Canada’s Trans Inclusion Policy, developed with input from members of the LGBTQI2S community and inclusive sports advocates, was designed to ensure athletes have the right to participate in a sport they love free from discrimination and exclusionary regulations. In competitions under Skate Canada jurisdiction, athletes can participate in the gender category with which they identify, which allows for dignity in the choice of how athletes show up. All identifications of gender identity by athletes are believed to be made in good faith and do not require further disclosure or documentation.
Principle 3 – Openness is receptivity to new ideas and new experiences; and would be lived by sharing and honoring our cultural experiences, and giving participants a seat at the table to lead the design, implementation and evaluation of sport and recreation programs.
Through the North Preston Surf Program, the Surfing Association of Nova Scotia and Blxckhouse are working together to create a program for youth of African descent. North Preston is the oldest and largest indigenous Black community in Canada. Despite its proximity to Lawrencetown – the birthplace of Canadian surfing – few people of African descent in Nova Scotia surf. There are far-reaching historical and social reasons for this, and the purpose of this program is to collaborate with the community to remove the barriers to this experience.
Principle 4 – Allyship is when a person of privilege seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized person or group; and would be lived by investing our abilities, compassion and heart in developing new relationships.
The Canadian Olympic Committee’s One Team initiative was created to fight gender-based discrimination, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and any other type of discrimination in sport. The #BeYou and #OneTeam campaigns have included a presence at Pride parade events and have celebrated athletes who identify as LGBTQI2S for their accomplishments and for living their identity.
Principle 5 – Compassion is concern for the challenges faced by others; and would be lived by leading by example.
Free Footie is a free after school sports club delivered in partnership with highly vulnerable schools in Edmonton, AB. Most of the 4,000 kids reached each year are refugees, newcomers or Indigenous youth who cannot afford the typical “pay to play” model or face other barriers to participation. Free Footie was designed to close the gaps – equipment and registration are free, transportation is organized and paid for, and participants are picked up from their school right after class. Through play, the program surrounds kids with role models and teaches them leadership, respect and commitment. Partner schools see participants improving their grades, behaving well, and attending classes so they get to take part in the fun at the end of the day.
Principle 6 – Safe is a positive space that promotes consent-based participation and supports all participants’ physical, emotional and social development and wellbeing. It is free from abuse, misconduct, bullying, harassment and hazing, and requires that all participants are treated with dignity. Safe would be lived by examining the different needs of people in sport and recreation spaces and places. This will ensure we can better plan to support the diverse people who are part of our programs, and those who deserve to be included but haven’t been planned for properly yet.
As part of their plan to create an inclusive workplace culture where staff feel safe bringing their authentic selves to work, the Canadian Paralympic Committee invested in training for staff and board members about LGBTQI2S Inclusion. The training was delivered by Canadian Women & Sport, and included a Paralympic athlete who is openly gay who shared her lived experience. The training laid the foundation for two staff to self-identify as gay and host internal staff “lunch and learn” dialogues.
As we think about what people need to be successful in our programs, it is an opportunity to rethink how we structure our organizations, our programs, our roles…and indeed the broader sport and recreation system. The above examples can inspire our work and provide promising practices to guide our intentions. Being intentional about inclusion requires us to make room for more voices at the table, to listen, to learn, and to consider what type of system we could create if we built from people, rather than from budget, funders or mandates.
A community of practice (CoP) is a “group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis.” The newest article in the Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching examines the Alberta Women in Sport Leadership Impact program, a CoP designed to increase gender equity and leadership diversity across the Alberta sport sector, and shares examples of how to frame, facilitate, and assess this type of social learning space.
Officials are considered by some to be the unsung heroes of sport, responsible for upholding the rules and intentions of sport. SIRC sat down with Marie-Soleil Beaudoin – Canadian soccer referee and instructor of physiology and biophysics at Dalhousie University – to talk about her journey from the community soccer field to officiating at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (MSB): I grew up in a soccer family. I’m the oldest of three girls. We all played soccer and our parents coached. When I was old enough, I started coaching. After my sister started refereeing, I made the switch, motivated by the fact it was a paid position!
At that time, I was 20 years old. Now, individuals often start refereeing at a young age. I think my age and maturity provided a type of buffer against the negative dynamics we sometimes see on the field, between referees, coaches, athletes and parents. If I was younger, those types of dynamics likely would have made me quit.
I really enjoyed refereeing, and started to work my way up the system. I was motivated by the certification processes, enjoying the challenge of competency testing (e.g. laws of the game) and on-field performance assessments. I achieved national certification in 2013 and FIFA certification in 2014.
Refereeing for FIFA opened the doors to range of new experiences and opportunities – traveling internationally and experiencing the sport through different cultures. My first tournament was the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan. It was absolutely eye-opening coming from Canada and refereeing a women’s tournament in the Middle East. It wasn’t at all what I expected. There I was, officiating a match for 16 and 17 year old girls, surrounded by 17,000 cheering spectators. It blew my mind, and challenged what I thought the middle east was about.
MSB: FIFA works in cycles, so they started preparing for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in 2016. Many people also don’t realize that at the international level, officials are assigned into teams, with one centre referee (that’s me!) and two assistant referees (Princess Brown and Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing), that work together through the cycle. For me and my team, our first FIFA tournament was the one in Jordan. Our performance led us to be included in the preliminary list of officials considered for France 2019. From then on, FIFA appointed us to different tournaments and seminars to give us the best chance to be ready for the Women’s World Cup. The final list of officials selected for the WWC was released in December 2018.
This team approach to officiating is valuable. On the field, I make the final decisions, but I may only have part of the information during play – so we rely on each other. Good communication within our team is critical to success. As the referee, I’m responsible for building our relationship through training, game experience and discussion. For example, to support decision-making on the field, we have developed communication shortcuts, providing efficient ways for communicating fouls, penalty kicks and offsides.
However, I also play a leadership role in building our relationships off the field – another important component to success. As international-level officials, we are away from family and friends for extended periods of time, living in hotels, participating in stressful meetings, and dealing with the pressure of games. There are a lot of emotional ups and downs and we can’t take those pressures onto the field. As a leader, my role is to ensure my teammates are happy, feeling emotionally stable, focused on our goals, and are well trained so we can perform well. Luckily my assistants are as driven, motivated and as focused as me.
Working with my two assistant referees, I’m also reminded how privileged I am to be in this position. My two assistants are Jamaican – their lifestyle at home is completely different than mine. For example, one of my assistants used money she received from a tournament to install running water at her parents’ house. For them, officiating is their life and livelihood, with impacts on quality of life for them and their extended family. For me, officiating is a second career, which I balance with my role as an instructor at Dalhousie University. I really value the opportunities officiating at this level have given me to have my eyes opened to the lived realities of people around the world. I am honoured to work with people who came from such a relatively challenging position and who have excelled at the highest levels of sport.
MSB: One of my most difficult experiences with the game was as a high-level provincial referee in Ontario. To get a national badge I needed to perform well in the men’s league, and in one game I made a number of important mistakes on the field. The experience really affected my confidence and I actually considered quitting for a time because I was unable to enjoy the game. There is a very important mental component to being an official. You need to develop the coping skills and resilience to get over mistakes so they don’t affect the next game. I ended up turning to a sport psychologist to help me regain my confidence.
On the flip side, one of the greatest things I have experienced is the sense of community that exists amongst referees. I have made strong friendships within the community – friends that believed in me before I believed in myself, and who I could lean on during tough times.
In 2018 I gave birth to my first child. During the pregnancy, I wasn’t sure how my body and mind would be affected, and I questioned whether I would be able to step back into the same level of the sport. It could have been easy for decisions makers to skip over me, but I received a lot of support to get back on the field. In fact, at a FIFA event in 2018, seven of 44 women officials had given birth in the last year, enhancing the support within our group. Many of us struggled with fear of judgement, from others as well as ourselves, that returning to our officiating roles made us inadequate mothers (I was back on the field after only 7 months). Certainly, support from our partners and families makes doing that possible, but support from my community of officials helped normalize and give confidence to my decisions.
MSB: Preparation is key! For World Cup games there are technical and tactical coaches that help us prepare. They meet with us in advance to review how the teams play, discuss the key players, and generally what to expect. On the field we need to make split second decisions. Those decisions are easier if you know what to expect and can understand situations as they are happening.
In other games, responsibility for preparation rests on the officials’ shoulders. In addition to familiarizing myself with the teams, I really focus on my mental preparation. On the field I use key words to keep me focused, such as “breathe” to calm myself, and “next” to not dwell on specific situations and keep me grounded in the moment. I also often think of the teams as their colours so I don’t get caught up in the history and pressure that the teams bring to the field. At the 2019 World Cup I was officiating a game between France and Brazil. It was a high stakes game between the home team and an iconic team – France and Brazil. But I tried to think of them as simply “white” versus “yellow.”
All of this preparation does make a difference. Once the first whistle is blown I’m able to get into the zone. As officials, we’ve done it so many times, and we’re so well trained, that it feels natural. It’s leading up to the event that you have to stop yourself from getting caught up in the anticipatory stress.
MSB: Yes, refereeing is an art and a science. I’m more of an introverted person, so quick, responsive communication isn’t one of my natural strengths. Plus, I’m often required to communicate in English – my second language. As referees, we are often in situations where we have to calm athletes down or communicate a message to someone who doesn’t want to talk to you. However, communication skills are something I actively work on.
I think empathy and respect are undervalued by a lot of referees – many step onto the field as authority figures. For me, when I step onto the field, I see 22 players, each with their own story, their own goals/injuries/pressures, who are all under pressure. My approach is to communicate where the line is, and hopefully the players work with you to uphold the laws and intentions of the game. But this is the best-case scenario. When conflict situations arise, I don’t take it personally. A lot of pressure is transferred by the athletes to the officials, who are sometimes considered in the way of the athlete’s or team’s performance.
Ninety-five percent of the games I officiate are men’s games, and sometimes there are raised eyebrows when they see my ponytail. In the past I have been tested by teams the first few times I officiate their games. But soon enough they realize I’m a good referee and forget about gender. There are a lot of challenges for women to officiate men’s games at all levels and in all countries. Luckily for me, I live in Canada, where the presence of women in male-dominated professions is more accepted than other places in the world. This makes the inherent challenges of being a woman leading a men’s game a little easier to take on.
MSB: At the highest levels, officials play two important roles. The first has to do with player safety. As officials we prioritize safety by upholding the laws of the game. With concussion, for example, officials are responsible for stopping play in the event of suspected head injury and providing time for an athlete to be medically assessed. The second has to do with the spectacle of the “beautiful game.” We have the best seat in the house to enjoy the technical and tactical prowess of the players. We need to let the game flow so it stays interesting.
At the lower levels, ideally there is a reciprocal relationship between the officials and the teams to contribute to the development of the sport. I used to be the head referee at the Guelph Soccer club. There I emphasize a mentoring role amongst referees, that they need to be teachers for athletes or coaches that may not know the rules or etiquette of the game. Again, this is the type of situation that is easier for a 20 year old than a 14 year old.
MSB: These situations are absolutely unacceptable. People know it’s not OK yell at kids in everyday life, but once they step on the field in their official’s jersey it’s somehow acceptable? Youth sport not only serves as a development opportunity for the athletes, but also for the referees – providing opportunities to develop their officiating skills and important life skills. The sad thing is that a number of measures are in place to deal with this type of abuse – for example, getting rid of standings and scoring for athletes under 12, and badges to indicate referee age. But they have not addressed the issues. These early officiating experiences are a formative time – for some youth, they may ultimately decide to work at a fast food chain than get yelled at on the field. Sadly this culture can affect officials of all ages, causing significant challenges with the long-term retention of officials.
MSB: I think these types of technical advances in the sport are not going anywhere – they’re here to stay. But I recognize their introduction hasn’t left anyone indifferent – it seems you either love it or hate it. From a referee perspective, VAR is a positive addition, but it does require some adaptations to what we used to do. For instance, it’s the worst feeling in the world to realize, after stepping off the field, that we made a mistake that impacted the outcome of the game. In these circumstances, VAR is a nice safety net. Ideally, the officials on the field see everything perfectly and we don’t need it. But, the second-best scenario is having teammates – the VARs – able to recommend we take a second look at the incident. It’s comforting for officials and for the teams to know that significant mistakes will be minimized.
I think advances in training and physical conditioning have also influenced the game – for the athletes, obviously; but also for the officials. We now have tools to track the movement of referees on the field and better understand the physical demands of officiating the sport. This helps with our physical preparation for the games. I have to train, just like the athletes.
MSB: I really like officiating women’s games. Being on the field, the athletes are so technically and tactically gifted. For a variety of reasons, I think it’s a purer form of the sport – they play for pride, they play hard, they don’t do the drama, they play by the rules of the game. Women pour their hearts out on the field, and I think the spectators notice it too. I think the gains the women’s game have made in terms of recognition and respect are well deserved.
MSB: These are always tough questions! I think the first would be to enjoy the process. Think about your dreams, but consider what goals you’ll have to achieve to make the dream a reality. What has kept me motivated was the challenge of refining my skills and building my experience. I was always looking forward to the next, more difficult game. I think success in this type of role requires that you relish the challenge.
The second piece of advice would be to be humble and learn from every game. This is true at every level, form community sport to international competition. This approach to officiating lets you learn from mistakes and complicated situations to be better for the next game.
Marie-Soleil Beaudoin is a Canadian soccer referee and instructor of physiology and biophysics at Dalhousie University. At the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, she was the referee in charge of four matches including the Semi-Final between Netherlands and Sweden. Following her performance at the World Cup, she received a prestigious appointment to the inaugural Trophée des Championnes. Beaudoin also refereed the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 and the inaugural Canadian Premier League match in Halifax, NS; and at the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games. Earlier in her career, she also officiated women’s tournaments for U Sports and the Canada Summer Games. Marie-Soleil has a PhD in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph, and lives with her partner and son in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Data collected from 77 million bike share trips revealed that women are less likely to use bike-sharing programs for active transportation if the stations are located in busy city centers instead of quieter, residential neighbourhoods.
Creating a positive social environment that intentionally fosters a sense of belonging is integral to the retention of girls in sport and physical activity. Canadian Women & Sport’s new She Belongs resource offers practical recommendations for coaches and program leaders focused on building a positive culture, creating an inclusive and safe environment, connecting girls with role models, redefining girls’ relationship with risk taking, and proactively addressing signs of disengagement.