From the Olympics to the PWHL, women are making their mark in sports. Yet, despite the incredible achievements of female athletes like Canadian Olympic champion swimmer Maggie Mac Neil or hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser, the numbers of women and girls taking part in sports is dropping.
One in three girls drop out of sports by late adolescence compared to one in 10 boys, according to Canadian Women & Sport.
But with support from the OSEG Foundation’s Sports Day the Girls’ Way initiative, more girls are finding their way into rinks, arenas and onto playing fields.
Partnering with CAA North & East Ontario, Sports Day the Girls’ Way offers 800 girls from 16 schools across the National Capital Region a chance to try new sports, coached by role models and professional athletes.
Created to encourage girls to get involved in sports, build confidence in a gender inclusive environment and help them find their community, Sports Day the Girl’s Way is just one of the OSEG Foundation’s initiatives to make sports accessible. The goal is to help kids who may not have access to sport create connections and learn life skills.
We spoke to Kim McLean, Senior Manager of Community Impact and Engagement for the OSEG Foundation to find out more about Sports Day the Girls’ Way.
How long has Sports Day the Girls’ Way been around?
We first introduced the event in 2019, where we welcomed 700 girls and then reintroduce the event in 2023 again with 700 girls. We’re super excited to bring it back with 800 girls this year.
Who's involved with the day, what’s the inspiration behind it?
We invite schools from across the National Capital Region to get involved in the event. This year we have 16 schools joining us who are bringing a total of 800 female students.
The whole purpose of the day is to really invite girls in to try sport and introduce them to sports they haven’t had a chance before, exposing them to different sports or reintroducing them to sports that they already know and love.
What’s great about it is it’s entirely gender inclusive, so they’re surrounded by female peers, female role models, professional athletes, Olympians.
It’s a cool opportunity for girls to try sport, being involved in sport and be supported by female role models and caring adults who can help inspire and support them through their journey.
Who are some of the role models for this year?
We have a variety of different community champions, former Olympians, athletes who are part of the day just to support the event. But we also have an athlete speaker panel that helps to inspire the girls and share their story.
This year, we’re super excited to have (Olympic bronze medalist and runner) Rosie Edeh from CTV Morning Live Ottawa emceeing and introducing our panel. And then we have Bianca Borgella, who is a Paralympic sprinter; Tammy Cunnington, who’s a Paralympic swimmer; Hana Furumoto-Deshaies, who is a national Canadian karate athlete; and Diana Matheson, who is a national Canadian soccer player.
You talked a little bit about the Inspiration of Sports Day the Girls’ Way, what was the need identified by OSEG for such an event?
We know through research that girls drop out of sport at a significantly higher rate than their male peers. And even less girls are even joining a sport and participating to begin with. This event brings girls together and introduces them to sports, where they’re surrounded and supported by their peers and role models who are there to help them succeed in the sport.
Sports Day the Girls’ Way gives girls a safe space to try sports. We see girls dropping out of sports due to lack of confidence, self-esteem, social stigma, and from a lack of female role models and people that they can look up to. This day battles all those obstacles and barriers by having girls join and participate in sport in an inclusive space with female role models and champions supporting them.
What are some of the sports that will be featured this year?
This year we have ultimate frisbee, soccer, karate, and athletics. We’re introducing sports that these girls played before, and experienced in gym class, and some new ones too that they haven’t had a chance to try.
Sometimes young girls think that they don’t like sports just because they have not tried one or found one that they’ve liked. By introducing them to sports maybe that they haven’t tried before gives them a new opportunity to try new things and discover a sport that they will love.
Our hope is that they’ll experience this by participating in Sports Day the Girls’ Way, but then go on to participate beyond the one-day event and be involved in their community and continue playing sports.
Have has the event been received by the kids?
The girls have an incredible day. It’s a fun atmosphere for them to just play. It’s not competitive. They’re just out there having fun and playing sports.
The biggest feedback I think that we get from our female participants is the joy of being around female role models and caring adults. It’s really inspiring to have people that look like you or that represent who you are. They’re cheering you on and championing you through sports. I think that is impactful.
We hear from schools that they love having the space for their students thrive and, experience sport in a safe space where they can just be themselves, try new things, push themselves, be courageous and just show up and have fun.
CAA is a proud sponsor of Sports Day the Girls’ Way, the 67s Team Up Initiative and has created the First Time Fans initiative to make sport more accessible to new Canadians and under resourced communities.