(Ottawa, Ont.) Wheelchair Basketball Canada is pleased to collaborate with Canadian Women & Sport to recognize the athleticism of wheelchair basketball athletes as part of the “She’s Got It All” campaign.
The campaign is a national awareness effort designed to keep women and girls in the game. One-third of Canadian girls are dropping out of sport in adolescence, according to the latest data from The Rally Report. Canadian Women & Sport is calling on Canada’s sport community to do more to understand and adapt to the barriers faced by women and girl athletes.
As sport programs look to return to play across the country, Canadian Women & Sport has launched a national awareness campaign to highlight how Canadians can do better to understand the needs of women and girl athletes and make changes that support them to stay in sport. The project is funded by Sport Canada.
“As Canada’s sport world deals with the impact of the pandemic, we need to make sure we stay vigilant in creating an equitable and responsive environment where all Canadians can benefit from inclusive sport programs,” said Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO, Canadian Women & Sport. “Our research clearly shows that we all need to do more to better understand how women and girls experience sport and how to support them in their athletic endeavours. This campaign will challenge traditional mindsets so that we can all drive positive change across all sports and communities in Canada.”
“Inclusion is one of our core values and we strive to create a world in which women and girls of all abilities can thrive as athletes and as people,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada Executive Director Wendy Gittens. “Wheelchair basketball has a way of transforming perceptions about disability and we are committed to breaking down barriers and championing opportunities for women and girls to reach their full potential on and off the court.”
She’s Got It All
Timed to coincide with the International Day of Girl on October 11, the “She’s Got it All” campaign demonstrates that while women and girls have what it takes to succeed in sport, including talent, drive and determination, they still have to overcome barriers that are typically not present for men. These barriers are not the fault of any one individual but exist because Canada’s current sport system is an environment built for and by men. These barriers are compounded for girls who experience additional discrimination because of their ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexual orientation.
Find out what actions you can take to drive change at yourrole.womenandsport.ca.