female athletes encouraging girls interest in sports with women-only events
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l-r, penelope and olivia lequier are pumped for the baseball equipment donated to them from tuxedo sport for their women's baseball tournament this weekend in calgary.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
kimberley jordan’s daughter at 16-years-old is now a proficient baseball player, but jordan can still remember what it was like to watch her child grow up on the baseball field.
“it was a difficult road, playing with boys, only boys sometimes and very challenging,” she said. “i watched her go through a lot of struggles and want to give up.”
in november jordan was brought onto the board of centennial little league, which provides baseball programs to children aged 5 to 16 across calgary and pitched (pun unintended) the idea of a baseball clinic for girls – an event where younger girls interested in the game can meet older and more experienced players, get to know them and learn a few skills.
the clinic, the third annual event of its kind, will be held this saturday at confederation park between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. it’s free and open to girls and women of all ages and all experience levels.
girls visiting the clinic would be able to try out a number of skill stations – pitching, batting, fielding – and meet competitive players, both on the local field as well as tyra stanich, a team canada hopeful, win a number of prizes and giveaway swag and get to play a game alongside more experienced players.
and it’s not the only women sports’ event happening this coming weekend.
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on saturday, in canmore, over 100 younger girls will be running the annual girls forward foundation run, where 1,500 women and girls have signed up for the annual rocky soap mountain co. run. on the same day at 5 p.m., women’s soccer fans will gather in sports bars across western canada to watch calgary wild fc play vancouver rise fc, a match that will particularly hit home for one calgary fc player.
women athletes agree there needs to be an atmosphere to keep girls interested in sports into their teens
catriona le may doan, a former olympic speed skater and the current ceo of sport calgary.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
catriona le may doan, ceo of sport calgary said that there has been more focus on increasing opportunities and grants for women and girls to get involved in sports.
“we continue to see the statistic that teenage girls drop out at a higher rate than boys and so we need to push that,” she said.
jordan agrees, adding that there is a lack of culture around women’s sports, like baseball, that encourages aspiring players to continue to play at a competitive level.
“there’s a provincial team that runs every year and they take the top of the top for girl players, but the reality for baseball specifically is that … more and more girls get pushed out because there’s not as much camaraderie,” she said. “they’re not necessarily playing at the same strength level and very few girls continue on to play at a higher senior level.”
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over 50 families have signed up for saturday’s event, with the players anywhere between five to 12 years old, she said.
when they hosted the event for the first time three years ago, they had received seven sign-ups.
she hopes that with hosting events like these, there will be more opportunities for girls to come together to create a field baseball team.
“one of the main opposition points we get from parents is, ‘well you make a girls’ team and then they play the boys and just kind of get demolished’,” she said. “so we need more girls to be able to have girls play against each other, so they also have the opportunity to get better.”
one of the biggest challenges is building the younger girls’ confidence to try out new sports and play at a recreational or competitive level.
“teenage girls, they might act like they’re tough and confident but it’s a big issue,” doan said. “and sports can break that down.”
several organizers say that building a community where younger girls get to look up to role models goes a long way in encouraging the first step to pick up a bat or throw a ball.
women-only run pairs young girls with role models to encourage lifelong interest
the rocky mountain soap women’s run & walk was originally started in 2008 with 600 participants, and has since grown to attract over 3,200 women for an active weekend getaway. the run continues in canmore this weekend. the women’s soap run raises funds and awareness for girls forward foundation. this year, over 200 girls will conquer the course.
photo courtesy heidi jackson
at the fast and female girls run on saturday, heidi jackson, program manager, said they don’t allow parents to run with the girls. instead the girls are paired with role models, older girls whom the runners get to spend time with during and after the race.
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“they are the supporters of the girls on the race,” he said. “and they get to tell the girls their experience with sports … they’re relatable, active leaders who get to go in and motivate and work with the girls in the program and they’re the ones who run with them.”
the run, held for girls aged between five and 12 years, is also held on the same race track used by adult runners participating in the rocky mountain soap co. run later the same day. participants can choose to either run one kilometre or a two-and-a-half kilometre run.
“the younger ones, five or six-years-old will run the shorter one obviously,” jackson said.
it’s fairly common to see younger girls participate in the girls forward foundation run, while their older sisters or mothers opt for the 10-kilometre rocky mountain soap co. run.
“they get to make cheer signs with their role models and then they could stand along the race course for the rocky mountain run and cheer on the participants in that,” she said.
laurin duncan, race director for the rocky mountain soap co. says at least half of the girls running in the girls forward foundation run have mothers who are and/or have run in the rocky mountain soap race.
“it’s such a family event,” she said. “there’s a lot of support and great signs and noise makers. it’s cool for the (girls) to have experienced that for themselves and then come over and see what the next step looks like.”
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her own daughter, she said, will be running a 5 km run this weekend for the first time, after having participated in the girls forward foundation run for years.
“there’s just something special about it,” she said of it being a womens-onlyh run. “less of a worry about judgement, having to perform infront of other people.”
for the first time ever, the event will also be attended by cross-country skiing olympian chandra crawford, who will make a speech before the run begins.
“it’s amazing especially for a local race and a local, homegrown athlete here in canmore,” duncan said. “having an olympic champion right here is really impressive and yet she keeps it so down to earth and is just so passionate about active women and girls, it’s all just uplifting and encouraging.”
girls need to have opportunities so they can see a future in sport say professional female athletes
calgary wild fc christie gray battles ottawa rapid fc choo hyojoo in first half nsl action at mcmahon stadium in calgary on may 11.
darren makowichuk/postmedia/postmedia
another athlete homebound and set to compete against her hometown this weekend is christie gray, with the calgary wild fc at swangard stadium in vancouver.
“i think i did a soccer camp at swangard in vancouver … when i was really, really little. so it’s kind of a full circle moment,” she said.
as someone who didn’t see a lot of representation in competitive women’s soccer growing up and only considered playing the game competitively during a stint in france, she emphasized how important it was to talk to young girls and raise awareness about being able to play professionally.
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“i walked out with a young girl this past weekend during a game against montreal … and it’s just cute because .. you could see the look in her eyes of just being so excited to be there and be part of that,” she said. “and we remember that we have a responsibility with this, the platform and the spotlight, that we now have to connect with these girls and make sure they know they can set those dreams and set out to achieve whatever they want.”
if there’s one thing jordan said she wished there was more of, it is representation.
“(the girls) don’t have anybody to look up to,” she said, pointing to the lack of college and competitive opportunities for girls who want to pursue a sport as more than just a hobby.
“this is more of a hobby and fun for (the girls) but for some of the boys, it yields more future opportunities,” she added.
opportunities for women and girls in sports has grown in the past few years, according to doan. sports calgary for example, offers over 70 sports for women to participate in, although few offer women-only games or events.
“i think it’s often just discovering what those opportunities are, which is what we do, and we’re trying to introduce different sports. we know there’s a fit for everybody, but it’s overwhelming to figure out what sports are there how to get involved,” she said.
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she acknolwedged however, that much more needs to be done to pave the way for women who want to compete professionally, without having to fly overseas or leave their homecities.
“it’s 2025 and we have our first women’s professional soccer team,” she said. “when we say that we’re in a community that’s a lot more equitable, we’re getting there, but it’s taken us a long time to get our first professional women’s team. so i’d say we’re sort of behind where we should be.”
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