January 17, 2011 – The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) announced today its Most Influential Women (MIW) List for 2010 to highlight the leadership, strength and accomplishments of Canadian women who made a significant impact in sport and physical activity in 2010. The objective of the MIW List is to inspire and motivate other women and girls to take leading roles in sport and physical activity – at the community, provincial, national or international level.

“This is the 10th time that CAAWS publishes its Most Influential Women List and with each edition we celebrate Canadian women who are making a difference,” said CAAWS Executive Director Karin Lofstrom (Ottawa, Ontario). “They are women who work in all fields, and come from all walks of life. This year the MIW List includes coaches, professors, athletes, administrators and volunteers. What unites these leaders is their passion for sport and physical activity and using it to improve the lives of all Canadians. They are women to be admired.”

The CAAWS Most Influential Women’s List for 2010 is:
(in alphabetical order )

– Stacey Allaster (St Petersburg, Florida / Originally Welland, Ontario) Chairman and CEO, Women’s Tennis Association
– Margarett Best (Toronto, Ontario) Minister of Health Promotion and Sport, Government of Ontario
– Sylvie Bigras (Ottawa, Ontario) Press Chief, 2010 Canadian Olympic Team
– Nathalie Cook (Toronto, Ontario) Vice-President, Marketing and Partnerships, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
– The team of Chandra Crawford & Marie-Hélène Thibeault (Canmore, Alberta) Founder of Fast and Female / Executive Director, Fast and Female
– Melody (Mel) Davidson (Calgary, Alberta) Team Canada Olympic Hockey Coach
– Martha Deacon (Oakville, Ontario) Team Canada Chef de Mission, 2010 Commonwealth Games
– Andrea Grantham (Ottawa, Ontario) Executive Director, Physical and Health Education Canada
– Nancy Greene Raine (Rossland, British Columbia) Senator, Officer of the Order of Canada, Olympic Ambassador
– Lindsay Hugenholtz (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Deputy CEO, 2011 Canada Winter Games
– Clara Hughes (Winnipeg, Manitoba & Glenn Sutton, Quebec) Olympian, Officer of the Order of Canada
– Nathalie Lambert (Montreal, Quebec) Team Canada Chef de Mission, 2010 Olympic Games
– Dominique Langelier (Mont Tremblant, Quebec) Olympic Snowboard Official
– Nanci Martin (Vancouver, British Columbia) 2010 Special Olympics North America Coach of the Year
– Chantal Petitclerc (Montreal, Quebec) Companion of the Order of Canada, Paralympian, Motivational Speaker
– Deborah (Debbie) Pyne (Richmond, British Columbia) Managing Director of Player Development, BC Golf Association, ProMOTION Plus volunteer
– The team of Joannie Rochette (Île-Dupas, Quebec) & Manon Perron (Boucherville, Quebec) Olympian, 2010 Terry Fox Award / Coach
– Tricia Smith (Vancouver, British Columbia) Member of the Order of Canada, Olympian, COC Senior Vice-President

The Women and Coaching Journal Advisory Board (Coaching Association of Canada), which consists of:
– Sheilagh Croxon (Toronto, Ontario) Consultant, Women in Coaching program, Coaching Association of Canada
– Guylaine Demers (Quebec City, Quebec) Professor, Laval University
– Gretchen Kerr (Toronto, Ontario) Professor, University of Toronto
– Dru Marshall (Edmonton, Alberta) Deputy provost, University of Alberta
– Rose Mercier (Kingston, Ontario) Consultant in leadership development and organizational transition
– Sheila Robertson (Manotick, Ontario) Editor, Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching
– Penny Werthner (Ottawa, Ontario) Professor, University of Ottawa
Lauren Woolstencroft (Vancouver, British Columbia) Paralympian, Engineer, Motivational Speaker

CAAWS also nominates women as Ones to Watch, and this year two outstanding young women have been selected:
– Mary Spencer (Windsor, Ontario) Athlete, Member of Motivate Canada’s GEN 7 program
– June Zimmer (Regina, Saskatchewan) Executive Director, Girls in the Game

“This year we are celebrating CAAWS’ 30th anniversary as an association. As we celebrate our many past successes, we are also looking to the future to supporting the development across Canada of more women leaders,” said CAAWS Past Chair Nicole Smith (Fredericton, New Brunswick). “The MIW List is part of CAAWS honoring role models. They are women who are influencing sport and physical activity in Canada by their work in boardrooms, fields of competition and physical activity. Every year, female coaches, administrators, athletes, volunteers, officials are taking on more leadership roles, but there is still a glass ceiling. We still have a long way to go to create a truly equitable system. This is why the CAAWS MIW List is important. “

Many of the women named to the MIW List were nominated by colleagues and the general public. The final list was compiled by the CAAWS selection panel from both public nominations and contributions from knowledgeable sport and physical activity leaders. The panel reviewed the submissions and based its decision on accomplishment and scope of activities in the 2010 calendar year.

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating an equitable sport and physical activity system in which girls and women are actively engaged as participants and leaders. CAAWS provides a number of services, programs and resources to a variety of clients, including sport and physical activity organizations, teachers, coaches, athletes, volunteers, health professionals and recreation leaders. Since 1981, CAAWS has worked in close cooperation with government and non-government organizations on activities and initiatives that advocate for positive change for girls and women in sport and physical activity.
Full profiles and photos of all women on the MIW List can be found at www.caaws.ca