March 08, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) announces the publication of Actively Engaging Women and Girls: Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors, a new resource designed to increase opportunities for women and girls as both participants and leaders in the Canadian sport and physical activity system. The publication is a supplement to the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) foundation document, and complements other Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) resources. A valuable resource for everyone involved in sport and physical activity, it will support and guide those working with women and girls so they engage in, and maintain, healthy and active lifestyles.

“Women and girls are still less active than men, are less visible in leadership roles, and tend to drop out of sport and physical activity earlier. Lower rates of participation have serious implications for the health of women and girls, and a lack of female leaders decreases the quality of the sport and physical activity system”, said CAAWS Executive Director Karin Lofstrom (Ottawa, Ontario). “The purpose of this resource is to increase awareness about the experiences of women and girls, and provide recommendations to address the psycho-social factors that influence female athlete development, leadership and life-long participation in sport and physical activity. International Women’s Day is the perfect time to reignite the dialogue and provide solutions, and CAAWS is proud to be offering this resource to all Canadians.”

Women and girls, who account for more than 50 percent of the population of Canada, continue to be underrepresented in the sport and physical activity system. Awareness about biomechanical and physiological considerations unique to women and girls has increased, providing a foundation to improve training methods and competition programs for athletes. However, large gaps persist in knowledge and practice relating to the psycho-social factors that influence women and girls as participants, athletes, coaches, officials, leaders or administrators.

Information in Actively Engaging Women and Girls: Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors will support national, provincial/territorial and community sport and physical activity organizations in enhancing their CS4L/LTAD implementation strategies. It will guide sport and physical activity leaders, coaches, educators and health promoters in developing and implementing quality programs and providing equitable support for women and girls as a priority. Parents and family members will find this resource helpful when making decisions about how to encourage and support the full and active participation of their daughters and female family members.

An advisory team of female leaders, representing different sport and physical activity sectors, contributed to the creation of the resource. Committee members were: Sylvie Béliveau (Canadian Soccer Association, LTPD Manager); Vicki Harber (PhD, Faculty of Physical Education & Recreation, University of Alberta); Louise Humbert, (PhD, Associate Dean, College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan); Penny Werthner (PhD, Director and Associate Dean, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa); Karin Lofstrom (Executive Director, Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity, CAAWS); Sydney Millar (National Program Director, Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity); Lori Johnstone (Project Manager).

CS4L (www.canadiansportforlife.ca) is a movement to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. CS4L links the sport, physical activity, recreation, education and health systems, and aligns community, provincial/territorial and national programming. LTAD is a seven-stage training, competition, and recovery pathway that guides an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases of adulthood. CS4L, with LTAD, represents a paradigm shift in the delivery of sport and physical activity in Canada. CS4L and LTAD are intentionally organic movements — as the concepts evolve, so do the resources that describe and support them.

THE RESOURCE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE HERE.

CAAWS acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Sport Canada).

January 24, 2012 (Canmore, AB) – At the age of 12, Canmore’s Sara Renner attended the 1988 Olympics as a spectator. That moment changed her life and prompted her to aim for Olympic dreams of her own.

With a career that was highlighted by an Olympic silver medal claimed at the 2006 Games in Torino with Beckie Scott in the team event, retired cross-country ski star Renner now inspires others to reach for the skies. This Sunday, she did just that as 80 aspiring female champions between the ages 9 to 19 joined the Fast and Female XC Ski event for an afternoon of motivation.

“When I was your age, I was exactly like you,” told Renner to the captive group of skiers coming from all corners of Alberta and even British Columbia. “I loved cross-country skiing, and one day I qualified for the Alberta Winter Games. That was such a thrill and really the beginning of my desire to train and work hard.”

“With experience, I learned that what made a big difference for me to reach the next level of performance was to focus on that 10 percent of the race that hurts the most,” explained Renner as her Olympic medal circulated amongst the girls in the crowd. “I knew that if I gave it all in that segment of the race, then I would do my best. That’s how I began to judge all my races – asking myself how much I had pushed myself in that 10 percent of the race when you just want to give up,” added the 2005 bronze medalist in the individual sprint at the World Ski Championships.

Held in conjunction with the first-ever FIS (Federation International de Ski) World Snow Day, the Fast and Female XC Ski event featured team building activities, one hour of on-snow ski drills, healthy snacks, Zumba dancing and Renner’s inspirational presentation. In keeping with Fast and Female’s mission, all activities were aimed at motivate girls to stick to sports and the healthy lifestyle. It is believed that girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys.

On this special occasion, Renner was joined by a dynamic group of tremendous female role-models including current and past national team athletes, World Cup Academy racers, and provincial team competitors such as Alysson Marshall, Emily Nishikawa, Janelle Greer, Annika Hicks, Kendra Hicks, Marlis Kromm, Rebecca Reid, Heidi Widmer, Kate Brennan, Natalie Hull, Brooke Gosling, and Karen Messenger. Many of these ladies were onsite to take part in the Haywood Western Championships and volunteered valuable time to join the Fast and Female event.

Founded by Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing and active World Cup racer, Chandra Crawford, Fast and Female strives to counter this phenomenon by hosting fun, non-competitive sporting events with inspiring female athletic role models all over North America. The organization is currently involved in sports such as alpine skiing, biathlon, ski cross, snowboard, cycling, and running. A key ingredient to Fast and Female’s success in impacting the lives of girls lies in the quality and wisdom of its ambassadors.

“When I qualified for my first World Cup, it wasn’t at all what I expected,” shared Renner. “You could have flipped the results page around and found my name all the way at the bottom. Over time, I was very lucky to have awesome teammates. We really demanded a lot of each other and that’s why we were able to turn things around and achieve such successes.”

In closing, Renner told the girls: “As an athlete, you’re always being judged for your performance, your body fat composition and so on. Ultimately, that doesn’t define who you are. What you have to know is that people around you will love you no matter what,” concluded the mother to two young girls.

This unique event was made possible thanks to the financial support of Fast and Female’s national financial and in-kind sponsors – including exclusive platinum sponsor Best Buy as well as Buff Multifunctional Headwear, CLARINS, Cold-FX, Cross-Country Canada, Lululemon Athletica, LUNA Bars and LIT Glitter. The Canmore Nordic Centre also provided free access to the venue and trails. We would also like to thank all volunteers who helped at the event. For a complete list of Fast and Female national program supporters and sponsors, please click HERE.

The next Fast and Female event will take place on February 4, 2012 at Blue Mountain Resort in Ontario with members of Canada’s national Ski Cross team. The off-snow activity will feature an afternoon of inspiration for girls involved in Alpine skiing and Ski Cross. The online registration page can be found HERE.

Fast and Female Event Video

More photos HERE.