The Long Game For Girls In Sports

From research to community programs, efforts are underway in Canada to help improve access and retention for girls in sports

Girls participating in Girls Forward Girls Run on May 25, 2024, in Canmore, Alberta. The annual run encourages girls ages 5 to 12 to get physically active. (Girls Forward/Simon Lee)

The buzzer sounds, signalling the end of the second overtime and the players sluggishly skate to their benches. It’s game two of the playoffs and the home team is coming off of an overtime loss in game one. Falling behind two games in the series is too risky – winning is vital. 

Under the wooden rafters of the Qplex arena in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, the home team huddles by their bench. They stand listening to their coaches, panting as they’re told the strategy for the upcoming shootout. The smell of sweat emanates from the tired group, sitting thick in the frigid air. The players take their seats on the bench and one by one skate to centre ice, hoping to break the deadlock. But no one does. The shootout turns into sudden death. Player for player, the first goal wins the game. 

The home team stands in anticipation, leaning over the bench to get a view of the net. The cheers from the bench fall silent as they hold their breath and watch No. 26 on their team pick up the puck. The player’s blades slice into the ice with deliberate strides. The team watches on in a messy mix of nerves and hope; this could win it all. In an instant No. 26 lunges to the left and the goalie commits to the save, but just as quickly, No. 26 commands the puck to the right, tucking it in the net. She won it. Relief and excitement fill the U18 AAA Fundy Kraken of the Maritime Major Female Hockey League. 

Madison Boyer said as she watched Heidi Beks go to take the shot, she felt trust knowing Beks could get it done. 

Boyer has been skating since she was three years old. From hockey to baseball, to soccer, to swimming, she’s tried every sport there is, but hockey is her favourite.

“Just being on the ice is such a great feeling,” she said. “The way it makes me feel is amazing.”

Growing up, when Boyer pictured her future in hockey she knew there weren't many options. She remembers wishing there was an NHL for women so she had somewhere to play when she grew up.

“[It] became very difficult to want to keep going at a high level and try to make it as far as I [could] when I knew I could have gone a lot farther had there not been the inequality between girls and guys,” she said. 

According to research by the government-funded organization Canadian Women and Sport (CWS), Boyer is right about the gender inequality in sports. The Rally Report by CWS indicates that 50% of girls are not participating in sports by age 16. The report found that both boys and girls have a simple explanation for the lack of girls who participate in sports: “Sports are for boys.”

Across Canada, organizations have been working to change this perception. Through research, programs, and partnerships, these groups are trying to keep girls in the game. 

Girls Forward is an organization founded in Alberta that partners with sports organizations across Canada to support girls in sports. According to program coordinator Siobhan Rourke, Girls Forward makes its impact, in part, through its commitment to working with communities. 

“We never assume what’s best,” she said. “I wouldn't know what a girl in rural B.C. needs or what she's expecting out of sports programming, so we always partner with a community organization.”

Girls Forward also informs their programming through consultation with their Youth Advisory Council (YAC). The council is made up of 15 girls ages 14-20 looking to develop their leadership skills and guide the organization. The YAC advises on programming and helps run events to ensure programs are “for the girls by the girls.” The council meets virtually with Rourke every month to discuss Girls Forward programs.  

“Girls’ sports is such a hot topic right now that we're throwing resources at it, but a lot of times we don't actually ask girls what they want,” she said. “A lot of times it's just to have fun and play.” 

Boyer is a member of the YAC. Her high school field hockey coach recommended the opportunity. As a general member in her first year, she focuses on initiatives in her community of Saint John, New Brunswick, where she’s currently working on a field hockey event, as well as supporting the council’s larger projects. 

Two girls participating in the Girls Forward Capital LEAD Summit (CLS) presented by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group on May 17, 2024, in Ottawa. The CLS was created to empower girls through sports using physical activity, workshops and panels. (Photo/Girls Forward) 

While organizations like Girls Forward are working to address challenges for girls in sports, individuals are also contributing to the effort for change. One such person is Dia Syed, who, motivated by her curiosity, decided to take action. 

Syed quit her corporate job and went back to school studying kinesiology and social sciences, hoping to delve into the sports industry. For an entry-level research course, she needed to research a topic through surveys. She chose girls’ participation in sports in Edmonton. Coming from a background in volleyball, the gender gap in sports wasn’t as apparent to Syed, but she knew it existed and wanted to know more. To seek out the 10 required responses for her survey, Syed posted a $15 Facebook ad. She received more than 444 responses, with 90 agreeing to virtual interviews. 

Syed said the biggest question respondents had was “what are you going to do about it.”

To answer their question, she started Girls in Sports.

Girls in Sports is an organization that provides sports programming to girls. They currently work with the City of Edmonton and other community groups. 

Syed said developing relationships with communities is key to building trust, which allows Girls in Sports to provide better programming. 

“[If] you have somebody who looks like you, who talks like you, speaks the same language as you, who you’ve developed a relationship with, and you hear about our program from them, you’re more likely to trust them,” said Syed. 

While Girls in Sports focuses on on-the-ground programming, CWS works behind the scenes to support these community-driven organizations. 

Christianne Varty, manager of insights at CWS and 20-year alumni of Canada’s national ringette team said the organization uses their resources and research to uplift existing sports organizations.

“One of the things I've learned is a lot of the changes are small, but all together, they add up to a lot,” said Varty.

She said one of those changes came through the organization’s Same Game Challenge. The challenge is a multi-month free program for sports organizations to access resources and education to support gender equity. She said she was proud of the adapted and inclusive lacrosse organization, Lacrossing Barriers, which participated in the challenge in 2023.

Sarah Allum is the managing director at Lacrossing Barriers. She said they embodied the Same Game Challenge by using their funding to create 30-second videos of professional and collegiate female athletes. In the videos, athletes described why sport was important to them and what they would say to their six-year-old selves.

“When I was six, if someone told me that I would be my best supporter, I [could’ve gone] so much farther,” Allum said. 

Lacrossing Barriers launched a women-led branch called Women’s Lacrossing Barriers (WLB) in March. Allum said their work with CWS  kicked it off. 

WLB has exclusively women staff, uses an adapted and inclusive approach, and encourages friendship. Allum said for girls who are uncertain about sports, a comfortable and friendly community can make all the difference.

“When you build friendship and that community in sport, you're building a second home for these girls to come to,” she said.

While these organizations aim to create more welcoming environments for girls, Syed knows the push for change is an uphill battle. 

She said despite the benefits of research on girls' participation in sports, lack of resources, funding and volunteers often halts progress. She described how through her surveys, she learned that although people know girls are pushed away in hockey, it hasn’t resulted in more opportunities. 

Even when girls do make it onto the ice, Boyer said, they still aren’t seen in the same way.

The Saint John Vitos are equivalent to the Fundy Kraken in every way – except they’re boys. Both are U18 AAA hockey teams and share home ice at the Qplex.

Boyer said the boys' games are “completely filled” and the stands “packed” with people, whereas at her games, the stands are only peppered with family and “sometimes friends.”  

When a boy mentions he’s a Vitos player, Boyer said it’s seen as a prestigious accomplishment; many people have never even heard of her team.

“It's going to take a while until we fully get to equality in sports,” Boyer said, “and even then, there's going to be people everywhere who will still prefer watching guys' sports over girls.” 

Although widespread change is the goal for these organizations, what Syed calls “micro-moments,” are where impact is felt the most. 

In Eastglen High School, tucked in the Bellevue-Highland community of Edmonton, Syed ran one of Girls in Sports’ first programs in the area. They rented the school’s gym after receiving funding to provide free sports spaces to underprivileged kids. 

Printed on royal blue and yellow gym mats velcroed to the wall, the school’s mascot, the Blue Devil, watched young girls fill the gym, ready to try frisbee. Orange cones dotted the floor and a volleyball net neatly split the gym in half for groups to break off. 

The girls ran around the gym chasing frisbees and yellow dodgeballs, honing in on their newly learned skills. Syed distractedly watched while being interviewed for a promotional video. 

What caught her eye was a small girl, about five years old, frisbee in hand. She wore black leggings, a turquoise sweatshirt, and purple velcro running shoes, her brown curls tied in a ponytail. Another girl, a couple of years older, stood next to her in a striped t-shirt, black leggings, and turquoise running shoes. The older of the two girls gently showed the younger one where to place her hands on a frisbee, instructing her to wind her arm into her chest to prepare to throw. Then, she did.

“She's just 5, so it wasn't the greatest throw in the world, but it was a throw that this girl was able to make because her peer came over and gave her the confidence,” said Syed.

The people behind these organizations know the road ahead is long – and so do the girls who play. But in a gym in Edmonton, Syed watched as two girls felt the impact of what this work can do.