Coach New Brunswick is a not for profit organization dedicated to providing professional development and learning opportunities for coaches at all levels across the province.  This runs the gamut of helping develop coaches at the grass roots and community level to competition coaches who are going to the Canada Games and beyond.  One of the organization’s priorities is to empower more women to become strong role models and leaders within sport.  Coach NB applied for the WISE Fund grant to bring together for the first time ever past recipients of the Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship program.  This allowed for the most significant evaluation of the program to date. 

The WISE Fund Solution  

The Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship program was established to help build capacity in underrepresented populations in coaching such as women and Indigenous people.  The purpose of the program is to give newer coaches a practical and integrated national multi-sport games experience by teaming them with a mentor coach. 

Ashleigh Milani, manager of coach education at Coach NB says, “We felt it was time to re-evaluate how we were doing things to see if the program was achieving what it was meant to and if we, as Coach New Brunswick, were selecting the right candidates and making sure they were being followed through with afterwards.” 

In September 2019, Coach New Brunswick held its annual conference in Beresford, in northern New Brunswick.  The event kicked off with a sharing evening where the apprentice coaches, who attended from all over the province thanks to the WISE Fund, took centre stage.  They spoke about their experiences and the key lessons that could be drawn from them. Coach New Brunswick officials weren’t the only ones taking notes.  There were mentors and mentees from some of their other coaching programs on hand. 

The Results  

The majority of the apprentices are still coaching after having terrific experiences with great mentor coaches at the Games and advancing far on their coaching pathway as a result of the program.  This offered proof that the program is working.   

However, a couple of the apprentices were frustrated with the way their mentors worked with them and how they became a part of the team.  Milani says they learned sometimes the head coaches who became mentors were selected too late in the process and were unclear about the program guidelines.  Sometimes, the provincial sport organization simply wanted another coach on the team and did not understand how they needed to integrate the apprentice on the team and give them a meaningful role. 

Milani says this has had a profound impact on how Coach NB now chooses apprentice coaches.  “A part of our selection criteria now is having the provincial sport organization describe to us who their head coach is, how they see the apprentice coach fitting in, what a meaningful role looks like to them– that being on deck, on field or on ice experience, directly hands on with the athletes – not just sitting on the side of the track and taking splits or keeping stats -having active engaged coaching roles with the athletes.” 

The Lessons   

Coach NB benefited long-term from this initiative because the mentors and mentees who are part of Coach NB’s other mentorship and advancement programs for women were also in attendance at the annual conference.  

Many commented how they couldn’t believe there were other women in the community like them.  Some are in male-dominated sports where they are the only woman coaching at the provincial level or within their community.  They didn’t realize others face similar challenges.    

As a result, Coach New Brunswick decided they are not going to wait another 10 years to host a similar conference.  Instead, they are going to bring participants together more frequently so they can have a support network as part of the mentorship program. 

Milani says the biggest lesson for other organizations is you do not have to have all the solutions.  You just need to give people a platform  and opportunities to come together. 

The Stories  

Melanie Melanson  

• Head Coach of the Codiac Vikings Swim Club 
• Moncton, New Brunswick 
• Women in Coaching Apprentice Coach at the Canada Games in Sherbrooke in 2013 

Melanie Melanson swam for 15 years and just missed going to the Canada Games as an athlete.  After her swim career ended, she became an assistant coach at that same club in Moncton where she swam. 

Just before the 2013 Canada Games, she was about to quit coaching, but she was encouraged to apply for the Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship Program.  She was surprised when she was selected.  

Coach New Brunswick helped cover the costs for Melanson to travel to British Columbia to get her level 3 coaching certification, which was a requirement to coach at the Games. 

“They paid for everything leading up to it and it’s a significant cost – it’s not something that as an assistant coach making $11 an hour, you’re going to be able to afford to do.” 

The Games were an eye opening experience.  She found it both “overwhelming and awesome”. Melanson was given a group of athletes to work with just like the other more experienced coaches.   

“It was kind of like being thrown into the deep end a little bit and that’s the best way to learn how to swim.” 

That didn’t stop Melanson from being overcome with emotion after an intense couple of weeks and just before the open water swimming event. 

“I had no idea what was going on.  It was my first experience with open water,” she says.  Melanson adds, “I just found a tree and had a bit of a cry under it.” 

But she says she was lucky she had great support from the other coaches who served as mentors.  After her experience in Sherbrooke, she was chosen to coach at the next Canada Games in Winnipeg. 

Now the head coach of the Codiac Vikings Swim Club in Moncton, she leads athletes at all levels and even has one athlete in contention for the Tokyo Olympics. 

“The apprenticeship allowed me to take coaching from being a hobby or just something I did part time to something that I’m now doing full-time.  And I have had international opportunities as well.  I was able to coach with Team Canada last summer at the World Junior Championships in Budapest.  So, I have travelled the world and the country and now I get to run my own program. So as far as I’m concerned, it changed my whole life.” 

Coach New Brunswick recorded a podcast with Melanson and some of the other apprentice coaches.  You can listen here:   http://coachnb.ca/wic-roundtable/ 

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Conflict, in its many forms, is an inevitable part of our personal and professional lives. This workshop will ensure participants can understand and resolve conflict professionally.

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Effective Communication
• Influencing Change
• Creating Work-Life Balance
• Effective Networking
• Leading With Confidence

The post Conflict Resolution appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

For many women, balancing the demands of work, family, friends, and personal time is a challenge. This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to explore a variety of strategies to add more balance to their lives.

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Effective Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Influencing Change
• Effective Networking
• Leading With Confidence

The post Creating Work-Life Balance appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

Presented by Dina Bell-Laroche, Directing Change: Towards Gender Equitable Boards will include feature content from our new resource for sport organizations. This organization-focused webinar will leave participants with an understanding of how to create an inclusive board culture, the value of adding women to your board, and strategies to recruit more women.

Dina Bell-Laroche is also the author of our resource The Leading Edge: Good Practices for Creating Gender-Equitable Boards in Sport.

The post Directing Change: Towards Gender Equitable Sport Boards appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

In the workplace, effective communication is the foundation for better job performance and relationship building. After this workshop participants will be more strategic and efficient in their communication.

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Conflict Resolution
• Influencing Change
• Creating Work-Life Balance
• Effective Networking
• Leading With Confidence

The post Effective Communication appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

Strong networking skills can be a valuable tool, both personally and professionally. From building organizational partnerships to knowing about upcoming events, building your network is a long-term investment with great payoffs.

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Effective Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Influencing Change
• Creating Work-Life Balance
• Leading With Confidence

The post Effective Networking appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

This pragmatic, turnkey tool provides a step-by-step approach for the mentor and the mentee. The result is effective and sustainable mentorship that produces tangible benefits. The model also offers guidance for sport administrators to support them in setting up and managing a mentorship initiative to advance female coaches in their sport.

The model is:

• Based on theory and supported by evidence
• Proven effective in year-long pilots conducted by four National Sport Organizations
• Formally evaluated by the University of Toronto
• Practical and actionable
• Readily adaptable for different contexts and applications
• Free for download!

Visit https://coach.ca/female-coach-mentorship-model to download your copy of the resources.

Canadian Women & Sport and the CAC are grateful to the expert advisors who guided the development of the Female Coach Mentorship Model, to the University of Toronto, and to Basketball Canada, Hockey Canada, Tennis Canada and Wrestling Canada for partnering on this project. The Female Coach Mentorship Model was made possible with funding from Status of Women Canada.

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Whether influencing change in your organization, across the sport and physical activity system, or more broadly in society, this workshop will provide participants with theory and practical tools for success. 

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Effective Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Creating Work-Life Balance
• Effective Networking
• Leading With Confidence

The post Influencing Change appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.

Judo Canada says one of its biggest challenges “is the insufficient involvement of women in the sport, and a low retention of women as staff in the organization.”   Judo is a male dominated sport at every level from participants, to coaches, to Board Directors, to referees.  Since 2002, only 24 per cent of people involved in the sport have been women.   

The WISE Fund Solution  

With the help of a WISE Fund grant, in June 2018 Judo Canada invited women from all over the country involved in the sport to attend the first ever Judo Women’s Summit in Montreal.  There were keynote speakers and workshops held to discuss everything from nutrition, to psychological and social factors, and other issues that affect gender equity in the sport.  The chief executive officer of Judo Canada, Nicholas Gill, set the scene by speaking about the current situation and why having more women participating is so important to the organization’s long-term strategy.   

The Results 

A report released after the Summit noted there are many reasons why girls and women drop out of judo when they reach puberty, including the fact that until age 12, judo is a mixed sport for boys and girls in Canada in clubs and in competition. Some young athletes worry about the risk of injury or speak about the difficulty of maintaining weight.  The culture of the sport was also identified as a part of the problem.  Women coaches and referees, who are in the minority, say it can be subtle but sometimes it is difficult garnering respect from some men in the sport. 

There were five recommendations that came after the Summit including the need for more intentional targeting of qualified women for promotion, whether as coaches, Board members or in other leadership positions in judo.   Other recommendations include the need for more appropriate training to better equip women to help them break through the glass ceiling and into decision making roles.  The report highlighted as well that men should receive training to support women in those positions.  Enhanced education was also a key recommendation including the need for women athletes to know about the different pathways available when their careers end and a call for a recognition program for inspirational women role models in the sport.  Émilie-Claude Leroux, who is a member of Judo Canada’s women’s committee, says that has been a priority for Judo Canada.  “Our goal is to expose what the women are doing within the judo community – whether it’s our athletes, leaders, or referees.”  She adds, “We have had women’s only camps and had former great athletes coming to camps and going to schools to expose our great role models to the younger generation.” 

The Lessons 

Participants talked about the importance of having an all-women Summit where they could open up more freely about some of the issues the sport faces. 

One of the big takeaways was the goal to have a qualified woman’s coach for the women’s team at the national training centre.  There is a job posting for a position now available for the next Olympic cycle. 

After the Summit, one provincial judo association created a women’s committee, and others had fun judo camps for girls.  “A lot of them (provincial sport organizations) were already involved but I think it was maybe more empowering to be a little bit more proactive,” Leroux says.  She adds, sometimes people get overwhelmed because there are so many issues.  But her advice to other organizations is to just start somewhere.  “People were really happy that this dialogue was open, and they had a voice.” 

The Stories 

Aartje Sheffield 

• Participant in Judo Canada’s Women’s Summit 
• President of Judo Ontario  
• Judo Referee and Coach 
• Three-time Canadian Judo Champion 
• Member of the National Team 1984-1994 

One of the participants at the Summit has been a trailblazer in judo all her life. 

Aartje Sheffield has a long history as an athlete and more recently as a coach, referee and President of Judo Ontario.   

Sheffield says having an all-women Summit is important to address gender equity in the sport.  

“When it’s a female only environment especially in a sport like judo where it’s predominantly male and oftentimes male leaders have strong personalities, this gives women a chance to meet each other and communicate in an open way.”  

When Sheffield became president of Judo Ontario six years ago, she was the only provincial president who was a woman.  Now there are a handful of others.  But she says that doesn’t happen by chance.  It has to be intentional. 

“You need to lead by example to bring other women in and then if women are doing a good job with their roles then it helps with their acceptance from the men in the sport as well.” 

She adds, “Not all men need to be convinced but clearly there are still many who do.” 

She says she’s found women are willing to help out and step forward to become leaders.  But her experience has shown they need to be approached differently. 

“If you want to increase female participation in leadership positions, you need to find those people and invite them. There’s lots of people who have the skills but think ‘oh no, I couldn’t do it.’  You need to speak to them one on one about what they can bring. Why you want them.” 

Sheffield says she received that kind of encouragement herself in the beginning and the sport’s focus on gender equity is helping. 

“When I started refereeing, the first tournament I was the only woman referee that day.  Now the last tournament we were in – in Ontario we had almost 50 per cent women.” 

And it’s the same for her Board membership at Judo Ontario, where almost half her board is now women. 

When trying to change the culture of the sport, she says it is going to take time but Sheffied says she is already noticing big improvements on and off the mat. 

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This interactive workshop is designed to uplift the skills of the next generation of Canadian sport leaders – university and college aged young women involved in sport and physical activity (e.g. varsity athletes, kinesiology or sport management students). Participants will explore the experiences of female leaders, reflect on the value of sport and physical activity in their leadership journey, and consider how they can further develop their skills to be strong leaders now and in the future.

This workshop is part of our Women and Leadership series of six professional development workshops that blend theory with practical applications and provide an opportunity for women working or volunteering in the sport or physical activity sector to share their experiences, reflect on ideas, develop their skills, and build their networks.

Our other Women and Leadership workshops are:

• Effective Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Influencing Change
• Creating Work-Life Balance
• Effective Networking

The post Leading With Confidence appeared first on Canadian Women & Sport.