Ontario Expanding Opportunities for Girls in Sport

$480,000 investment in Canadian Women & Sports will help more girls stay active and healthy

OTTAWA — The Ontario government is investing $480,000 in Canadian Women & Sport’s The Next Play through the Inclusive Grassroots Recreation (IGR) program, to expand affordable and inclusive sport and recreation opportunities for girls across the province.

“Our government is proud to support Canadian Women & Sport and invest in community-based programs which encourage girls to participate in sport and lead healthier lives,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Sport. “We believe all kids deserve access to fun, high-quality sport and recreation programs. At a time when families across Ontario are facing the threat of higher costs because of tariffs, this support will help Canadian Women & Sport continue to remove financial barriers to help more girls participate in programs in their community.”

“Thanks to generous support from the Government of Ontario, we have already worked with over 100 diverse sport and recreation organizations in the province to improve opportunities for girls and women in sport,” said Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO of Canadian Women & Sport. “With this new investment, we will be able to reach an additional 65 organizations and 195 leaders, helping them develop the skills and knowledge needed to both recruit and retain more girls in sport. Together with the Government of Ontario, we are creating sport and active recreation environments that welcome more girls and women and help ensure they can access the benefits of sport.”

Canadian Women & Sport is dedicated to creating an equitable and inclusive sport system in Canada that empowers girls and women to be active participants and leaders. The Next Play program equips participating organizations with specialized training to counter gender bias when designing their sports program and provides start-up grants for community initiatives that recruit and retain girls in sport. Since the program’s launch in 2022-23, 288 sport leaders from 140 organizations have participated in The Next Play and engaged more than 6,100 youth across Ontario in community-based programming.

Quick Facts

• In 2023-24, Canadian Women & Sport received $380,000 from the Inclusive Grassroots Recreation program to support The Next Play Program.
• Since its inception in 2021-22, the IGR program has provided more than 65,000 children and youth from under-represented and/or marginalized populations across Ontario with opportunities to participate in sport and recreation programming in their communities.
• The Ontario government invests over $23 million annually to support local, inclusive physical activity programming, including: Ontario’s After School Program, the Inclusive Grassroots Recreation (IGR) program, the Community Aboriginal Recreation Activator Program (CARA), the Sport Pathway for Ontario Native Wellness, and Variety Village.

Quotes

“At the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge, we are able to see firsthand the growing number of young girls and women who now have something to aspire to since the creation of our league. By being accessible through games, broadcast, and community events, we help build new dreams for young hockey players that didn’t exist just two years ago. We appreciate the Ontario government’s efforts in supporting the growth of women and girls in sport. Now that they can see it, they can be it, whether you are a player, a coach or a leader.”

– Erin Thompson, Director of Business Operations, Ottawa Charge

“As a previous recipient of funding from The Next Play program, we were able to observe a great number of women who wished to bring their daughters along with them next time and we even had quite a few younger girls who wanted to learn mountain biking to be able to go with their families in the future. Overall, we were successful in creating a supportive environment for individuals to learn how to mountain bike and were successful in giving them the confidence to continue to explore the sport outside of organized women specific rides.”

– Osmond Bakker, Bakkers Trailblazers

“It has been exciting to watch the women and girls see what’s possible in coaching. Thanks to the funding from The Next Play program, these women and girls have been actively engaged in discussions of what supports they need to move forward into more serious coaching roles, and as they start to impact other young athletes, you can see the sense of accomplishment and the pride in helping others increase their confidence and their sense of belonging in our sport. Great things are coming!”

– Janet Lawless, 6Tigers Academy Inc.