Published March 04, 2014 14:03
Source http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/times/Inspiring-change-in-athletic-world-248420441.html
A group of Winnipeg organizations is looking to even the playing field when it comes to women and sport.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg, Youville Centre, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Directorat de l’activité sportive (DAS) and Sport Manitoba will come together for Girls and Women in Physical Activity, Recreation and Sport: Inspiring Change.
Supported by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport (CAAWS), the network lunch and panel discussion takes place Tues., March 11 at St. Johns Leisure Centre (601 Aikins St.) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"The idea is all our agencies are supporting different kinds of opportunities, but wouldn’t there be a benefit in learning from one another in respect to the kinds of experiences we’ve all had," said Lorraine Wilks, volunteer and student placement co-ordinator at Youville.
"CAAWS was able to provide a little bit of funding to initiate a conversation between groups, bring them together and address common concerns. In the fall they hosted a Women in Leadership workshop, and now they’re supporting this event, which is about inspirational stories, people that are coming from populations where they might face some barriers, talking about how physical activity opened doors for them or had a significant impact on their lives."
The Inspiring Change panel is made up of Aboriginal basketball player Raven Boulanger, Muslim rower Nadya Crossman-Serb, Active Living Coalition of Older Adults in Manitoba (ALCOA) staff member Arlen Jones, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) staff member Talatu Shokpeka and DAS director Françoise Uwamariya. Moderating the discussion is Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, a former member of the Canadian women’s national volleyball team.
"It’s recognized that girls that come from certain target groups, because of their family and cultural beliefs or if they’re new to Canada or if they have economic difficulties, might have some barriers that prevent them from participating (in sport and physical activity)," Wilks said.
"There is a correlation between girls who drop out of any sort of physical activity and risky health behaviours, perhaps earlier or more frequent use of alcohol or involvement in petty crime. So, the idea is you specifically get girls together in an area where it’s just fun to participate, where there is no skill level required."
Wilks said she hopes the network and panel discussion will result in more physical activity opportunities for girls and women in Winnipeg.
"We’re hoping it’s not just agency representatives that come, but people at the front lines of being able to make a decision of whether they can offer something for girls, like ‘Let’s put an after-school program in’ or ‘Yeah, we should talk to the community club about a Tuesday open gym night for girls,’" Wilks said.
"We know how to get in contact with the agency representatives; it’s really about bringing in some people who are in a position to be decision makers."