July 13 Newsletter

Clearing a New Path™ and Clearing a New Path Podcast™ are products of Radar Media, located in Dorchester, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Neutral peoples who once used this land as their traditional beaver hunting grounds.  As a settler here I’m committed to deepening understanding of Indigenous communities and reframing responsibilities to land and community. I am grateful to Mother Earth for the opportunity for love and connection and to the spirits of the Elders and the Medicine People who still walk the Earth.

JULY 13, 2022

I come to this work as a white woman of privilege; a vulnerable allyship student.I get things wrong often and I am open to, and welcome opportunities to be called in about the content in this newsletter, in order to create safe, brave spaces for all. The purpose is to unite people in rural communities.I am grateful to walk along this journey in grace, love and empathy together.Simply hit 'reply' to contribute, suggest and

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How many of you were without service last Friday due to the Rogers outage? This newsletter, and the entire first season of the podcast, are sponsored by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions. I was able to keep a virtual meeting on Friday as neither of us had Rogers home internet (and one of us had Xplornet).

This week's podcast guest is an athlete turned entrepreneur, Kelly Snowdon from Moncton, New Brunswick. Kelly was subjected to verbal abuse in a workplace, which forced her to take sick leave. It drained her energy and caused her to withdraw from sports and social life in general. She sought help and regained her spark for sports, opening Dugout Sports Training Facility.

NEWS

On my mind this week: Part of Kelly's story was about what happens when women stop participating in sports. Another part was about accessing coaches and organized sports in rural and remote communities.

1. What is the state of girls in sports in Canada?

"1 in 4 girls is not committed to return to sport post COVID-19. As sport starts to return, there is an opportunity to change the minds of girls who are not committed to return." ~ Canadian Women in Sport

2. What about access to female coaches?

"Current coaching data indicates that women are under-represented as coaches both nationally and internationally. The Coaching Association of Canada reported that of individuals who identified taking a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) course and recorded it within the Locker (a dedicated online tracking system) in 2019 only 34% were women, compared to 66% men and 0.1% another gender." ~ Canadian Women in Sport and Coaching Association of Canada

The Canadian Women in Sport and the Coaching Association of Canada have partnered to create a Gender Equity in Coaching Framework and Self-Assessment tool.

4. What about women in leadership roles in sports?

Below are scorecards done by E-Alliance. Here are breakdowns of individual sports by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES).

3. What about access to coaching and sport in rural and remote communities in Canada?Kelly and I talked about it during the podcast episode but athletes in rural communities are at a disadvantage if they can't access and participate in training and competitive sport competition. Also, high level coaching is often non-existent in a rural and/or remote community, putting the burden of paying for additional transportation and perhaps even lodging for an athlete, on the individual and perhaps their family. This is heightened for girls and young women.Some provinces, like Manitoba "will consult with

northern and rural communities to supply them with tools and resources"

but not all provinces have committed to consultation and resources.

4. Pre-colonization, Indigenous women were accepted and participated in sports we now call shinny, lacrosse and football.

Canadian Encyclopedia

baggataway

tewaarathon

5. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action - Sport

Government report on where they are in these commitments.

87. We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.88. We call upon all levels of government to take action to ensure long-term Aboriginal athlete development and growth, and continued support for the North American Indigenous Games, including funding to host the games and for provincial and territorial team preparation and travel.89. We call upon the federal government to amend the Physical Activity and Sport Act to support reconciliation by ensuring that policies to promote physical activity as a fundamental element of health and well-being, reduce barriers to sports participation, increase the pursuit of excellence in sport, and build capacity in the Canadian sport system, are inclusive of Aboriginal peoples.90. We call upon the federal government to ensure that national sports policies, programs, and initiatives are inclusive of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to, establishing:In collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, stable funding for, and access to, community sports programs that reflect the diverse cultures and traditional sporting activities of Aboriginal peoples.An elite athlete development program for Aboriginal athletes.Programs for coaches, trainers, and sports officials that are culturally relevant for Aboriginal peoples.Anti-racism awareness and training programs.91. We call upon the officials and host countries of international sporting events such as the Olympics, Pan Am, and Commonwealth games to ensure that Indigenous peoples' territorial protocols are respected, and local Indigenous communities are engaged in all aspects of planning and participating in such events.

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