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Home , Abby Hoffman, Ada Mackenzie, Alison Sydor, Anne Heggtveit, Annie Pelletier, Beverly Boys

The Life and Times of CAAWS

Badminton player , the first Canadian winner of the prestigious All England championship in 1939 and chosen one of the six best women athletes of the L huteuretracel;biztoriquc& UAWS (Association canadienne half century. pour hvancement &S fcmmes hns ks et llactivitC Figure skaters , winner of two world p&sique), une associationfin&+ m 1981 pour addresser &S championships and an Olympic title in the 1940s; , the star of the 1970s, with gold, silver, and bronze from three world championships to go with her Olympicsilver; the feistyworldchampion Isabelle Brasseur, Girh 'and women ? port has been characterized skating through pain to an Olympic bronze medal in by low hveh ofparticipation; absence fFom 1994. Marathon swimmers , the first person to hadership positions; inequitabh deliuery rystems; swim Lake , in 1954, and the youngest person to minimal research; and scant coverage in the media. swim the English Channel one year later; , who in 1976 was the women's world marathon champion; and Vicky Keith, who has swum across each of probhes & sow-repriscntations dcs femmes hns tow &S the Great Lakes. domaines sportif;. Cet artick hnne aux hctrices un aperp Alpine skiers , in the 1950s, with Olym- &S objecti$ et du travail & UA WS. pic bronze and, at the world championships, two gold and a silver; in 1960, , Olympic gold and The roots of the Canadian Association for the Advance- double world championship gold; Nancy Greene, gold ment ofwomen and and Physical Activity (CAAWS) and silver at the 1968 and twice World reach deep, far deeper than most people realize. They go Cup champion; world champions in 1970 back to the late 19th century when Canadian women first and Kate Pace in 1993; and Olympic champions Kathy began to invade the male preserve that was sport. They go Kreiner in 1976 and Kerrin Lee-Gartner in 1992. back to 1925 when Alexandrine Gibb founded the Wom- "Mighty Mouse" , with two Olympic en's Amateur Athletic Federation, and for the first time silver medals and a bronze, described by her coach Howard gave women in sport an official voice. They go back Firby as "a water-born creature.. .touched with genius," through every decade of this century, each one distin- who at the 1968 Games, carried the unrelenting hopes of guished by magnificent performances by dozens of Cana- a nation on her shoulders; backstroker , a d. an women. world record holder in 1975 at the age of 13 and double We must not forget: Olympic medallist at 16. Speed skaters Lela Brooks with six world records in the Wheelchair racers Hilda May Torok Binns, winner in 1920s; Jean Wilson, an Olympic star dead in 1933 at the the '60s and '70s of 13 international gold medals, six age of 23; world champion Sylvia Burka, who dominated silvers, and five bronzes, and today's star, ; thesport in the 1970s; and recently-retired multiple world blind discus and shotput world champion LjilijanaLjubisic; champion and double Olympic silver medallist Nathalie swimmer Joanne Mucz, winner of five Paralympic gold Lambert. medals; skiing sensation Lana Spreeman who has won ten Trackstars , Canadian woman athlete Paralympic medals; and 's world champion wheel- of the half century and winner of Olympic gold and silver chair basketball players. in 1928; her teammates Ethel Smith, Olympic gold and World champion archers Dorothy Lidstone in 1969 bronze, and Ethel Catherwood, "The Lily," and Lucille Lessard in 1974. world record holder and Olympic champion high jumper; Today there's double Olympic champion Canada's favourite high jumper ; and 1992 Myriam Bkdard; rowers , Marnie Olympic medallist and triple Commonwealth middle McBean, Colleen Miller, and Wendy Wiebe; track star distance champion Angela Chalmers. Charmaine Crooks; synchronized swimmer Sylvie Golfer , founder of the Lades' Frichette; kayaker ; cyclists Tanya and Club in 1924. Dubnicoff, , and Linda Jackson; spring- The incredible Grads basketball team, cred- board diver ; trap shooter ; ited with 502 wins and a mere 20 losses as they dominated swimmer Marianne Limpert; player Lijuan the game from 1915 to 1940. Geng; the Sandra Peterson rink, world charnpi-

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME ons for two years running; the women's national ice Sport Act were expressed in general terms and made no hockey team, winner of three world championships in a specific references to women, its purpose was dear: to row; and Olympic medallist , Canada's pre- make sport and fitness opportunities available to all Cana- mier long track speed skater.. . dians. The passage of the Act was significant because it officially committed the federal government, for the first The other side of the picture time, to the promotion and development of amateur sport. What has all this success to do with WWS, an organi- Established in 1967 to inquire into thestatus ofwomen, zation dedicated to improving opportunities for girls and the Royal Commission revealed that fewer girls than boys women? Don't the victories indicate that all is well in the participated in sports in Canadian schools. Its report world of Canadian sport? In fact, the successes are mis- included two recommendations addressing the issue of leading; they blind most to the truth-the female participation in sports programs. roots of Recom- CMWS lie in mendation the consist- 77 called ent under- for the representa- provinces tion of wo- and territo- men in all ries to re- facets of view their sport that policies to has left wo- ensure that men mute school pro- and frus- grams pro- trated. That vide girls all these wo- and boys men, and so with equal many more, opportuni- have suc- ties to par- ceeded, bor- ticipate. It ders on the also urged miraculous the estab- because lishment of Canada's policies and wws," wws sport system, "Founding Mothers of 1981 Photo: Courtesy of practices to & far as equity is concerned, has long left much to be motivate desired. and encourage girls to be active in sport. Girls' and women's sport has traditionally been charac- Recommendation 78 suggested research to find out terized by low levels of participation; absence from lead- why fewer girls than boys were participating in school ership positions in administration and coaching, at all sport programs and to develop a strategy for change. levels and in every area; inequitable delivery systems; Early in 1974, with the leadership of , the minimal research; and scant, often demeaning, coverage federal government's Fitness and Amateur Sport Branch in the media. (FASB) sponsored a National Conference on Women and Change for women in sport began slowly, and progress Sport. Athletes, coaches, educators, administrators, and can be marked by several milestones-the Fitness and researchers gathered to explore the issues raised by the Amateur Sport Act of 1961 (Bill C-131); the report of the recommendations of the Royal Commission. The confer- Royal Commission on the Status ofwomen in 1970; the ence, which today is pinpointed as the beginning of the National Conference on Women in Sport in 1974; the women's movement in sport and fitness, produced action launching of 's Women's Program in 1980; proposals and the strategies for change. What was missing, the Female Athlete Conference in 1981 and the establish- however, was the means to monitor the process and ment by Sport Canada ofa Women in Sport program; the implement the rec~m~nendations. Constitution Act of 1982; the establishment in 1986 by A study completed in March 1980 provided a push. Sport Canada of a formal policy on Women in Sport; the Study author Pam Lewis confirmed that women were Minister's Task Force Report in 1992; and the landmark indeed under-represented in leadership in sport at the decision of the Canadian Sport Council to include gender national level. Commenting at the time, Susan Vail, equity quotas in their operating principles. Manager of the Women's Program said that the simple Although the provision of the Fitness and Amateur fact was that men's athletic needs-locally, provincially,

VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4 17 nationally, and internationally-had generally been met, location; liaison; research; education; promotion; advo- while women's needs had not. cacy; and monitoring and evaluation. The ability of the That same year, a Female Athlete Conference, spon- policy to effect change was, however, limited by a very sored by FMB and organized by Anne Popma, was held small budget. As well, there was no accountability frame- at to evaluate issues relevant to work to ensure that national sport organizations would women in sport and examine the structural inequities of implement the policy and make a commitment to gen- Canada's sport system. Participants, who included such der equity. stellar athletes as Karen Magnussen, Susan Nattrass, As one of the targeted issues in the 1992 Task Force Carol Bishop, and Report (Best, Black- , pro- hurst, and Makosky), posed explicit strat- women were encour- egies to break aged to expect that down barriers and their desire for change change the strcture was well on its way to of sport. The con- being fulfilled. Ac- ference also served cording to the report, as the catalyst for the establishment .. . the pace of in- later that year of volving and advanc- Sport Canada's ing girls and women Women's Program across the sport con- to develop and pro- tinuum, and in all mote the involve- levels ofsport organi- ment of women in zations, must be sig- sport and fitness nificantlyaccelerated activities, and for in order to display the founding of fair and equitable CMWS. treatment of 50 per Morechangecame cent or more of the with the enactment Canadian popula- oftheCand$nChar- tion. (15 1) ter of Rights and Freedoms in the A change in govern- Constitution Act of ment in 1994 and fis- 1982. The Charter cal slashing have put prohibits discrimi- the onus on CAAWSto nation on the basis keep the Task Force of gender and pro- recommendations front and centre. the Speed skater, Jean Wi$M Photo: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame mental freedom of equality; in other words, rights and freedoms are guaran- CAAWS through the years teed equally to females and males. The next milestone came in 1986 when Sport Canada, Formally launched in 198 1, CAAWSwas founded to advo- through the leadership of Director General Abby cate for progressive change within Canada's sport system, Hoffman and Program Manager Diane Palmason, for- leading to the enhanced presence of girls and women at all mally established a policy on Women in Sport that levels and in all areas-as athletes, participants, leaders, made equality of opportunity for women at all levels of coaches, and trainers. The founders, l many ofwhom remain the sport system an oficial goal. The policy represented active advocates today, were leaders in national, provincial, the first government step to change the sport system. A and community sport and physical activity groups. The two-pronged, action-oriented approach, supported by current leadership of CAAWS reflects a similar cross-sectiom2 initiatives through both the Women's Program and Sport Meeting at McMaster University in Hamilton in March Canada's financial support and program sources, was 1981,37 delegates from across the country, including edu- agreed upon. Sport Canada developed a strategy of im- cators, administrators, athletes, researchers, technical ex- plementation for a number of activities including policy perts, public servants, and women's group representatives, program development, an integrated sport infrastruc- discuss the pros and cons ofsetting up a national association ture; leadership development; high performance compe- to address the special concerns of girls and women in the tition; participation development; equitable resource al- world of sport. Increasingly, women in sport were recogniz-

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME ing that change would only take place when women began ship development for girls and women in sport and to speak about the issues with one voice. physical activity. The delegates emerged from the meeting with a plan wws promotes actions that place and support women of action that included setting up an interim planning in decision-making positions in sport and physical activity. committee of Mary Keyes, Director of McMaster's School wws believes that the survival and advancement of of Physical Education and Athletics (the first woman to women in sport and physical activity is dependent upon hold such a position in Canada); Rose Mercier of the feminist empowerment and the feminist community. Canadian Amateur Swimming Association; former 01- CAAWS believes that any representation of girls and ympic athletes Marion Lay and ; Kathy women in sport and physical activity should eliminate Lane McDondd of the Ontario Association; Susan stereorypes and promote participation as a positive force Vail, manager of Sport Canada's Women's Program; in their lives. Dorothy Richardson of the Nationd Action Committee; CAAWS believes that feminist values must be validated Nancy The- and entren- berge of the ched in the University of management Waterloo; and delivery of Shirley Mar- sport and phy- sden of the sical activity. Canadian Fig- During this ure Skating period, CAAWS Association, functioned Ontario through opera- Council; and tional hnds re- Lise BLan- ceived from the chard of the Secretary of Canadian Ad- State's Wom- visory Coun- en's Program, cil on the Sta- choosing to ac- tus ofwomen. cept only se- Four mem- lected project bets of the funds from committee Sport Canada were given re- in order to sponsibilities avoid being co- in the areas of opted by the 'pn it research' lead- Archer. Lucille Lessard Photo: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame vtem ership, advo- was committed cacy, and communications. The remaining six were to to changing. write position papers and devise a structure for the or- It was in 1989, when CAAWS was cut from the Secretary ganization. of State's Women's Program and left without operational Within two years, CMWS was working to meet several hnds, that the organization began to move towards an objectives: to make hnds available for women's sport educational role. CAAWS began to position itselfwithin the and recreation programs and to eliminate discriminatory sport community as a leader and partner in developing cutbacks; to be a national focus for action to improve the plans and programs to implement the 1986 Sport Canada status of girls and women in sport by lobbying legislators policy, which had been largely ignored by all but a few and private sector decision makers; to see that hnds were sport organizations. In 1991, CAAWS applied to Sport not reallocated to "more important women's issues;" to Canada for funding as a multi-sport organization. have facilities and equipment available for women's pro- grams; to establish sport as an area of concern to the The impact of CAAWS women's movement and bring women in sport into the mainstream of the movement; to develop information, When Sport Canada realized that its Women in Sport publications, and resources as effective vehicles for the policy was not being implemented, Abby Hofiman asked promotion of girls and women and sport. Marion Lay to become Manager of the Women's Pro- In 1987, CAAWS declared itself a feminist organization gram. Assured of a clear mandate to examine the situa- and adopted five important position statements: tion and make recommendations to make the policy CAAWS believes that systemic inequalities result in unfa- work, along with a reasonable budget, she accepted the vourable resource allocation, programming, and leader- challenge.

VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4 19 Lay tackled gender equity head-on, striving to create a non-active teenage girls to participate in physical activity dimate that, along with ensuring a fill range of opportu- and sport and is running in communities across Canada. nities and choices, assured equity for girls and women as CAAWS celebrates outstanding achievement at our annual participants, competitors, and leaders. Breakthrough Awards gala. An interesting early step was the tour of three progres- For a small organization, CAAWS' achievements are large. sive countries under the auspices of the International Among the highlights: Professional Development Program, a program to pro- CMWS participated in the historic Women Sport and the mote the study and practice of leadership and manage- Challenge of Change conference which drafted The ment within Canada's sport community. Working in Brighton DecLzration on Women in Sport, endorsed on May partnership with the Canadian Sport and Fitness Admin- 8, 1994, by 280 delegates from 82 countries, and subse- istration Gntre and the International Relations and Ma- quently endorsed by the federal government. jor Games Directorate of FASB, Lay and Rose Mercier led wws was a key player in educating the sport community nine women from to understand across Canada to and accept the England, Nor- benefits of way, and Sweden, gender equity, gathering invalu- leading to the able information adoption of and developing a gender equity bold plan of ac- principles by tion to achieve the Canadian gender equity in sport Council. sport. The tour CAAWS has launched a new for the first way ofdoing busi- time created ness based on the resources for commitment that use by sport mws would organiza- lead. The action tions, and has plan formed the published the foundation of its GenderEquity operations. Handbook, Lay believed Women in In- that it was the ternational right time to Sport, Achiev- breathe new life ing Gender into she Sprinter, Photo: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame ~~~i~~,a found the support handbook for and then the funding. She built a nation-wide network of Canadian delegates to international federations, and issue women and men who believed in an equitable sport papers dealing with such topics as Harassmentin Sport, The community. Now, only four later, CAAWS is thriving, Law, Sport and Gender Equity in Canaak, Self-esteem, a respected and productive member of Canada's sporting Eating Disorders, Women and Tobacco, and Girls' Partici- community. pation on Boys' Teams. CAAWS' activities are wide-ranging. Operating with a CMWS was a partner in the establishment of Promotion strong base of volunteers and a small team of staff, CMWS Plus, CMWS' sister organization in . commissions and publishes issue papers on topics of CAAWS contributed to the development in 1986 of Sport critical significance to gender equity. It holds workshops Canada's Policy on Women in Sport. designed to introduce gender equity in clear and manage- wws wrote a policy development manual, Resources able stages. Because it believes that legislation is a primary For Research and Action-A Policy Handbook: Strategies tool in effecting progressive change, CAAWS works with For Efecting Change in Public Policy, which was published Sport Canada to encourage policy development and im- by the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement plementation to improve the status ofgirls and women. It of Women. also works to increase media and public awareness of the wws and the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) importance of the issues it promotes. CMWS shares news of worked cooperatively on the innovative Commonwealth important developments with its cross-country network Games Women in Coaching Program. CMWS was also through Action, its quarterly newsletter. CMWS is partners instrumental in making the 1994 in "On The Move," a grassroots initiative that encourages in Victoria the first major international sporting event to

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESlLES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME make a commitment to gender equity, to find an affirma- that remain a modelfir the sport community today. Sheih tive action program, and to adopt an harassment policy. currently works with numerous other national sport and CMWS and the Canadian Association for Health, Physi- government organizations. cal Education, Recreation and Dance collaborated in the development of the Gender Equity School Initiatives he Founding Members of CAAWS are: Betty Baxter, project. Ottawa; Tom Bedecki, Ottawa; Wendy Bedingfield, Ed- Driven by Betty Baxter, CMWS,the CAC,the Canadian monton; Carole Bishop, ; Lyse Blanchard, Interuniversity Athletic Union, Sport Canada, and the Ottawa; Peggy Brown, Ottawa; Elizabeth Chard, Halifax; Canadian Colleges Athletic Association sponsored the Monique Charlebois, ; Patricia Corrnie, National Coaching School for Women, designed to create Whitehorse; Muriel Duckworth, Halifax; Laurel Goodacre, new opportunities within the sport system for women Red Deer, Alta.; Ann Hall, Edmonton; Cheryl Hassen, coaches. The School is currently being re-designed, and Ottawa; Jo Hauser, Ottawa; Abby Hoffman, Toronto; CMWS is a partner in that process. Reet Howell, Hamilton, Ont.; Mary Keyes, Hamilton, Ont.; Kathy Lane, Toronto; Pat Lawson, Saskatoon; WWS in the year 2000 and beyond Marion Lay, Victoria; Micheline LeGuillou, Montreal; Pam Lewis, Ottawa; Mary Lyons, Downsview, Ont.; The CMWS of the future will wear a different face. Shirley Mardsen, Toronto; Suzanne Mason, ; Maturing, growing, keeping pace with evolving demands, Rose Mercier, Ottawa; Diane Palmason, Ottawa; Anne remaining true to its founding principles, CAAWS will Popma, Burnaby, B.C.; Joan Rapsavage, Hamilton, Ont.; continue to work in partnership to design a sport system Jane Rattray, St. John's; Dorothy Richardson, Edmon- that fully involves women, weaves equity into the govern- ton; Sandy Straw, Hamilton, Ont.; Nancy Theberge, ing structures, offers girls a complete range of opportuni- Waterloo, Ont.; Susan Vail, Ottawa; Penny Werthner, ties and choices, and assures full and fair access to re- Ottawa; Nancy Wood, Ottawa sources. he 1995 CAAWS Board of Directors are: Sandy O'Brien Recognizing that the time has come to diminish its Cousins, Edmonton; Cara Currie, Ponoka, ; Judy dependence on government funding, CAAWS is developing Kent, Ottawa; Bryna Kopelow, Vancouver; Marion Lay, a marketing strategy aimed at distributing its products, Vancouver; Christine LeBlanc, Moncton; Marg programs, and services much more widely. wws is seek- McGregor, Gloucester, Ontario; LorrieMickelson, Barrie, ing to attract public sector contributions and private Ontario; Janet Rerecich, Toronto; Sue Scherer, North sector sponsorship, to encourage individual participation York, Ontario; Bobbie Steen, Vancouver; Penny Werthner, in the organization, and to expand the market for its . products. Accepting its place in women's movements, CAAWS References continues to build new relationships in the spirit of spreading the word about how important sport and physi- Lewis, Pam. Women in Sport in Canada: LeadPrs and cal activity are to the mental and physical health and well- Participantsfiom a National Perspective. Report to Fit- being of Canada's girls and women. ness and Amateur Sport Canada, 1980. Looking to Canada's communities as the wellspring of Best, J.C., Marjorie Blackhurst, and Lyle Makosky. Sport: sport and physical activity and to young women as the The WayAhead. Report of the Minister's Task Forceon leaders of the future, wws supports the growth of "On Federal Sport Policy, 1992. The Moven across the land. Believing in the importance of women assuming lead- ership positions at all levels ofsport, from the community to the international sport federations, CAAWS seeks ways to take the CAAWS-designedWomen in Leadership work- shops to more and more women, using the interactive model that has proven so successful. r SO YEARS OF I Through its record of accomplishment and dedication, PROGRESS I CAAWS is uniquely placed to make a difference. Fulfilling its mission is only a matter of time.

Sheih Robertson ofRobcmon Communications, an Ottawa- based company specializing in writing and editorial services, I Building tomorrow... today I has been working with Canada i sport cornmunitfir close to 2Oyearr. Her involvement began in the early 1970s when she Please make your pledge to USC by was comunications oflcerfir Swim Canada. Rr founding calling: 1-800-5656 USC and editor of Champion magazine, she set editorial standard

VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4