She Is Active, a division of Sport New Brunswick, hopes to empower and promote women’s involvement in the world of sports.
The initiative organized a ‘Sip and Celebrate’ networking event at the Richard J. Currie Center on Sept. 21.
Director of leadership, coaching and culture at Sport New Brunswick Manon Ouellette said every effort of She Is Active is directed to “provide a safe environment for women and girls to just be able to participate in sport, recreation, in any fashion they want.”
“When you think about a woman on board in order to play a leadership role in a decision making, sometimes the board will ask a woman to be there just to kind of do the check mark, but as leaders, we want to do more,” said Ouellette.
Meghan Bellon is the coordinator of women and girls. She oversees She Is Active New Brunswick.
“It’s exciting to have an opportunity for coaches, for administrators, for volunteers, for athletes, to come together and just connect,” she said.
Cheryl MacDonald is the CEO of Sport New Brunswick and like Bellon, McDonald believes in the representation of women in sports.
“It is a way of making women feel stronger and feel seen and heard and validated in sport and physical activity and in life,” said MacDonald.
According to MacDonald, 50 per cent of CEOs in New Brunswick are women, but they are still behind in terms of women getting operational positions like coaching and management, especially in the world of sports.
MacDonald is interested in recruiting women of all ages and abilities. She said it is important for women to be involved in sports from a health perspective, but also for the benefits of socializing and creating a supportive community.
“I think because of She Is Active and because we’re a small and close-knit province, we actually do a very good job of supporting our women,” said MacDonald. “We can always do more but I’m really proud of how far we’ve come.”
MacDonald shared her journey as an academic transitioning into the role of CEO at Sport New Brunswick.
“For me to be here today and have spent the day with all women who work in sports, it was really inspiring and empowering,” said MacDonald.
She spent 15 years conducting research on men’s ice hockey and masculinity and how it affected women in sports.
“I played hockey myself, but it wasn’t until I was 12 years old that I found out that I could be on an all-girls team,” said MacDonald. “I thought I had to play with boys.”
Bellon shared how the initiative will keep expanding around the province by hosting more events for women.
