Exploring the Present

The Current State of Women’s Sport: Know the Stats

Women, and especially racialized, Indigenous, disabled, and 2SLQBTQIA+ women, are underrepresented coaching and officiating.

Women hold head coaching roles for only 26% of women’s’ teams, 18% of mix-gender teams, and 3% of men’s teams in Canadian collegiate and university sport. (SIRC.ca)

Only 23% of the coaches in Alberta are women (Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Stakeholder Services).

1 in 5 young women leave sport throughout their teens. (The Rally Report 2024)

Despite the same number of boys and girls expressing interest in coaching between the ages of 6-18, women are under-represented as coaches at every level of sport in Canada. (The Rally Report 2024)

Understand the Stats

To truly understand what these statistics mean, we need to listen to the voices and experiences of women themselves. Below, we share insights from women who have been part of this project.

Survey Results

A major piece of this project has been the development of a survey titled, Understanding Barriers and Facilitators for Women Coaches and Officials.

The results of this survey provide insights into the individual and structural challenges women coaches and officials face, while also providing detailed examples of why most respondents desire significant changes.

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Personal Reflection

Throughout the project, participants have shared personal stories and challenges in a variety of ways.

This video is one example of a story that has been shared during gatherings with diverse coaches, officials, and administrators.

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Letter to Sport

Using the survey results, members of the project have collectively developed an open letter to sport.

The letter summarizes the stories and experiences of over 300 women who coach, officiate, work and volunteer in Alberta’s sport system. It is intended to help move us closer to creating a different story for sport.

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