Windsor event aims to get BIPOC girls involved in sport

The third annual Girls Can Summit is taking place in Windsor this Saturday, Dec. 4, hosted by the Border City Athletics Club. The summit is open to girls from Grade 4 to Grade 10 who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) and will give them the chance to learn track and field skills from Olympians and elite female athletes.

Fast and Female: empowering girls through sport

Thanks to a generous donation from Under Armour through the UA Diversity Series Program, every girl who attends the summit will receive a Girls Can branded t-shirt and backpack, as well as a free lunch and healthy snacks. The event takes place from 12 until 2 p.m., and will start with a group warm-up, where the girls will all learn basic skills and running drills and have the opportunity to play some games. After a break for lunch, they’ll get the chance to sit down with elite Canadian athletes, including Tokyo Olympians Noelle Montcalm, Micha Powell, Alicia Brown and Canadian 100m champion Crystal Emmanuel, as well as Canadian 400m hurdler Kelsey Balkwill.

“Each of them will be talking about their experience in the sport and where they came from,” says Border City Track Club coach, Kurt Downes. “They each have a different story and I think it’ll make for some great conversation and the girls will be able to relate to them.”

Once the event is over, the girls will have the opportunity to stay and watch the Border City Athletics Club practice in hopes that some of them may be inspired to get involved in sport. “We have some supplementary groups that are partnered with us that we can also refer them to,” says Downes. “We have LAWS (Leadership Advancement for Women in Sport) in Windsor that pays for girls’ athletics programming, and they’re tied to volleyball, basketball and soccer programs across the city, so if they’re really into soccer, we can get them paid for and get them onto a team.”

Downes is hoping they’ll be able to collect some research at the event to understand the biggest hurdles these girls are facing that are preventing them from getting involved in sport. “I try to think of our club as a community-based organization, not just a track club,” says Downes, “and I think part of our service is to provide opportunities for kids, period. If that means setting them up with a soccer team, that’s no sweat off my back.”

The importance of youth track clubs

The summit is set up for BIPOC girls, but Downes emphasizes that it is not closed to girls outside of that description. Registration for the event is free, and anyone who wants to attend can click here to register.