Features

The We Are Sport: Conversations with leaders from the BIPOC sport community digital series is a new initiative in partnership with She’s4Sports, Canadian Women & Sport and Sport Canada. The series brings experts and leaders from the Black, Indigenous, and people of colour sports community to discuss LGBTQ inclusion and advocacy, diversity and leadership, and mental health.

Watch our We Are Sport webinars below and go here to check out our Instagram Live features.

Watch our She Leads By Sport Series

She’s4Sports has teamed up with Canadian Women & Sport on a new digital sports series, She Leads By Sport. The interview series from She’s4Sports, highlights the journey of inspirational women leaders from different corners of the sports world. Help us share these stories online with the hashtag #sheleadsbysport and tag @shes4sports and tell us what you think of the videos. Click on the images below to watch the videos.

Melanie Hawtin is a Paralympic wheelchair basketball trailblazer who won gold at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championships. Although Melanie started wheelchair racing at 5, she transitioned to wheelchair basketball after undergoing spinal surgery. The Hamilton native talks to Ainka about using her platform to inspire girls in sport.

Yvette Raposo is changing the face of boxing one opportunity at a time. The former fighter and Ontario champion is Canada's first and only female ring announcer. Ainka sits down with the expert fitness and boxing trainer to talk about her early days in boxing, empowering women through personal training and inspiring the next generation of female boxers.

Anastasia Bucsis is a 2x Olympian Speed Skater who participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (women's 500-metre competition) at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi (women's long track). Ainka sits down with Anastasia to talk about her journey in sport, her battle with mental illness and how she's using her voice to discuss LGBTQ inclusion in sport, through her podcast and collaborative initiatives.

Seanna Thomas is on a mission to empower minor athletes and she's doing this through healthy snacks. The mom, Certified Nutritionist and founder of Hockey Snacks Inc. not only gives kids access to nutritional and allergy-friendly snacks but equips them with information and knowledge on healthy eating through workshops. Ainka talks to Seanna about being a mom in sport, navigating the hockey industry and what she’s doing to empower girls in sport.
Cynthia Appiah is a world champion bobsledder. In her rookie season, she pushed alongside Olympic champion, Kaillie Humphries to obtain a gold and bronze medal at the World Cup competition. Cynthia has now transitioned to Monobob - a new sport added to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Ainka talks to Cynthia about her career and using her platform to inspire girls.

Tori Lord, a Business Executive and Founder of Top Knot created a line of women's sports headwear to make it easier to wear a high ponytail and a hat when engaging in sports. Ainka sits down with Tori to learn about her transition from advertising to being her own boss and how she's working with the golf community to encourage girls to stay in sport.

Trudie German is a Health & Fitness Expert and Owner of Body Envy.
Ainka talks with Trudie to learn practical tips we can all use to stay healthy and fit during covid. Trudie also talks about why paying attention to what we eat and getting enough sleep also factors into the success of our health and wellness goals.

Waneek Horn Miller is the first Mohawk Canadian woman to compete at an Olympic Games and a co-captain of the first Canadian women's Olympic water polo team. Ainka talks with the sports activist who's on a mission to work with the sport community to create a national indigenous sport, fitness and wellness strategy.

Perdita Felicien is a 2X Olympian, who competed in the 100m hurdles at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Ainka sat down with her to talk about her journey being a high performance track and field athlete, why she wanted to share her childhood and journey to #sport in her book, My Mother's Daughter: A Memoir of Struggle and Triumph.

Erica Wiebe is a Canadian Olympic gold medallist in wrestling. Ainka talks with her about how she got into wrestling, the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and why she's using her platform and voice to show girls that they too can thrive in sports.

SHE’S4SPORTS FEATURES

Steph Dykstra

Steph Dykstra a.k.a Iron Lioness shines inside and outside of the ring.
Watch our interview to hear how the health and fitness trailblazer and amateur boxer is using her Iron Lion Movement to help women #FindYourPowerInThePride.

kia nurse

Our Founder, Ainka Jess sat down with Canadian basketball star KiaNurse at Ryerson University in Toronto, to talk about her rookie year in the WNBA with the New York Liberty, why she knows all of the dance moves to Queen Bey's "single ladies" and her passion to open doors for girls in basketball through the Kia Nurse Elite basketball program.

BIANCA ANDREESCU

She's4Sports had the pleasure of covering Bianca Andreescu's press conference at the Aviva Centre, September 11th 2019, following her U.S. Open win.

TATEM MORRISON

Ainka Jess sits down with Special Olympics Canada Athlete Tatem Morrison, to talk about how the organization has made an impact on her life, who her favourite female athlete is and why it's important for people to take the time to get to know athletes from Special Olympics Canada.

Go here to watch more She’s4Sports interviews.