Kicking off the first in-person AthletesCAN Forum weekend since 2019, veteran CBC Sports host Scott Russell will helm this year’s celebration of trailblazers, athlete-centred accomplishments and initiatives – as the Canadian Sport Awards take place on the evening of Friday, Sept. 8, with five notable winners recognized at the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, B.C and live on AthletesCAN’s digital channels. The event is made possible in part by the generous contribution of Richmond Sport Hosting.
Following Forum, a national digital campaign in partnership with CBC Sports along with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees for the People’s Choice Award for Most Trending Moment of the Year will take place in December, after the conclusion of the 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
AthletesCAN Social Responsibility Award
The AthletesCAN Social Responsibility Award honours a current or retired national team athlete who used their platform to make a positive impact in their sport or community at the local, national, or international level.
It recognizes the significant contributions of an athlete leader in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, community, volunteer and/or social change initiatives.
Charity Williams, Rugby
Despite spending the season sidelined with an injury, Charity Williams did not stop giving back to her community. Williams created the Function Festival as a celebration of BIPOC artists in the Victoria Community and beyond, which just celebrated its second year of operation. Through her work, she strives to bring the wider BIPOC community together and to highlight people who are most commonly missed or forgotten about.
Kaitlyn Clark, Boxing
Kaitlyn Clark took her fight beyond the ring, supporting her fellow teammates in creating a safe and supporting training and competition environment. Clark has spoken out against toxic culture, harassment, abuse and grooming in the sport she loves. Even sidelined with an injury, she continued to support her teammates and opponents in their fight for a safer, more supportive, boxing community.
Phyllis Ellis, Field Hockey
Phyllis Ellis directed the groundbreaking documentary Category: Woman which follows four female athletes who were forced out of competition by regulations that profile and target women athletes set by World Athletics. Her work documented the consequences to the bodies and lifestyles of these women as a result of the regulations that the, predominantly male, decision-makers set under the guise of fair play.