It's Our Turn Archives

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Amy Burk – Goalball

Posted on 1 May 202423 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

It’s Our Turn, AthletesCAN’s new marketing campaign focuses on the stories of athlete leaders across the 68 sports eligible for AthletesCAN membership. The campaign highlights a pivotal moment for a new era in sport governance, underlining the athlete representatives’ respective journeys into the athlete advocacy movement both in their careers and within their National Sport Organizations (NSOs).

Each week, AthletesCAN profiles a key athlete leader among its membership, highlighting how athlete representation has played a significant role in their career and within their National Sport Organization.

Amy Burk

Name: Amy Burk
Sport: Goalball
Position / Event: Right Wing
National team tenure: 2005 – Present
Hometown: Charlottetown, PEI

How did you first hear about and get involved in athlete advocacy?

When I first became a part of our national team, we had a few good role models on our team and one of them, one of my teammates, kind of guided me and took me under her wing and showed me the ropes. She was the athlete rep who sat on our board of directors. I got to see a little bit of what she did and how she brought athlete concerns to the table. When she retired in 2008 after the Beijing Paralympics, a bunch of teammates retired. And that was kind of like a calling for me. Even though I was still a rookie on the team, I was going to take on more of a leadership role. When the call came out that they needed a new female athlete rep, I was like, “You know what? This is something that I do want to kind of get my toes into. I’d like to see the organization side and to make sure that the athletes are being heard.” And so, I ran for the position and then I was voted among my teammates. And then I got appointed to the board of directors. And that’s where I kind of got to see, I got to bring the athlete voice to the table. And it was nice because they weren’t always aware of what was going around. You know, they handled the behind-the-scenes and the politics, so it was great to to be heard in that sense.

I did take a step back in 2014 after my first son was born. I had a hard time with handling the board of director position, full-time training, and being a new mom. But then when I finally got into a really good routine, I started seeing what the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athlete Council was doing. And it was incredible to see the work that they were putting in to help push the Paralympic movement in Canada. And, you know, I talked to a couple of members and I was inspired by what they were doing. I knew they started kind of from how I did. I started asking some questions and trying to to see if this would maybe be a fit for me and one of the members, Chelsea Gutierrez, actually kind of pushed me to put my name in for the running. I sat on it for a little while, and I’m trying to decide, you know, is this something that I think would benefit the sport system and, you know, still on the fence. But I thought what’s the worst in trying and so I did I put my name forward to run for the Athlete Council and lo and behold my peers have full faith in me and believe that I could be a good addition. And they voted me in! I was completely blessed and surprised. I just really like seeing what athletes could do for the sport system and it’s just something that I just really hope that I can help contribute very thoroughly.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

I think it’s so important to have an athlete-centred experience because, you know, our main job is to train hard, and compete at our best. And I think the best way for us to excel is to have an athlete-centered environment. We don’t care about the politics behind the scenes. We just want to go, and as cliche as it sounds, we just want to go and have fun and that’s when we are at our best. So I think if we can continue having a great athlete-centred environment and just increasing that as we continue, moving forward, I think you’re going to see the stress of things just falling off the athletes and just getting to perform and do what they want to do and succeed and just enjoy the moment and enjoy what we’re doing.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I have a very good working relationship with our high-performance staff and our team. They know that and I’m very vocal and I’m very keen on stressing the importance of the athlete voice. My teammates and peers in the organization know that they can come to me in a safe, non-judgmental, respectful environment and that I will bring their concerns, their feedback, their opinions forward. Not only does that help our organization and our program, but it also helps team cohesion, just knowing that your voice is being heard, that people are taking you seriously and that it is just a safe, non-judgmental space.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

There’s been just a lot of little things, and I don’t think one can stand out is like my favourite memory. But one, it’s just knowing that my teammates know that I have their back and that, if something is going on that’s not good, we will get to the bottom of it and we will fix it. Or if it’s just something that is like, this is a good idea, this will benefit our program. Just knowing that my teammates believe that I have their best interests at heart, I think that really goes a long way.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

Bringing the athlete perspective to the table really goes a long way. We have so many moving pieces within the organization or our program in general. And while everyone has the best interests at heart on wanting to succeed and be at the top of the podium, they’re not necessarily sure how one decision could impact an athlete and so, you know, having that working relationship, it really does help. Getting the perspective from not only the athletes but everybody. It’s just you put that whole thing together, it’s like a giant puzzle. You put all those pieces together and it’s just incredible to see how much better a system and a program can run.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

To just advocate for yourself and for your teammates and for your sport, I think can really go a long way. You know, one person’s perspective on something might not be the same as somebody else’s. So if we can get all of those different opinions, and feedback perspectives together, we can be great. There could be so many more things that we can accomplish as a sports system. The sport system is so welcoming now and we just want everyone to come and voice their concerns. Voice your opinions, and you’re going to get great feedback. We’re just making huge gains forward. We’ve come so far as a sports community already and I can just see it keep moving forward.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Celina Toth – Diving

Posted on 24 April 202422 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

Celina Toth

Name: Celina Toth
Sport: Diving
Position / Event: 10m Platform
National team tenure: 2008-2023
Hometown: St Thomas, Ont.

How did you first hear about and get involved in athlete advocacy?

I was a gymnast for about six years on the provincial team. I wasn’t very good and I was in a situation where I was doing skills that I wasn’t ready to be doing, skills that I was told to do. And I said I told my parents I wanted to quit. And they were like, Well, you have to see out there and see how it goes. So I saw out the year was still what didn’t want to be there. So my parents were like, okay, you need to go and tell them you are quitting yourself. So 12 years old, they set up for myself. I told my coaches I was done. And then another coach was like, why don’t you try diving? So I quit on a Monday. I called the Diving Club in London, Ontario on Wednesday, and then I tried out on Friday and was on the team on Monday.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

Canada and the sport system need to prioritize the athletes experience because times are changing. The athletes have a voice. They should be in charge of their own everyday experiences, their competitions, and their training. We’re coming into a day and age where we all have our voice. We all make our own choices. Back in the day, training was a certain way. You were told what you were supposed to do by your coach and you did it. And now athletes are more experience-based. They’re older, they’re learning more, and they can have a part in their everyday environment and say what they want to do. It can be a more collaborative experience. In my experience, that’s what I learned and took away from how coaching, learning from different people, being on the national team, going to Montreal, and learning from other coaches. I was taking things in and I knew some about my body too, and what I was doing right. So for me, that was the most valuable thing, being able to collaborate with others and my coaches and learn and respect them and they learn from me and respect me. I think that that is such a huge benefit and positive thing that will just help people get better. And I think that that is something that we really need to honour and hone in on in the future.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

Using my voice in my sport journey has allowed me to become into who I am. I was someone who was very uncomfortable with confrontation and being a part of AthletesCAN allowed me to come into my own and speak up for myself. I always found that I was in the wrong sport because I was an individual rather than a team sport. And I’m such a big team player. I like to support my teammates. I’m always the loudest one on the pool deck and so I learning how to use my voice, not just in the pool cheering for people but outside and sticking up for myself and others has been such a benefit. I want to be here for all of the athletes and not just speak up for myself. I want to make sure that the athletes in the future have a better experience than I did or than those before me. So I think that that has been the best and most rewarding thing I can bring forward and continue to support.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

My favourite memory of being an athlete rep is any AthletesCAN Forum. Any time where the athletes can get together, meet, share experiences or support one another has just been absolutely incredible and so rewarding. I’ve made so many incredible friends who have helped me get to the point where I am today in my career that I never would have met without athletes can forum and, you know, getting to support the others at Pan Ams when I was there and even now at Parapan Ams, it’s been just so fun and gives me so much pride in our country and the people that we have here supporting other athletes and themselves.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

I’ve learned that it is hard to be a leader. It’s hard to be a leader in sport. It’s hard to be a leader in your life. It takes practice. It takes work. But as long as you believe that you’re doing the right thing and asking for help and following the path that you believe is right, you will come to the right, you know, right place in your journey and you will help others and others will support you. we’re doing this for the betterment of sport and the betterment of athlete experience. And we want people to be happy and we don’t want people to leave the sport upset or miserable, or like they didn’t feel like they had support from their teammates. And so we want everybody to work together. We’re a team, regardless of whether you’re a team sport or an individual sport, we are all working together for the same goal for the athletes best experience and performances, and that’s ultimately what we’re working for. So, yes, it’s hard, but as long as we all work together, we’ll get there.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

My peers should join AthletesCAN and be a member because it’s such an incredible community. You have just so many people working towards the same thing. You can learn so much about your sport, about yourself, about sport in Canada, and how you can support others. We’re all here wanting the same thing, you know, for our teams to do the best they can for ourselves, to do the best we can. So this community has been such an incredible group of people that are pushing and supporting you and they teach you to use your own voice and support yourself and stand up for yourself. That’s been my biggest learning from being a part of AthletesCAN. I’ve been a part of AthletesCAN since 2016. I became part of the board. I applied to be on the board multiple times. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. But I didn’t give up like I don’t in sport. And it was so incredible to be a part of that board and speak up for other athletes in this country and be able to, speak for them in a difficult time after COVID, sort of during COVID and after COVID. I learned so much and we have so much more work to do. And I’m just so honored to be a part of this organization. I really can’t say enough. It’s so incredible. These people are friends for life and they will have your back for life. And who doesn’t want that?

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Johnny Purcell – Skateboard

Posted on 17 April 202412 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

Johnny Purcell

Name: Johnny Purcell
Sport: Skateboard
Position / Event: Street
National team tenure: 2021 – Present
Hometown: Lunenburg, NS

How did you first hear about and get involved in athlete advocacy?

I had been on the team for about a year and a half and the previous athlete rep had reached out at the end of her term and she was transitioning out of being the athlete rep. It had been a couple of years since she was in sport herself and she kind of reached out and proposed the position to everyone in the group and at first it didn’t initially resonate with me. And then I kind of spoke to her a little bit more about it and the position kind of interested me. Sometimes it takes the person pulling you into it.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

I think it’s important to prioritize being athlete-centered because that’s that’s what this whole thing is. You know, that’s what that’s what everything comes back to is these individuals. And even if skateboarding specifically is an individual sport, but even if your sport is a team sport like hockey, like that team is made up of a collection of individuals who are all pushing the sport on Canada’s behalf and without these athletes, none of these organizations or sports are going to like to move the needle within the country at all. So I think having any conversations without the athletes, at least in some part being involved, would be doing a huge disservice to both the athletes and the growth of those sports in general.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I’m still pretty new to the athlete role. I started in early September. I did attend one qualifying event as an athlete rep and as a result of that, when I came back, I prepared a little bit of a survey to kind of just ask the team like, how was their experience at the event and what were some good things and what were some challenges that they might have faced in hopes that we could get feedback to give to the coaches and the directors of Canada Skateboard to hopefully help the athletes more in the future? I realized quickly how I phrased the questions to my team members was actually really important because you can get any answer you want depending on how you phrase the question. Really taking the time to think of those survey questions in a meaningful way to give people the freedom to say what they felt was the last thing I’ve, I’ve done as an athlete rep I think to help the team.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

I’m new to the athlete advocacy position I’ve now and I’ve also just been added to the board of directors for Canada Skateboard, which is pretty cool. So I’m kind of like both. And I think in large part that’s because a lot of these boards now want to have at least one athlete or athlete representative on the board. So that’s kind of combining, combining those two roles.

But favorite memory so far, I think one of our young female athletes, Faye, had just won the Pan American Games. She got gold and it was, you know, six weeks after I started an athlete rep. And I just kind of felt like a sense, an extra sense of happiness for her. And I think in large part that’s due to like the fact of being an athlete rep and just an extra sense of excitement. I would have been happy for her regardless,but just seeing others on the team do well and perform. It’s given me an extra boost in morale for them.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

In large part just because you’re the athlete rep, it doesn’t specifically mean that you’ve got the captain, you’ve got the “C” on your jersey. It’s not it’s not quite the same as something like that. But I think just if you’re in that position, the most important thing that stood out to me is just to be as honest as you can with the team and with yourself and just trying to, whether it be at events or in the like training for these events and preparation like just showing up, so to speak, and just like being there and like doing the things that you say you’re going to do, trying to lead by example in that sense. It doesn’t mean you’re necessarily the best on the team, and I’m certainly not.

I’m just trying to do the things that you think you should be doing in hopes others see that and kind of get motivated to do the same thing and like knowing using discretion to like when I say being honest like I’m now on the board of directors as well as being the athlete rep. You’re wearing like two different hats. And one of those hats requires a lot of discretion. Understanding what to say, when to say what and when to hold your tongue, for the sake of your athletes and for the sake of the organization.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I think as far as athletes joining AthletesCAN it’s pretty self-explanatory. As an athlete, you’re not only training and preparing for these events and things to do well in your sport, but a lot of your time and energy is going into resource allocation and planning for yourself. You’re not totally focused on a career, you’re invested in your sport. Planning how you’re going to get to these competitions and live, quite frankly, is a large part of your time as well. So AthletesCAN can at least hopefully guide you in the directions and strategies. Whether it be their list of where to go for resources based on your geographical location, which is helpful or yeah, the other support systems that they have. Just the stuff outside of training for your sport that comes with being an athlete.

As far as any athletes that are thinking about getting into being an athlete representative or any type of leadership role for their team, I think, you know, it might feel weird or uncomfortable or, you might have the sensation, that I’m not doing anything. But in which case I think just know that one, someone’s got to do it. And why not you? And two, it’s just a good way to prepare your it’s a good way to train yourself. It’s a good way to practice showing up for other people on other people’s behalf. You know your issues are going to be relevant there as well.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Sasha Beck – Triathlon

Posted on 10 April 20249 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

Sasha Beck

Name: Sasha Beck
Sport: Triathlon
Position / Event: Guide
National team tenure: 2014-2016
Hometown: Oakville, Ont.

How did you first hear about and get involved in athlete advocacy?

I heard about it from a couple of coaches and then the previous Athlete Director, and they had suggested that I’d be a good candidate so I applied to it and so that was my first intro to it. And then I met with our CEO and our President and he gave me some more information about it, and they both had some background about me, and I really wanted to give back to the sport that I loved and grew up doing. It interested me and I thought I could make a real difference bringing an athlete voice to the Board and aligning with some of the policies and criteria that they had already set in place and were in motion.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

Good question, it’s really important. I think there’s a lot of value in having an athlete as a member on the Board because that is the entire membership at the national sporting institute level. Triathlon Canada specifically has 22,000 members, and all the decisions that they make at that Board level have a direct impact where the output is impacting all the memberships which are all athletes so it’s really important and valued to be able to bring that voice to the Board and those decisions.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I’m still new to the Board so I don’t have a lot of experience where I can say that I brought my voice to the Board. But when I was an athlete on the national team, I was on the Paralympic team and I was a guide to a visually-impaired athlete, and this was something that was brand new to Triathlon Canada and brand new at the Paralympic Games than I was training to compete in as an athlete – which was Rio in 2016. One area that I was really able to bring my athlete voice to and had a positive impact was because this position was brand new to the national team position being a guide, there was not a ton of support or criteria in place to support, so this was a really big conversation I had with a lot of the High Performance coaches and directors to try and figure out how this position was going to get fulfilled and sustained leading into the next Games going into Tokyo 2020, then Paris 2024, and Los Angeles 2028 and how could we improve on the experiences that I had. It was good, but could use improvement, and so it was really clear on some things that I think needed to happen to help make sure that this guiding position, which is definitely a mandatory position to carry that visually-impaired athlete through to the finish line are treated like they’re a teammate – they’re not a volunteer, they’re a teammate on the national team.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

One of my most recent memories: I am a part of a committee at a Provincial Sport Organization level to help develop their provincial development plan. To me, it’s a special memory because it builds off the pathways I’ve created from the National Sport Organization in Canada, and I think it’s the first time it’s a very clear pathway of development to national team athletes and something that I felt like being a part of that national team journey as an athlete and now bringing it forward and being a part of a committee to help develop a new provincial development plan. I felt like I was really inspired to help the provincial level really come up to that national-level standard, and just be really clear on that criteria and what it takes, the standards, and what I would have wanted to see as an athlete when I was in that development phase, in that national team phase, that I want to see there today. I feel really proud that we are in the midst of doing that right now, but my voice is heard, and I feel like it’s going to be very good progress towards building a pathway for athletes in Ontario and then up to the Canadian national team level.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

I have learned that as we progressed through the years, more and more people are seeing value in listening to athletes and including them in some big decisions that are going to directly impact them. Whether you are a retired athlete, or a current athlete, you’re getting a survey to help gauge feedback to help support those decisions. I’ve learned that if you speak up and you’re really clear about what athletes need in their sport, you can achieve it. There are a lot of people that are willing to support athletes, but not necessarily come up with a solution but are ready to support, and we’re just waiting for people to speak up. So I think what I’ve learned as a leader in sport, is that if you speak up you’re going to be heard, and it will have a positive impact if you have a supportive organization.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I think it’s really important that athletes consider joining organizations such as AthletesCAN that are literally there to support athletes and help them bridge the gap to some of the formality-type policy language that will come out of the NSO level. That really gives athletes the opportunity to contribute to some of those key decisions or information sessions and understand them when it comes to the NSO level or PSO level. I think a lot of times, athletes are the outputs and just hear some of those decisions, but it’s really important they understand why those decisions, criteria, and policies were made and realize that when they’re a part of those types of conversations when they join those organizations that they can have an impact on themselves and progress through their sporting career.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Laura Walker, Curling

Posted on 12 March 202412 March 2024 by Alan Hudes

Laura Walker

Name: Laura Walker
Sport: Curling
Position / Event: Skip
National team tenure: 2018 – Present
Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.

How did you first hear about and get involved in athlete advocacy?

About two years ago now, a group of athletes within Curling Canada were brought together and we were just kind of asked questions and asked to discuss things that affected us, things within our High Performance Program and our National Team Program. And I think a lot of us had our eyes opened in that meeting to the fact that we hadn’t really been asked a lot of these questions before. We hadn’t had any of these discussions before, and a lot of us had been around for a really long time. From that group, our Athletes’ Council was formed and there’s now a group of us that are involved in athlete advocacy within Curling Canada. I have been on the Athletes’ Council since it began about two years ago. It grew out of us realizing that we maybe haven’t been asking important questions enough in the past.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

I think as an athlete, it’s a little bit frustrating and a bit perplexing to think about why it is that we as athletes have to push so hard for an athlete-centered sport experience. Sport doesn’t exist without athletes. We are sport and I think that a really good amount of positive and healthy sport experiences are life-changing for a lot of people. It certainly has been for me and to create those kinds of people in our world. I don’t think that there could be anything more important than giving the people who are involved in sport the best possible experience.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

In May of 2023, I attended a Board meeting on behalf of the Athletes’ Council to basically request a seat at the table to request to have an Athlete Representative on the Board of Governors within Curling Canada. And from that process, we were able to have myself appointed to the Board.

We now have an athlete in the room. We have an athlete at the table. We have someone there who’s part of the discussions and who can just bridge the gap between the athletes and the governance level at Curling Canada. So that’s something that we worked to achieve and I think it is extremely important and kind of a long time coming. So that’s affected my journey in the sense that I’m now a governor on the Board of Directors with Curling Canada, and it’s helped me really learn a lot and see that there’s more than one side. I think sometimes as athletes, we want to see change. We want certain things to happen for us. And now I am seeing why certain things are happening, why certain decisions are made. It’s really helping me to understand the big picture within curling and kind of balance all of the different factors and different stakeholders. That has certainly been eye-opening and a really positive experience for myself as both an athlete and now as an advocate

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

I think my favourite memory was actually sitting in that meeting room with the Board. I think I went into it not really knowing what to expect. I hadn’t really met a lot of the Board members before. I didn’t know them. I didn’t know what kind of reaction they would have to me, asking to be a part of it.

And I remember being met with such positive feedback, with such open-mindedness. The Board was really open to wanting to make this happen somehow, someway. And I remember that being just kind of a great feeling, knowing that we’re all on the same side and we just have to figure out how we can get there together. I think that’s a real testament to curling, but I think also kind of a lesson for other athletes in other sports that sometimes you just have to ask. Sometimes you just have to get in the room and have a candid, from-the-heart conversation. And you might be surprised what could come of that.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

I’ve just learned how much learning there is to do and always will be to do. I think certainly in curling, but I’m sure in a lot of other NSOs, a lot of factors kind of exist in a bit of a vacuum. There might be the High Performance side, the governance, the staff, the events, the operations. All of these things happen a little bit independently of each other. And I think I’ve learned how beneficial it can be for all of those pieces to learn a little bit more about the other pieces of the puzzle and kind of listen to all sides. I just think that that’s really important and something that I may have overlooked in the past. And I’m really looking forward to continuing to learn more in the future.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

If not now, then when? There are a lot of positive changes coming out with the Sport Governance code changing, with this kind of narrative in Canadian sport around creating that more athlete-centered sport experience. And I think athletes in the past have had this notion of wanting to get more involved. They’ve felt like maybe they’re not heard. They have had these feelings of wanting to do more, but either not necessarily having the time with our busy training and competition schedules and just not really knowing how.

And that’s where AthletesCAN comes in. There’s just so many great resources and great people that it’s all out there for you. You don’t have to figure it out by yourself. You don’t have to have this daunting task of knowing where to start. You can start with AthletesCAN, and you can get a lot of your information from there. And it just makes it a lot less daunting to take that step to get involved and start to advocate for yourself.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Mercedes Nicoll, Snowboard

Posted on 6 March 202414 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

Mercedes Nicoll

Name: Mercedes Nicoll
Sport: Snowboard
Event: Halfpipe
National team tenure: 1999-2018
Hometown: Whistler, B.C.

How did you first hear about and get involved in activism in your sport?

Our Executive Director at Canada Snowboard approached me to help create an Athletes’ Council – that’s how I got started. In sport, I was kind of always questioning why things were happening and being part of the Athletes’ Council allowed me to get the answers and understand the business side of what a National Sport Organization does. So it’s all thanks to the Executive Director that I got started in athlete representation.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

In sport, in Canada, it is of the utmost importance because you wouldn’t have a National Sport Organization without the athletes. So if you don’t have an athlete on your Board yet or at the discussion table and their voice isn’t being heard, then I don’t think you’re doing due diligence to the rest of the athletes coming up in the system. So, I think it’s really important to have an athlete-centered program for every National Sport Organization and work with Sport Canada on that as well.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

There are so many ways that I used my voice to impact the athletes in snowboarding. Being the Chair of the Athletes’ Council for seven years now, we’ve learned a lot and also listened a lot to the athletes. I know funding is always a big factor and one of the wins that we had was actually listening to what was coming in from the government and then being able to listen to the athletes, what they were paying for and get some of that money back in their pockets. Obviously, during a pandemic going through all of those things was really expensive and doing all those tests was really expensive. So that’s like one thing that we helped with the athletes. But I mean, it’s a day-to-day listening and understanding grind and using your voice at the table, especially the Board table, to give the Board members a better understanding of what it is to be an athlete and how much it costs. And sitting on Boards seems insignificant maybe to athletes, but it really does build an understanding for other people who are in those seats to see exactly where athletes are and have their voice heard.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

I have so many memories of being involved with athlete advocacy. I’ve sat on the Board of AthletesCAN. That was super enlightening. I probably would say the AthletesCAN Forum. Those are my best memories because that’s when you get a better understanding of where all athletes are at and how you can help them or how they can help you. You can bounce ideas off of each other just to get an understanding and better what you want to be as an athlete representative, and take it back to your program.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

As I’ve been an athlete representative for Canada Snowboard, I’ve learned a lot. I would say I was very green and I didn’t understand anything, and now I’ve been a director on the Board for many years. I think the most valuable thing is being able to have patience as well as listening to both sides of every party, and and just taking it in and not being afraid to share that voice of an athlete because it is so important.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

You should join AthletesCAN because there are just so many resources and so many amazing reps that you get to meet. I do hope that you join as a rep so that you can come to Forum. It’s really one of the best places to meet other athletes and get an understanding of what other athletes are doing, and how you can better sport for the next generation as well as your generation of athletes. There are so many resources out there that you’re probably not aware of. So head over to the AthletesCAN website or just ask a staff member, find another athlete rep and they’ll be willing to help you because it’s not an easy path to take at first. But once you understand what’s involved, it’s so good and it and it’s so helpful and really we’re all just here to make sport better for the next generation and to have our voice heard as athletes.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Matt Dunstone, Curling

Posted on 28 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

Matt Dunstone

Name: Matt Dunstone
Sport: Curling
Position: Skip
National team tenure: 2013 – Present
Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.

How did you first hear about and get involved within your sport?

It started with Amy Nixon, who was the president of the Board at the time, and our CEO at the time, Kathy Henderson who kind of came up with this idea. I know a couple of us athletes had kind of been pushing towards having that open line of communication with Curling Canada. But Amy and Katherine were kind of the drivers that helped get us over the edge and make that happen. I think we were pushing for about two and a half years now since we have had our Athletes Council with Curling Canada, and for the most part I think it’s been a very productive and positive experience.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

There are a couple things. I think one is for us as athletes to actually understand the NSO side of things. It’s pretty easy for us to just understand what our side of it is and not really know what an NSO actually goes through to make things happen for us and for them. So just getting a better understanding of what they do and how they go about their business. And on the flip side, for us to actually be involved in situations and decisions that affect us as athletes at certain events and championships, to be able to perform and just to kind of have that center ground in that area for all of us to come together to try and get Canada on the podium. Whether you’re an NSO or an athlete, that’s what everybody wants. So for us to be able to kind of have this area for us to come together and try to grow as Canadian curlers, that’s been my favorite part of it all. And that’s why I think it’s super important.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I think it’s just brought us all closer. Especially in curling, it is a very unique sport where you have separate teams who try and beat each other all the time to get to the World Championships. But for us to be able to actually come together and work as Team Canada, that’s kind of been the biggest change where, in curling, everybody’s got their four person teams kind of spread out all across. You don’t really come together and this council has kind of been an area for one player of each of the top Canadian teams to kind of come together and work towards something. And then, having a voice targeted towards things that we would like to see in our Canadian championships that are hopefully going to bring more success at the world stage.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

Once a year we do get together as a Council with Curling Canada. So that would be my favorite part, just the in-person meetings that we’ve been able to have and be face to face. The Zoom meetings are one thing, but to be able to get a little more personal and have that face-to-face interaction is something that’s super important and something I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. And hopefully down the road, that’s something I’m going to be able to do with AthletesCAN and with a larger group of people from a large scope and different types of athletes.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

There are a lot of moving parts. As an athlete, you kind of get this tunnel vision that it’s just the event, whether it be the Brier or the Scotties and just winning that and going to a World Championship. You don’t truly understand all that goes into that, and how many different stakeholders there are involved to make all those events happen to allow us athletes to perform on a full time basis. Just learning about all of that, who all is involved, has been my favorite experience of it all. Just because it’s way over my head about who actually is involved and who gets a say, and just learning that part of it has been the coolest part for me because you have no idea how many people are actually involved just to make what seems like a little thing actually happen and go forward.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I think at the end of the day, the more people we have involved, the more people we can bring together and just work towards a common goal. Whether it be curling, skiing, diving, you name it. At the end of the day, with sport in Canada, we want a couple of things, right? We want integrity, we want loyalty, we want trust. We want to represent our country with class and dignity. And we want to win and we want to get on top of the podium and just bring people together to an area to help grow, to learn about each other’s experiences and ultimately push the yardsticks forward to get better every single day at each one of those aspects. The more people we have involved to do that, the closer we’re going to get to the common goal that we all have.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Julian Smith, Cross-Country Skiing

Posted on 21 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

Julian Smith

Name: Julian Smith
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Position / Event: Sprints
National team tenure: 2019-20
Hometown: Auckland, Ont.

How did you first hear about and get involved within your sport?

When I was a child, my family moved from a small town near Hamilton called Dundas up to the Bruce Peninsula to Oxenden. And Austin is very rural. It’s a small town with a lot of outdoor activities, one of which is snowmobiling. And a snowmobile trail ran right by our house in a farmer’s field and my parents, who had skied a handful of times on wooden cross-country skis, would take us out and pull us along. And through that, our family heard about jackrabbits, which is a nationwide learn-to-ski program. And our family became heavily involved. My parents taught jackrabbits. Myself and my two siblings participated in jackrabbits for many years, and that’s how I got introduced to cross-country skiing.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

The sports system in any nation is complex and diverse. And in Canada, the fact that we are in such a large country means that our athletes from dozens of sports are spread out and are experiencing multiple different experiences all at the same time. I think the value of having an athlete-centred sports system is that it’s crucial for athletes to have, the organizers, the volunteers, the coaches, the funding partners and the staff, to provide the foundation for us to be able to do what we love. But it’s important for athletes to voice their opinion such that they are leaving the sport better than they found it for the next generations. It is important to me and my peers as well that we the athletes, voice our opinion to leave each individual’s sport better than they find it.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I think for myself it was a very clear transition from being an athlete to being an Athlete Rep for my training center. There was a void on the board because our previous athlete rep had stepped down and I wanted to take on the responsibility of speaking for the athletes at a small scale of of 15 individuals on our team. But what I realized was that if I wanted to leave my team better than I found it, some avenues made it easier or harder to do that. And one way to do that was to be at the table. During the conversations where people were making decisions about the team. While I learned a lot through that position, again, it became very clear when a friend of mine reached out to me asking me to put my name forward for the Nordiq Canada Board for Canadian Cross-Country Skiing.

I think what drove me most strongly for that was that I felt more and more as I was becoming a more senior or veteran athlete was that more and more I heard my peers expressing their opinion, but expressing their opinion to their peers. I think it’s difficult sometimes for athletes to express their honest opinions to the people who make the decisions about the lives of athletes. It became very clear to me that I felt I could fill the role of being the funnel, catching the wide variety of comments, concerns, ideas and opinions and funnelling them down into concise and hopefully constructive pieces of information for our board. And then again, I saw that role, progress and being productive and valuable for myself but also making an impact on the sport around me. And so now it has also led me to put my name forward for the AthletesCAN board, and I’m grateful and honoured to have won that election and won a spot on the AthletesCAN board. And I hope to do that very same thing of gathering information from those around me who want their voice heard but maybe don’t know who to speak to or don’t want to be the person that steps forward. And I’m happy and confident to be in that role for Canadian sport.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

I think two moments stick out to me. The first conference that I attended as an athlete rep for Nordiq Canada was the COC Session conference and I took the first room I walked into was for the Athletes Commission full of faces that I knew from watching the Olympics. I first thought I was in the wrong room. I thought “This can’t possibly be the room that I’m supposed to be in.” But what struck me was that these were individuals at the top of their athletic game but were now taking the time, energy and resources that they had built through sport, and trying to make the sport better than how they found it. And that really struck me as going very quickly, from feeling like I was in a room where I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be there to truly believing and having the confidence that I was in the right room.

The second would be, I think, because of how wonderful my relatively short experience in athlete advocacy has been. I’ve been the rep on my team’s board for five years. But this year has been a big steep learning curve for the Nordiq Canada board and the athletes on board. But I think one memory that really does stick with me, is my partner, the female athlete rep within the Nordiq Canada board, Katie Weaver. When she asked me to run for the male athlete rep, I think looking back, I took my time to think about it, but the value that it has brought to my life, I hold that memory quite closely because it has turned into one a great friendship with Katie, and I feel like we’re making really valuable impacts on the Canadian Cross-Country Ski scene, but also because it’s been fantastic to work together on the board and it’s it’s been a fantastic experience overall.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

I frequently or almost solely believed or thought about leadership in a very outward and top-of-the-pyramid way. I thought of leaders as the CEOs, the team captains, and the founding members of any given group of individuals. At a leadership conference, I learned about the value that different types of leaders bring to an organization and that any group of individuals needs an outspoken leader. But you also need leaders who are willing to let someone else speak. Lead by taking a step back and honing the skills of those around them rather than just shining a light on maybe their own leadership skills. And that is maybe a less glamorous leader, but just as valuable and pertinent to the success of a group of people. And through my role as as board member, as a board member, where no one individual has more power than the other boards are designed to be a group of individuals making important decisions. There has to be trust that everyone has the same weight in decision-making, and I have pushed myself and learned that you can be a positive leader and an impactful individual in decision-making by listening, taking a step back and helping those around you quietly rather than putting your own ideas and your own outspoken views first. And that’s something that I’ve learned and experienced through sport leadership is an amazing one.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I was speaking with some individuals in Nordiq Canada and the cross-country skiing scene of Canada about why athlete advocacy is so valuable, but also why or rather how athletes can be advocates for themselves, their peers, and their clubs. And I think AthletesCAN, and your NSO’s board are at the top of the pyramid. If you the person reading this are thinking, “I want to make a small difference”, then volunteer with your club or run a program at your local sports team or club. That’s the beginning of athlete advocacy, standing up and making the sport around you better no matter what the level is. But if you feel that calling to make an impact on the incredible and passionate Canadian sports scene, then an organization like AthletesCAN that is standing up for the vulnerable, making valuable and sometimes difficult decisions that have to be made in sport because high-performance sport is vulnerable and difficult and passion-filled, then I think an organization like AthletesCAN is one you should reach out to ask how you can make a difference and how you can join alongside and become an ally of an organization that is making a difference and doing good in Canadian sport.

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Alyson Charles, Speed Skating

Posted on 15 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

Alyson Charles

Sport: Speed Skating
Position / Event: Short Track (500m, 1000m, 3000m)
National team tenure: 2018-22
Hometown: Montreal, Que.

How did you first hear about and get involved within your sport?

I always knew that this position was filled since I was named to the national team. But I never got to understand what that person was doing. A couple weeks ago, the previous Athlete Director, Mathieu Bernier, was planning to leave the position, and he reached out to me because I recently retired from the sport. He just explained to me what his role was and what his mandate was. I found it interesting just to have a position where you can have a voice for athletes on the Board. Mathieu said ‘Just think about it and if you’re ever interested, get back to me.’ I took some time to think about it, and then I agreed to the role, because I felt like in the past year especially, there has really been a desire for change. Or at least, I felt like the management and also people who have leadership positions in my organization are driven but also driven towards change for good reasons. There’s a new Strategic Plan that was published and a new CEO coming in as well. So, all of that gave me the will to get involved because I think it is a great era that we’re entering into, where people are open to hear different perspectives. And I do believe that I can bring a unique perspective as well.

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

I think it’s not only important, it’s essential to each National Sport Organization, because without the athletes there is no organization. And we want to see them perform, that’s for sure, year over year. And to make that happen, we have to make sure that their interests and needs are served. Sometimes, on the board there are people who occupy these positions and have been in our shoes a couple of years back and might not have that up-to-date perspective. And some of them were not athletes. It’s important to have someone who is not involved but is still kind of close to the sport itself. When everyone’s on the same page, there is communication across all levels and everyone’s open to hearing each other. I think that’s how we can best serve the interest of every stakeholder and especially the athletes.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

I’ve learned that being a leader, it’s not about necessarily being a leader where you’re appointed to the position, because I think everyone can be a leader in their own ways. If I had to describe myself, I was a quiet leader – just by my attitude towards the sport and everything that we had to do, but also towards others. That’s what made me want to get involved.

Coming into the role, I’m not pretending that I know everything. I’m not in this mindset of I’m coming here to change everything because that’s not the role itself, but just to be someone who is in a position to bring forward concerns and also not afraid to raise their opinion, raise their voice. When there is a policy that is being discussed or a decision that is being discussed on the Board that would have an impact on athletes – I’m here to bring that perspective and why this would be a good or a bad thing for them and how it’s perceived by them.

I’m planning to have continuous communication with the athletes. I want them to feel comfortable coming to me. And because I’m not competing anymore, on a day-to-day basis, their input is going to be very valuable. Being in those Board meetings will allow me to understand how decisions are made on a higher level where you have to consider the well-being of every stakeholder, but also the organization as a whole. And if we can inspire ourselves inside towards every one of us being leaders, I think we will manage to inspire the outside and our communities.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I encourage people to get involved in AthletesCAN in any way they can – because everyone has something to win by getting involved.

The more we can hear each other and bring to the table what’s problematic, and what’s going well, and just being aware of what’s going on within AthletesCAN or National Sport Organizations and other sports organizations, we will just have a better understanding of the goal of this entity that sometimes you are unable when you’re not in it or you just hear about it. It will help us to understand the importance of this organization and how we can just help each other moving forward. I would encourage everyone to actually learn about AthletesCAN and then get involved in any way you can, because we all have something to win

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Nina Tajbakhsh, Ringette

Posted on 15 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

It’s Our Turn, AthletesCAN’s new marketing campaign focuses on the stories of athlete leaders across the 68 sports eligible for AthletesCAN membership. The campaign highlights a pivotal moment for a new era in sport governance, underlining the athlete representatives’ respective journeys into the athlete advocacy movement both in their careers and within their National Sport Organizations (NSOs).

Each week, AthletesCAN profiles one key leader among its membership, highlighting how athlete representation has played a significant role in their career and within their National Sport Organization.

Nina Tajbakhsh

Sport: Ringette
Position: Forward
National team tenure: 2022-present
Hometown: North Vancouver, B.C.

How did you first hear about and get involved within your sport?

I’ve been in the National Ringette League (NRL) for about 10 years now, and right as I entered there were a lot of positions where different committees and different sort of ad-hoc committees were looking for athlete representation and I’ve always kind of had an interest in it. I’ve always wanted to help advocate for the athlete’s voice and make sure it’s heard and at the centre of what we’re doing in sport, especially in ringette, where it’s kind of a smaller sport. So I just kind of started getting involved on committees here and there. I served as the NRL rep for the West for a number of years and then just kind of kept getting involved in different committees that would pop up for different initiatives that Ringette Canada was taking. And then the Board position came up as the Athlete Director and a previous national team captain had sent it to me just kind of saying, ‘Hey, maybe look into this.’ I’ve kind of looked up to her for a while. So I was like, ‘Well, she’s saying I should do it, so maybe I should!’

Why is it important for the Canadian Sport System to prioritize an athlete-centred experience?

I think there are lot of people involved in sport, especially at these higher levels, but keeping it athlete-centered is sort of the reason we’re all here. We don’t have sport without athletes. I think especially now, it’s really important to have that athlete focus as sort of the forefront and making sure that athletes are feeling like they can train, they can develop, they can compete, but it’s also a safe space for them to be in to do those things and to continue developing the sport, and to continue to bring new athletes in. I think the athlete-centered approach is what’s going to keep sport moving forward. I think it’s important that the athletes feel that they’re important in that sense and feel that the athlete-centered approach is actually being met – just to kind of encourage them to return and encourage new athletes to come up into those positions.

How have you used your athlete voice on behalf of your peers and how has it impacted your sport journey?

I think it’s been a really cool experience. I’ve tried a lot to sort of branch out to different groups of athletes. There are always the ones that, like myself, who really like to get involved in these things and really want to see those changes push forward. But there are also groups of athletes who maybe aren’t as comfortable bringing their voice forward, and I think that’s where the athlete reps and representation comes in, to make sure their voices are heard as well, even if they’re not as forthcoming with it. So I think for me, I’ve just really had to sort of find out what the areas are that the athletes in our sport want to see improved or things that can be changed or aren’t meeting our expectations at certain times and then bringing that forward to the people who can help make the change. That’s just sort of added that next level of why I love sport so much and why I love being involved in the logistics of ringette outside as the Athlete Rep. Again, being a smaller sport, there are a lot of barriers that we face and we feel that a lot as athletes, especially at the High Performance level. So being able to kind of be a sort of resource for change in those things and trying to help move things forward has been really important.

What is your favourite memory being an Athlete Rep / being involved in athlete advocacy?

Prior to 2018, the National Ringette League used to use the draft for new players coming into the league or players who were in the league to kind of determine where they would play. And there was myself and one other athlete who were sort of on that committee as the Athlete Reps for this, and we pushed really hard to get the draft removed. We’re ringette, we don’t get paid to play, we pay to play. And so it was really important for us to allow that choice for athletes to play where they wanted to play and where they felt they would be happiest, perform best, and wanted to be. So I think definitely one of the highlights is removing the draft for ringette was huge for the athletes.

What have you learned about being a leader in your sport?

A lot of it is kind of that communication piece and being able to take in all different kinds of input. So what one athlete needs might not be what another one needs, but being able to collectively take everything that you’re being told and being able to sort of articulate that in a way that it’s going to meet the needs of multiple people with different intentions and different outlooks of what they want to see coming. So I think that listening piece, being able to take it all in and just using that to make change instead of what we’ve seen a lot in sport where all this information comes in but what happens with it is sort of where we lose track. So I think being able to actually collect the information and push that towards change has been a big thing that I’ve learned.

Why should your peers join AthletesCAN and/or get more involved in the leadership of their National Sport Organization?

I think everybody should. This is the place where if you want to see change, you need to get involved to be a part of it and kind of encourage other people to do the same. It’s kind of rare to find places like this where the athlete voice and the athlete input is important and it’s the whole purpose and you kind of have that support to make those decisions. You can learn so much about how to sort of take those things and take them into your sport at all levels and try to help make those changes and continue to develop. So I think it’s a no brainer. Everybody should.

Category: It’s Our Turn

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Amy Burk – Goalball

Amy Burk

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Celina Toth – Diving

Celina Toth

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Johnny Purcell – Skateboard

Johnny Purcell

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Sasha Beck – Triathlon

Sasha Beck

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Laura Walker, Curling

Laura Walker

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Mercedes Nicoll, Snowboard

Mercedes Nicoll

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Matt Dunstone, Curling

Matt Dunstone

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Julian Smith, Cross-Country Skiing

Julian Smith

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Alyson Charles, Speed Skating

Alyson Charles

Athlete Rep Spotlight: Nina Tajbakhsh, Ringette

Nina Tajbakhsh

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