Join us for this interactive webinar series as we critically examine how leadership, communication, and sport intersect to influence our culture and impact social change. Sport has been a platform for addressing crises of power, gender, and race, not to mention a global pandemic, and has brought into focus a need for change. Political, cultural, humanitarian, and health pressures have challenged the sports community to rethink the role and power of sport within society.
Each episode in this webinar series will aim to shed light on the ways sport can lead, and the ways we can lead through sport today, tomorrow, and beyond.
This webinar series is brought to you by the School of Communication and Culture.
EPISODE 36: Sex, Violence, and Sport: The Case of Hockey Canada
The Hockey Canada sexual assault trial centers on allegations that five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team—Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote—sexually assaulted a woman in a London, Ontario hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala in June 2018. All five have pleaded not guilty. The allegations and subsequent handling of the case have led to widespread criticism of Hockey Canada. In 2022, it was revealed that the organization had used a "National Equity Fund," partially funded by player registration fees, to settle 21 sexual misconduct cases since 1989, totaling nearly C$9 million. In response to the scandal, Hockey Canada has implemented several reforms, including mandatory sexual violence and consent training for high-performance players, coaches, and staff, as well as the establishment of a new independent and confidential complaint mechanism.
In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Walinga welcomes Laura Robinson, Canadian sports journalist and author, to discuss the trial itself, the topics of abuse, consent, and power in sport, and the question of what changes are required to address sexual abuse and violence in sport. Laura has reported on sexual abuse, and racial and sexual discrimination in Canadian sports for decades. She is the author of the 1998 book "Crossing the Line: Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport" and was the first Canadian journalist to write about sexual abuse in sport.
Thurs June 26th 12-1:30pm PT on Zoom
Watch the Recording
EPISODE 35: Sport as a Human Right
Sport has been framed as a social good (True Sport Report, 2022) and as a vehicle for supporting human and social development including “improving health and well being, putting children and youth on a positive life course, building stronger and more inclusive communities, promoting environmental sustainability, and contributing to Canada’s economy.” Sport has also been situated within the realm of ‘entertainment’, ‘health’, ‘heritage and culture’, and ‘education’.
In this Episode 35 of Sport, Leadership and Social Change webinar series, we will explore whether and / or in what ways sport is or could be a human right. The United Nations and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights have taken the approach that sport is ‘anchored in human rights’; but, many also agree that we all should have the Right to Play and that sport, as a form of education, must be included as part of the educational system.
Join Dr. Jen Walinga as she hosts three guests to discuss the opportunities, implications, barriers and importance to treating sport as a human right.
April 17th 12-1:30pm PT
Amanda Kelly - Soccer player, coach and Masters of Global Leadership student has focused her work and studies on inclusion, equity and access. She is currently the Director of Operations at Braefoot Community Association
Elijah McAllister - starting defensive end at both Vanderbilt University and Auburn University and now playing professionally with the Edmonton Elks while pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Auburn University, Elijah is the founder of The All Four One and One for All Foundation, an organization committed to uplifting communities through education, athletics, and unity. He also co-founded the Vanderbilt Black Student-Athlete Group, helping to create space for advocacy, inclusion, and empowerment among student-athletes.
May 12th 12-1:30pm PT
Minky Worden is an American human rights advocate and author. She serves as Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch developing and implementing international outreach and advocacy campaigns. She has been an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs since 2013. She previously served as Human Rights Watch's Media Director, working with the world's journalists to help them cover crises, wars, human rights abuses and political developments in some 90 countries worldwide. Worden speaks and writes on the topics of political prisoners, women's rights, and human rights and sports.
Ige Egal is the Founder and CEO of Play for Dignity, a national nonprofit reimagining Canada’s sport system through a human rights-based approach. His work spans grassroots sport and international public policy, with a focus on building systems that reflect dignity, equity, and access. He is a Maytree Fellow and serves on the board of MLSE LaunchPad.
Macintosh Ross is the McCain and McLean Centre for Sport, Business, and Health Fellow at Saint Mary's University and Chair of both the Rights and Responsibilities Awareness Initiative and the Canadian Collective for Human Rights in Sport.
EPISODE 34: The Ethics of Climate and Sport
Climate is a hot topic in every realm of human experience at the moment, including sport. During this webinar, Dr. Jennifer Walinga will host a special episode of Sport, Leadership and Social Change and speak with experts on the impact that climate changes are having upon sport, as well as some of the creative initiatives launched to address these outcomes both in our local communities and abroad. Margot Foster AM LLB OLY, is a governance expert and Chair of the Australia Sport Environmental Alliance (SEA). SEA has contributed to a number of research and advocacy reports such as the Climate Council’s Climate Change and Sport Report and the Climate Council’s Game, Set, Match report. Margot will speak with Jen about the role of climate action and leadership within sport and the role sport is having on climate change and the various initiatives currently underway in Australia.
EPISODE 33: Social Media, Ethics and Sport
Social media has been a well-studied phenomenon in various realms, including sport. Athletes from community to Olympic realms have leverage social media platforms to raise awareness, promote their brand, and share their experiences; however, within sport, the impact of social media upon athletes and their performance has garnered little attention. Elyse Gorrell PhD has found that social media has myriad impacts on athletes psychologically, physically, and socio emotionally. She is a current athlete in the sport of Karate, and Mental Performance Consultant. Her research involves how social media affects athletes and coaches. Through this project she aims to assist coaches and athletes in utilizing social media strategies in order to benefit their well-being. In this webinar, Dr. Jen Walinga hosting a special episode of Sport, Leadership and Social Change as part of our Communication and Ethics Conference and will speak with Elyse about the shifting landscape of sport as athletes wrestle with the ethics of new media.
EPISODE 32: Equity in Sport: Are Things Finally Changing?
During our May episode, we examined the entrenchment of misogyny and violence in the sport of hockey and asked the question “are we in the midst of a sport revolution, evolution, or regression?” Too often, women and other marginalized groups have experienced small wins only to discover they are now complicit in the patriarchy or contributing to their own hegemonic control. While we now enjoy women’s pro leagues in Soccer and Hockey, a shrinking pay gap, and a growing fanbase in the WNBA, how can we ensure sustainable change? Where is gender equity advancing, where does it continue to be problematic, and what are the forces at play - both supportive and detractive? Join Dr. Jen Walinga and her guests Travers, a Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Simon Fraser University, and Jill Moffat, a two time Olympic rower currently pursuing her PhD in Human Kinetics and co founder of MOMentum, for an update on recent developments in gender equity in sport, a reflection on what challenges and opportunities remain, a discussion of how gender equity is and is not progressing in sport, and what steps each of us can take to lead change.
EPISODE 31: Bringing it Back to Sport
Canadian athletes have faced many challenges both on and off the field including the fallout from abuse, corruption, inequity, and now cheating with the infamous soccer ‘drone’ scandal. During these situations, it is the players who often suffer most. However, this most recent scandal has served to galvanize the athletes to fight for what’s most important to them: sport. They have reminded us all that sport at its core is about striving to be one’s best and no amount of politicking, corruption, or disaster will change that. International sport is equally demanding and rewarding. In this episode, we bring the focus back to sport. Join Dr. Jen Walinga and her guests Becca Zimmerman (rowing) and Sophie DeGoede (rugby) to discuss what sport represents, and to explore the many life and leadership lessons sport offers through the most difficult and most joyous times as well as everything in between.
EPISODE 30: A Sport (R)Evolution: Shaping a New Sport Paradigm in Canada
As abuse, violence, corruption, discrimination, commercialization, and cheating pervade sport headlines, what will it take to reshape the paradigm governing sport and society? Canadians are seeking a new, more meaningful paradigm to govern and shape our sport system. Can sport offer both a mirror and a vision for a better Canada? Jen’s guests include Dr. Scott Ramsay, former professional hockey player and advocate for eliminating fighting in junior hockey and raising the age for when body checking is legal; Dr. Taylor McKee researching Indigenous data development and decolonization in hockey along with his colleague Dr. Janice Forsyth; and Dr. Tim Skuce who asserts that the notion of masculinity is not a fixed or stable construct; rather it can be re-interpreted to provide other alternatives of what it means to be an elite-level ice hockey player both on and off the ice.
EPISODE 29: Dr. Jen Walinga on Olympic Principles to Guide Organizational Success
In this recording, Dr. Jen Walinga reflects on her experience through sport and offers guiding principles for organizational success. She presented this talk live at an alumni event in Calgary and Edmonton in 2024. Highlights include:
- Eyes in Your Own Boat
- Win Well, Not at All Costs
- Gold Medal Standards, Not Gold Medals
- Cables, Not Chains
- Partnership, Not Patriarchy
- Ethics, Not Optics.
EPISODE 28 - The Culture Collaborative for Building Cultural Integrity in Sport – 5 Part Series
The Canadian sport system is under intense national and international scrutiny, earning the anti-Noble Purpose Sport Award and prompting the Canadian Safe Sport Think Tank Report. This has led to the establishment of the independent Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and the Future of Sport in Canada Commission, aiming to investigate abuses. What can true cultural change look like across all realms of the Canadian sport system?
Watch recording - Part 1 - Practitioner Perspectives on Building Cultural Integrity in Sport
Watch recording - Part 4 - Achieving Power Balance in Sport
Watch recording - Part 5 - Athletes Advocates and Activists
EPISODE 29 - Olympic Principles to Guide Organizational Success
Dr. Jen Walinga shares her Keynote messages from the Royal Roads University Alumni Event and Learning Symposium held in both Calgary and Edmonton February 2024: Eyes in Your Own Boat; Win Well, Not at All Costs; Gold Medal Standards, Not Gold Medals; Cables, Not Chains; Partnership, Not Patriarchy; Ethics, Not Optics.
EPISODE 27 - Innovative Programs Leveraging Sport for Human and Social Development
Many organizations aim to harness sport as a catalyst for human and social development. In this session, we will examine the value of sport for human and social development now and in the future.
EPISODE 26 - The Complicated Role of Pain in Sport
Pushing through pain is often conflated with commitment. But is it pain that we are pushing through when we strive to exceed our limits of strength, skill, and endurance, or something else? In this session, we will discuss the relationship between pain and sport.
EPISODE 25 - The Role of Media in Fostering Social Change Within Canadian Sport
In this session, we will discuss some of the challenges our journalists, reporters, broadcasters and producers typically face and the opportunities for positive social change that exist both within the newsroom and beyond.
BONUS - Conversation with Rohit Joseph
EPISODE 24 - Showcasing Provincial & Territorial Safe Sport Programming
In this round table showcase, we discuss how Canadian Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) are working to ensure safe sport across their regions. Our panelists from the Sports and Recreation Branch Yukon, Sport Manitoba, Sport BC/ViaSport, Sport Nova Scotia, and Sports Québec will share the unique approaches they're taking to foster safe sport cultures, environments, and leaders in order to offer excellent sport experiences for all sport participants in their regions.
BONUS - Conversation with Sylvain Croteau, of Sport’Aide Québec
EPISODE 23 - Young Leaders Championing Values-based Sport
As advocates from across Canadian sport use their platforms to call for positive change in every sport domain (community, provincial, university, national and professional), it is crucial that the root causes of harm and corruption in sport are exposed. Equally important is a positive vision for sport – something to fight for, not just fight against. In this session, we hear from young sport leaders about how they are driving positive change.
EPISODE 22 - Excellence in Community Sport
What can community-based sport programming and initiatives teach us about ‘excellence in sport’ and ‘excellent sport experiences’? What is being done in the community sport realms to support prevention of abuse and corruption in sport? Join the conversation as we explore these questions and more.
Sporting events, games, and tournaments are credited with having a positive impact on society - rekindling social values, engaging communities, inspiring people to exercise, or leaving a lasting legacy of excellence. Intentional leadership and intervention, however, are required for social impact. In this session, our host, Dr. Jennifer Walinga is joined by Dr. Laura Misener and Dr. David Legg, to explore the role of para-sport in shaping, leading, and educating the sport system.
BONUS - The Social Impact of Sport
EPISODE 21 - Trauma-Informed Safe Sport Practice: Caring for Survivors
Recommendations for Safe Sport practitioners and researchers include increased support, guidance, and care for the victims and survivors of abuse as well as increased involvement in the work to prevent abuse and refine the process of reporting. In this session, our panelists explore ways to build safe, abuse-free sport environments, how to identify and prevent abuse in sport, and better include, support, and guide victims of abuse in sport.
EPISODE 20 - Winning Better: The New Gold Standards of Sport Leadership
The sport community is learning that when the only measure of success is a medal, winning will soon begin to trump health, safety, and respect. With the advent of Safe Sport, sport leaders are seeking new, more expansive metrics for sport success. This is not to say that safe, healthy, respectful sport will now trump high-performance. Rather it is time for a more complex set of metrics for valuing, investing in, and supporting sport that is excellent in all regards. We need to learn how to win better, not at all costs.
EPISODE 19 - Sport Governance in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities
In this session, we discuss Sport Governance with Rose Mercier, certified board consultant with The Governance Coach. Rose is a Governance Systems Professional® and coach to boards implementing policy governance including non-profit organizations, public agencies and national sport governing bodies. A former National Sport Organization CEO herself, Rose brings direct insight into the Canadian sport environment as well as over 25 years experience in management, program development, and leadership training in non-profit organizations.
EPISODE 18 - Building Quality Sport in Canada
In this session, we look at the work being done to support quality sport experiences for all participants across the Canadian sport system. We will focus on High Performance Sport as there is a great deal of antagonism about what we DON’T want in HP sport right now. It is important to respond to the calls for change by envisioning and designing what we DO want.
EPISODE 17 - Healing Survivors, Healing Sport
In what ways does sport itself need to heal from past and current harms? And how can we better support survivors of maltreatment in sport? In this session, we explore the concept of healing: healing the survivors, healing sport. We will examine such questions as, who needs healing support in sport?
EPISODE 16 - Reconstructing Sport in Canada
Sport in Canada is facing a major reckoning with youth participation declining, thousands of national team athletes citing maltreatment, and sport governance confronting heavy public and media scrutiny. What will it take to reconstruct a sport system that fosters a positive, healthy, excellent experience for everyone involved in sport? In this session, our experts in cultural reform, sport leadership, and human and social development deconstruct the current sport landscape and then map out a blueprint for sport in Canada.
EPISODE 15 - Leadership In and Through Sport
In this episode, we hear from Tadhg Leader, a pro rugby player (#10 fly half and kicker), who has played professionally in both Ireland (Connacht Academy, u19, u20), and the United States (Major League Rugby with St. Louis and San Diego) as well as a brief stint with Italy’s Rugby Badia ASD. Tadhg has recently made the transition to American Football signing with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the Canadian Football League as their kicker.
Tadhg, who often finding himself in leadership roles within his teams, shares his experiences and guiding principles as a sport leader and highlights the ways that connection and community underpin all aspects of leadership in sport. Tadhg was a recent CFL Player’s Assn sponsored participant in RRU’s Sport Leadership course.
Conversation with Tadhg Leader
Ali Mourtada, kicker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and personal trainer shares his insights into the game and the unique bond between the triumvirate of kicker, snapper, and holder and highlights the importance of love for the sport, support from family, team, and community, and the power of belief in self and others.
Ali provides us a special insight into his world in the CFL speaking to us directly from the locker room the day after the CFL draft. Ali was a recent CFL Player’s Assn sponsored participant in RRU’s Sport Leadership course and discusses his journey to professional football from Sierre Leone to the soccer fields of small-town USA to the snowy fields of Winnipeg, Canada.
Conversation with Ali Mourtada
EPISODE 14 - The Tao of Sport
In this session, we welcome Duff Gibson, author, firefighter, and World and Olympic gold medalist. Gibson's first book, The Tao of Sport, draws on the three decades Gibson has spent in the "hotbed of Olympic sport" as both an athlete and coach, looking at the commonalities shared by elite athletes and how to draw them out.
EPISODE 13 - Inclusivity, Equity, and Diversity in and Through Sport
In this session, we will be joined by leaders in the area of equity and inclusivity in sport. We will reflect on the ethical responsibilities we have as sport leaders to make our environments more inclusive and equitable. As part of the Communication Ethics conference, we will be particularly focused on the messaging – through our words, actions, and artifacts – that we can adopt or change to enhance inclusivity and equity in sport. Our panelists will share the challenges and opportunities we face within the sport system as we strive to build more inclusive and equitable sporting environments in Canada and what it will take to achieve our goals.
EPISODE 12 - Strengthening Mental Health in and Through Sport
At the last Olympic and Paralympic Games, we saw unprecedented examples of athletes advocating for athlete mental health and exemplifying the skillful management of their own mental health. In this session, we hear from experts and leaders, advocating for mental health awareness and supports across the sport system.
EPISODE 11 - A Cultural Framework for Leading Safe and High-Performance Sport Environments
In this episode, we explore current challenges facing sport systems, the cultural and structural issues Covid revealed, and how to expand sport models to include athlete health and wellbeing in our understanding of performance and definition of success in sport.
EPISODE 10 - Sport as Education
We explore what can be learned through sport and how we can best leverage sport as a vehicle for learning. In this session, our host, Dr. Jennifer Walinga, is joined by guest panelists Cheryl Bernard, Doug Tate and Gary Barber.
EPISODE 9 - Olympism, Part 2: Paralympism and The Paralympics
In this second episode, we examine this year’s event after the conclusion of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
EPISODE 8 – Olympism, Part 1: Telling Olympic Stories
Examine the Olympics from the lens of economics, media, education, and human rights.
BONUS - Conversation with Adam Kreek
EPISODE 7 - Part 2: Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in and Through Sport
In this episode, we continue to explore how to support greater diversity and inclusion in and through sport with a focus on building belonging in sport.
EPISODE 6 - Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in and Through Sport
Sport can be both a vehicle for teaching the importance of diversity and inclusion and for battling against stigma, marginalization, and stereotyping. In this session, our host, Dr. Jennifer Walinga, is joined by guest panelists Gololcha Boru, Stephanie Dixon, John Lyall, Marnie McBean, Carolyn Trono and Dano Thorne.
BONUS - Conversation with Dano Thorne
EPISODE 5 - Human Rights in and Through Sport
There are many examples within sport of human rights challenges including issues of gender and sexuality, performance enhancement, power and politics, accessibility, and social welfare; yet sport can also act as a powerful force for social change. In this session, our host, Dr. Jennifer Walinga is joined by guest panelists Dr. Angela Schneider and Dr. Frank Fowlie.
BONUS - Conversation with Isabelle Cayer
EPISODE 4 - Gender Equity in and Through Sport
In this session, we explore the advancement of women’s rights through and within sport. We speak with sport leaders about some of the barriers to women’s representation in sport, the battle to change limiting mindsets, what it takes to tackle unconscious bias, and the challenges we see ahead.
BONUS - Conversation with Pamphinette Buisa
BONUS - Conversation with Allison Sandmeyer
EPISODE 3 - Sport for Human and Social Development: Whole Athletes, Whole Communities
Sport has the power to shape and inspire not just individuals but whole communities. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Walinga will be joined by a panel of athletes, researchers, and sport enthusiasts including Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, Krista Van Slingerland, Matt Young, and Tom Hall.
EPISODE 2 - Women, Leadership and Sport
Women are scoring victories for equity; however, the stats on representation and resource allocation for women in sport remain dismal. In this session, Dr. Jennifer Walinga discusses with Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a leader in gender equity working to ensure that women have equal access, support, and respect in sport.
BONUS - Conversation with Sheila Robertson
BONUS - Conversation with Kate Beirness
EPISODE 1 - Sport in Society: How Sport Influences Culture and Impacts Social Change
In this session, Dr. Jennifer Walinga, Cath Bishop, and Laryssa Biesenthal explore how sports intersect with social concerns and how political, cultural, humanitarian, and health pressures have challenged the sports community to rethink the role of sport within society, and have brought into focus a need for change in sport values and practice.