Way to Go, CBC

Today’s big news for me was word that CBC Sports has committed to gender-balanced coverage across all platforms. CBC does better than most, and even they admit that the coverage is appallingly low. It sounded like great news until I tried to find the story again this evening. Luckily, I had saved the link because the original was no longer easily found on the CBC website. CBC Sports gender-balanced coverage commitment.

Representation really does matter. Here are a few of the athletes who have inspired me over the years:

Kornelia Ender, the East German swimmer who rocked the 1976 Olympics and got me dreaming of being an Olympic backstroker, even though I had never swum competitively. It doesn’t matter that she was caught up in the steroid scandals of the time. She was still an amazing athlete.

Victoria Tennant, who I saw dance when I was about 10. I thought ballet was magical and would have done anything to become a dancer. This picture was taken when she was about 43 years old - old for a dancer at that time, but still en pointe and inspirational.

Hayley Wickenheiser. I never saw her play and I never really wanted to play hockey (though there was a brief moment in late school when a girls team was being formed, and I did try a fun game once in high school). But my son was a keen player and it was fun to tell him to play like a girl at the time she led an incredible team to Olympic gold. I still have my “Hockey: Invented by Men, Perfected by Women” T Shirt. She did so much to popularize the sport and really bring women athletes to the world’s attention - in a sport that didn’t involve sequins or a skimpy suit. And she kept on playing hockey even after becoming a mother, so she was a wonderful role model in many ways.


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