Commonwealth Sport Canada held its first Commonwealth Women Coach Internship Programme ©Commonwealth Sport Canada

Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) has deemed its first Commonwealth Women Coach Internship Programme (CSC-WCIP) to be a success, as the organisation seeks to boost the number of Canadian women involved in high performance coaching roles.

The CSC programme stems from the initial WCIP launched by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) during the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

"Equality is a core Commonwealth Value and CSC is committed to achieving in every aspect of its operations and programming, including women coaches on Canada’s teams to the Commonwealth Games," said Brian MacPherson, CSC chief executive.

"Research proves women coaches motivate girls to participate in sport.

"Sport Canada agrees, and CSC is grateful for its support."

The programme saw coaches from Botswana, Canada, England, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand participate at Gold Coast 2018.

The coaches received information sessions during the Games - including presentations from established female coaches -  and were able to learn from their respective mentors.

Canada’s three participants on the programme served as mentors during the first edition of the CSC-WCIP initiative, which began in August last year.

Boxing coach Eve Fortin, swimming’s Zoe Miles and wrestling coach Breanne Graham were mentored through the programme by Jill Perry, President and head coach of the Beaver Boxing Club in Ottawa, Tina Hoeben, the head coach of the KISU Swim Club in Penticton, and Martine Dugrenier, a former world champion who coaches at the Montreal-Young Men’s Hebrew Association Elite Wrestling Club.

The CSC-WCIP was overseen by former Olympic coach Sheilagh Croxon, who designed and implemented both WCIPs.

Communications support was provided by Sheila Robertson, an author and editor of the Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching.

The CSC programme stems from the initial WCIP launched by the CGF during the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images
The CSC programme stems from the initial WCIP launched by the CGF during the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

"Gaining experience at a major Games is a vital component in helping women coaches to build their resumés and advance on the high-performance career pathway," said Croxon.

"This experience, combined with mentorship and the focus on the development of key leadership skills, will help to lay the foundation to change the low representation of Canadian women coaches currently in the high-performance system.

"We need all partners in the Canadian sport system to work together to address the current landscape."

The CSC said the programme saw leadership development sessions held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while sessions outlining the overall programme and introduction of learning plans were also held.

Guidance was provided on how to understanding and navigate the Canadian Sport System by Lorraine Lafrenière, chief executive of the Coaching Association of Canada.

The mentor coaches met monthly with the interns and provided targeted support, debriefings, monitoring of individual learning plans, and networking techniques.

The CSC say opportunities for the interns to coach at national or international levels remains on hold pending the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.