Recently Sport Canterbury revealed its Women & Girls Strategy to a capacity crowd in central Christchurch. The event was supported by three inspirational wāhine toa who spoke on their own remarkable stories and how they relate to the strategy's pillars.

Chief Executive of Sport Canterbury, Julyan Falloon opened the event in front of the sector by stating the strategy's intent for women and girls to be more engaged and valued, in all aspects of play, active recreation and sport.  

“The vision is simple, create an equitable physical activities system for women and girls that is safe, understanding and enabling so that wāhine toa can unleash their potential in our region.” 

CEO of Sky New Zealand, Sophie Maloney was the keynote speaker for the event. 

Maloney spoke about both her professional and personal journeys, how she overcame a personal trauma and gained understanding on the significance of her role as a leader in her industry through various roles.  

“I’m super appreciative to be in the position that I am in, but I am also so determined to get the rights results and to see things being fairer with more equity.” 

“We are still only at the start, and as much as the FIFA Women’s World Cup was incredible for this country and for women in sport, there is still much more to do.” 

“We’re now really seeing real progression around big brands seeing the value in aligning and investing in women.” 

Speaking around the importance of coaching, Leeann Finlay gave an emotive account of her own personal journey, including the intrinsic value that sport has played her life and the relationships forged with those she has been proud to have coached and counselled.  

Maria Lankeshwar inspired the room by sharing her time in India, supporting participation in the cricket scene and respectfully coming face-to-face with cultural hurdles, empowering young women she believed in to trust in themselves and their own voice to seek their own passions. 

Sport Canterbury’s Women & Girls Lead, Megan Harlick was grateful for the value the event presented to an audience of like-minded individuals from across the sector.  

“The launch provided an opportunity to highlight the internal work ongoing at Sport Canterbury, while presenting our commitment to the sector to support and empower our wāhine and kōhine.” 

Following this event, the Women & Girls committees will be bringing the action plan to life through the development of a dedicated webpage on the Sport Canterbury website, providing a virtual community of practise.