YORK HOSTS FIFTH ANNUAL WOMEN & GIRLS LEADERSHIP IN SPORT CONFERENCE

After a successful return to an in-person conference in 2023, York University Athletics & Recreation is proud to host the fifth annual Women & Girls Leadership in Sport Conference (WGLSC) at the Second Student Centre on Apr. 26. 

This year’s event, centred around the theme of ‘Beyond Bodies: Examining Gender Rights in Sport’ aims to highlight inclusion of transgender women in sport, and critically explore the current sporting environments and policy surrounding trans and non-binary athletes competing in sport. The conference will also look at how leaders in sport settings can best provide trans athletes with the tools they need to achieve peak performance. 

2024 conference organizer and Manager, Varsity Athletics – Student Success and Administration Mandy McCurdy believes this year’s conference is vital to advancing gender equity in sport. 

“The WGLSC anchors the theme with timely and relevant sport and leadership issues impacting women and girls. Gender has always been a topic of discussion when it comes to equity and inclusion in sport, and it is important that we provide space to explore how gender identification influences sport classification and participation including who is able to participate in sport and under what conditions,” said McCurdy. “As an institution of higher learning, York is well-positioned to further the conversation, and engage conference participants in a day-long informative and reflective dialogue around gender rights in sport. 

Hosting the conference will be Lyndsay Hayhurst, an Associate Professor in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science and York Research Chair, Sport, Gender & Development. She is the co-author of Sport, Gender and Development: Intersections, Innovations and Future Trajectories and the co-editor of Beyond Sport for Development and Peace: Transnational perspectives on theory, policy and practice. 

The event will feature a keynote address from Schuyler Bailar, the first openly trans NCAA Division I swimmer and the first openly transgender male to compete as a male in Division I competition. The event will also have breakout workshops with Ali Greely & Spectrum, Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space.  

The five-person panel for this year’s WGLSC includes moderator Parissa Safai, trans hockey player Jesscia Platt, Sabrina Razack from the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, and registered social worker Max Denley. 

Steven Chuang, Executive Director, Athletics & Recreation, says this year’s conference is a prime example of York’s dedication to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for women and trans people. 

“Sports and Recreation serve as a catalyst to bring about social and systemic change.  It has the potential to transcend academic disciplines, year of study, social connections, and college affiliation,” said Chuang. “This year’s conference theme aims to highlight Athletics and Recreation’s commitment towards gender-inclusive spaces on and off campuses.  While there has been intellectual debate and discourse around EDI for quite some time, there remains a gap in the sector to achieve gender inclusion in all its forms.  As such, this year’s theme will demonstrate York’s desire to champion best practices, policy change, and program innovations that foster gender rights.” 

Registration for the 2024 WGLSC opens on March 8, International Women’s Day. General admission tickets are $125, while team passes (eight or more people) are $100/person. All student tickets (postsecondary and secondary) are $75. Tickets are available through Fusion, by clicking here. For more information on the event, please visit the official WGLSC landing page.