Play to Lead
Unleashing Women’s Power Through Sport
The Play to Lead program creates a network for girls and their coaches to come together through the power of sport and experience hands-on training and mentorship and build lasting relationships that contribute to gender equity within their local sport organizations and communities.
What to Expect
The Play to Lead program introduces three phases of program delivery that supports athletes along their journey as leaders in sport and beyond:
• An in-person Summit,
• An interactive online platform, and
• An outlet for continued alumni engagement and connection.
The program kicks off by bringing together athletes and their coaches for an in-person Summit where, through experiential learning opportunities, they will explore leadership skills, build connections, and have fun! Building on the lessons and experiences of the Summit, the next phase includes an Online Program where, with the support of their coaches, athletes will continue their learning journeys over the course of the school year. During this time, athletes will have the opportunity to put their leadership skills into action! At the end of the Play to Lead program year, athletes will join the Alumni community, where they will have long-term access to mentorship, networking, and professional development opportunities to support their goals as athletes and leaders.
What You'll Learn
Built upon research lead by the University of Calgary, Play to Lead focuses on introducing and developing 8 key leadership skills to support girls in sport. The program then brings together a community of practitioners from the girls and women in sport landscape in Canada – from sports broadcasters, mental health professionals, local sport organization facilitators, professional athletes, and more – to deliver programming that is exciting, educational, and fun!
Coaches and sport leaders will be engaged through a variety of professional development opportunities throughout the program. Coaches participating in Play to Lead not only support the participant athletes, but also build a culture that encourages all athletes to engage in sport in safe, supportive, and meaningful ways.
Our Commitment
At Jumpstart, we know that gender equity builds better sport. The goal of the Play to Lead program is to support the advancement of gender equity by increasing and sustaining the rates of participation of women and girls in sport, while also boosting the representation of diverse women and girls in sport leadership positions across Canada.
Vancouver, BC: March 17-20, 2025
We look forward to engaging our community partners in Vancouver for an immersive four-day experience filled with hands-on learning, new experiences, connection, and fun – all designed to inspire and empower future leaders. Check out our social channels to learn more about this unique Summit and cohort.
Calgary, AB: Date TBD
We are in the process of finalizing the details for our Calgary cohort and will update our website and social channels as soon as the dates are confirmed. Stay tuned for more information, including how you can get involved !
Date and Location TBD
As part of our commitment to bringing Play to Lead to communities from coast to coast to coast, we are actively working on establishing a third cohort location. We aim to support aspiring leaders from across the country and will share updates on the location and dates as soon as they are available.
Girls and their coaches who are actively engaged in sport and recreation can apply. See below for specific eligibility requirements.
Participant Athletes
- Girls between the ages of 14-17, who will be enrolled in high school for the 2025-26 school year.
- Must be committed to participate in the full duration of the program – both in-person as per the Summit dates and the online sessions.
- Must apply to the program with the support of either your coach or sport leader.
Coaches
- 18 years or older.
- Actively engaged with a sport organization in a leadership capacity or coach on a school team.
- Must commit to be at the in-person Summit.
- Must be committed to support their athlete(s) for the full duration of the online sessions.
- Must complete the Respect in Sport: Activity Leaders online course before the in-person Summit starts (4 hours in length; a complimentary code will be provided to accepted coaches to access the course).
Application details and timelines will be provided soon! Please keep an eye on our website and social channels for more information.
"I just wanted to say thanks so much to you and your incredible team, send my thank yous to everyone! this program has been so much fun and I can’t wait for what’s to come in the future!"
“I just wanted to send a huge thank you for everything that was presented, given, and for all the thought that went into such an amazing weekend! You have touched my athletes lives and I am forever grateful. You have inspired me to be a better coach and to keep encouraging girls at my school to try new things and be active! I look forward to what the future holds for this summit and am eager to see what our athletes aspire to do this year. Thank you again for such a lovely weekend!”
“Thank you once again, and again, and again, for having us at this wonderful Summit. Supporting us from the beginning, through many hurdles and in the future. Making a difference in our lives and in so many others through the power of sport. My motto is fairly simple “Provide opportunities and possibilities to our youth to become the best version of themselves.” You and everyone at Jumpstart have done that and continue to do it. Thank you.”
“Programs like yours for Girls in Sports like my daughter bring them so much opportunity and offer then balance they get to see themselves as part of the bigger picture of women in athletics with the possibility of reaching their goals, and dreams through their individual and team endeavors. It was a pleasure for my amazing daughter to have been selected along with her awesome Coach and she will remember this experience as a positive one. I will continue to support her as Play to Lead will help her become a much more stronger and confident athlete than she already is, thank you for helping her feel included and welcome there.”
If you have any questions about the Play to Lead program or the application process, please see the Frequently Asked Questions section, or contact playtolead@cantire.com.