Canadian Women & Sport is dedicated to creating an equitable and inclusive Canadian sport and physical activity system that empowers girls and women—as active participants and leaders—within and through sport. With a focus on systemic change, we partner with sport organizations, governments, and leaders to challenge the status quo and build better sport through gender equity.
Femmes et sport au Canada se consacre à la création d’un système canadien de sport et d’activité physique qui valorise les filles et les femmes — en tant que participantes actives et chefs de file — avec et à travers le sport. En mettant l’accent sur un changement systémique, nous nous associons avec les organismes sportifs, les gouvernements et les chefs de file pour remettre en question le statu quo et améliorer le sport grâce à l’égalité des sexes.
Canadian Women & Sport is committed to helping girls and gender-diverse people access active recreation and physical activity.
Recent insights from the Rally Report 2024 show that girls and women continue to face barriers to fully participating in active recreation. Meanwhile, there is immense pressure on sport leaders and organizations to engage girls and gender-diverse participants in active recreation.
The Next Play is a grant program aimed at helping Ontario-based organizations meet this opportunity head-on by designing girl-centered sports programs and initiatives.
By supporting sport leaders and organizations through The Next Play, more girls and gender-diverse participants will be able to access the benefits of physical activity.
This project is made possible by the Government of Ontario.
What is The Next Play?
- The Next Play is an Ontario-based grant program designed to help organizations and their coaches and leaders engage more girls and gender-diverse participants from diverse backgrounds in active recreation and physical activity.
- The goal? Help organizations figure out their next play when it comes to better engaging more girls and gender-diverse participants in active recreation.
How does it work?
- Canadian Women & Sport and the Government of Ontario are partnering to provide 65 active recreation organizations in Ontario with access to this grant program.
- As part of The Next Play participating organizations will:
- Have 3 leaders complete girl-centered program design training to help equip their leaders with effective approaches for engaging girls and gender-diverse participants in recreation post-pandemic. A $1,000 honorarium will be provided to organizations to support with training.
- Develop and submit a project proposal aimed at better engaging and/or retaining girls and gender-diverse participants in active recreation. Proposals should reflect the unique needs of their communities and organizations, and learnings from the program design training. Successfully completed proposals will receive a $4,500 grant to support their initiative.
- Participate in two Community of Practice sessions with Canadian Women & Sport Facilitators and other participating organizations in June and August 2025.
- Commence active recreation initiatives in Summer 2025 and complete final reporting by August 30, 2025.
Who is it for?
- The Next Play is for Ontario-based active recreation organizations who are ready to engage more girls and gender-diverse participants from diverse backgrounds in their programming. Active recreation includes sport and physical activity programs as well as cultural and game-based programming.
- Please review the application guide for full eligibility details.