Elite athletes hope to inspire girls to stay in sport

The event is being put together by the Lethbridge Sport Council and Alberta Sport Development Centre Southwest. Program and communication coordinator Tanya Whipple said a parent contacted them after attending a similar event in Calgary last fall.

“I’m a mom of three girls, and in kind of all their progressions I’ve seen them kind of go through this as athletes, in sport in our city, and their struggles that they’ve had,” Whipple said.

“Ashley’s amazing. She’s so great to work with. She’s lived it herself and gone to the highest level, when you’ve competed at the Olympics. For our girls in Lethbridge to be able to be exposed to that and to be inspired by that is such an opportunity.”

Steacy was one of the first Champ Chat ambassadors in 2015 and said it’s invaluable to bring together the level of experience they’ll have.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented rate of young girls drop out of sport in their teens, which is super unfortunate because there are so many benefits to staying involved in sport,” she said.

“I remember when I was young, I didn’t have a great self body image, but when I found rugby I was able to embrace the power of my body and being short and being muscular. I think that if girls can stay in sport and they can find those attributes within themselves, and finding what really fits for them, that’s an amazing opportunity for them.”

Champ Chat is Saturday, May 26, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Chinook High School. Pre-registration is $20, at https://www.fastandfemale.com/programs/lethbridge262018/.

by Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Elite athletes hope to inspire girls to stay in sport

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