In Canada, the rise of female sport participation has made meaningful strides, but many girls still face significant hurdles on the way to competitive sports. While awareness has grown around the value of sport for youth well-being, engagement and retention of girls remain stubbornly challenging. According to Canadian Women & Sport’s The Rally Report, more than one in five girls drop out of sport during adolescence, and many more are playing less than they might. [1]
Addressing these issues requires a blend of supportive environments, purpose-driven programming, inclusive coaching, and strong role models. In this article we explore evidence-based, Canada-specific strategies for parents, coaches, schools, and community leaders to help girls access, enjoy, and remain engaged in competitive sport.
Understanding the barriers
Before solutions, it’s vital to understand what holds many Canadian girls back. Key barriers include:
- Lack of inclusive access and pathways: Many competitive programs have high fees, travel demands, or early specialization requirements, which can exclude girls who cannot commit financially or logistically.
- Gender norms and stereotypes: Despite progress, girls often encounter sports cultures that emphasize male-dominated models of competition, limiting their perceived place.
- Retention drop-off in adolescence: Research shows the greatest decline in participation happens around ages 13-17, when school, social life, and body changes collide with sport demands. [1]
- Limited female leadership and role models: Girls benefit from seeing coaches and leaders who look like them; yet women remain under-represented in high-level Canadian coaching.
- Psychosocial factors: Pressure to perform, peer comparison (especially through social media), concerns about body image, or the belief “I’m not good enough” can silence participation.
Recognizing these barriers helps us target interventions intentionally, tailoring them to the Canadian sport ecosystem rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all solution.
Strategies for Parents and Families
Families hold powerful influence over girls’ sport choices and persistence. Below are strategies parents can implement to move from support to action.
Emphasize fun, growth and friendship
Research shows that girls are more likely to stay in sports when they experience belonging, positive social relationships, and fun rather than solely results-oriented pressure. [1] As a parent, encourage participation in ways that highlight new friendships, enjoyment of movement, and personal improvement.
Allow sampling and reduce cost barriers
Encouraging a “try multiple sports” model helps girls discover where they feel comfortable. Municipal recreation programs in Canada often provide lower-cost or subsidized introductory programs. Families should explore community recreation centres, school-based sport clubs, and non-selective leagues.
Support logistic and resource access
Many girls drop out simply because of transport, schedule conflicts, or lack of equipment. Parents can: carpool with other families; share gear; keep practice schedules visible; and apply for financial assistance programs like KidSport or Jumpstart which help cover registration fees in Canada.
Model positive attitudes and participation
Parents who themselves engage in physical activity and talk openly about the value of sports set a powerful example. Even when not actively playing, parents showing up for games, praising effort, and avoiding performance-only focus make a difference in how girls view sport and their own place in it.
Strategies for Coaches, Clubs and Sport Organizations
The environment coaches create often determines whether girls stay or leave sport. Here’s how to improve club culture and practice design.
Design programmes that focus on belonging and stability
Competitive sport for girls should include opportunities for social connection, inclusive team norms, and visible progression pathways. The Rally Report emphasizes that programmes which integrate mentorship, peer support and diversity of experience help girls stay engaged. [1]
Provide female leadership and mentorship
Increasing the number of women coaches and programme leads helps bolster image, expectation and belonging for girls. The Coaching Association of Canada and Canadian Women & Sport provide toolkits and training to help clubs develop and support female coaches, which in turn improves retention of female athletes.
Create development-friendly practice models
While competition has its place, over-emphasizing winning too early can alienate girls who are still building confidence. Coaches should balance skill development, play time, decision-making opportunities, and constructive feedback. Clubs should schedule regular fun competitions, focus on teamwork, and introduce goal-setting that emphasises personal bests more than podiums.
Build partnerships for access and support
Clubs can partner with schools, recreation departments, or local businesses to reduce cost and enhance accessibility. Shared use of facilities, scholarships sponsored by local companies, and gear-sharing initiatives can ease financial barriers. An example: many Canadian municipalities support equipment banks or subsidized access for girls’ sport.
Monitor and ensure safe inclusive environments
To retain girls, practices and clubs must be safe physically and emotionally. Policies around harassment, bullying, technical/physical safety, inclusive changing rooms, and respectful behaviour all matter. Canadian sport bodies now emphasise “Safe Sport” frameworks that include gender-equity built in. [2]
Strategies for Schools and Educational Settings
Schools offer a unique opportunity, since they touch most Canadian youth daily. Engaging girls in competitive sport via schools and reinforcing through the community is key.
Expand access through intramurals and inclusive teams
Many girls are turned off by competitive try-outs or major travel demands. Schools can create no-cut teams, mixed-ability leagues, and intramurals with flexible schedules. The national ParticipACTION report card underlines that children’s daily movement benefits when schools make sport fun and accessible. [3]
Use curriculum to promote diversity of sport and movement
Physical education classes should include exposure to a wide range of activities: team sport, individual sport, alternative sport (like ultimate or beach volleyball), and recreation options. This boosts choice, helps girls find what they enjoy, and counters the “only one sport counts” mentality.
Highlight role models and positive sport cultures
Schools should invite local female athletes or coaches to present; display images and stories of women in sport; and celebrate female sport achievements equally to male. This representation helps girls envision themselves in competitive sport roles and mitigates the effects of under-representation.
Coordinate community-school linkages
When schools partner with local clubs, girls gain easier access to after-school programming, reduce travel time, and strengthen continuity between school sport and community sport. By lowering transition friction, more girls can stay engaged through high school and beyond.
Strategies for Community Leaders and Stakeholders
At the municipal, provincial, and national levels in Canada, leaders must work on structural supports to enable girls’ sport participation at a competitive level.
Invest in accessible, high-quality facilities
For many girls, facility access is a barrier. Particularly in smaller towns or rural areas, safe, well-lit, multi-purpose venues matter. Municipalities should prioritise inclusive spaces, scheduling that saves prime times for female teams, and funding models that reduce cost for families.
Offer targeted funding and bursaries
Many provincial sport organisations have bursaries specifically for female athletes, or programmes to increase girls’ participation in STEM, sport, or coaching. Creating grants that cover travel, equipment, and registration fees for female-led teams or athletes can reduce attrition.
Promote strong media visibility and partnerships
When girls see women’s sport being broadcast, celebrated, and respected, it shifts cultural norms. Canadian media coverage of leagues such as the Premier Hockey Federation (now part of the broader women’s hockey landscape) or high-performance female athletes elevates expectations and aspirations. Community leaders should partner with media and local sponsors to shine the spotlight on girls in sport.
Support long-term athlete development pathways
Competitive sport for girls must be aligned with long-term growth rather than early burnout. The Sport for Life Society Canada’s LTAD model emphasises that the best environments for youth sport are those that value physical literacy, inclusive competition, and diversified experience rather than early specialisation. [4]
Success Stories: Canadian Examples of Progress
Here are a few examples of milestones and programmes in Canada that show what effective change looks like:
- In 2024, Canadian Women & Sport reported increased rates of female coach certification, prioritised equity, and launched targeted retention research to address female athlete dropout. [1]
- Municipalities in British Columbia and Ontario have introduced “Girls in Sport” weeks or annual festivals that provide free try-out days, mentor sessions, and showcase female-led sport – supporting access and representation.
- The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in Canada has helped raise profile and investment for women’s team sport, creating more visible elite pathways for young girls to aspire to.
- The LTAD-aligned club partnerships in Alberta and Newfoundland have reported higher retention when clubs introduced mentoring programmes pairing high-school female athletes with younger girls entering the sport.
These examples demonstrate that progress is possible when multiple stakeholders align around culture, access, and leadership.
Measuring Impact and Staying on Track
To ensure strategies work, measurement and feedback matter. Clubs, schools and municipalities should track:
- Girls’ registration and retention rates year-to-year
- Surveys of athlete satisfaction, feeling of belonging, and enjoyment
- Equity of access: cost barriers, travel distances, equipment availability
- Coach gender balance and leadership progression
- Representation in media, promotion, and event scheduling
Having these data in hand helps decision-makers adjust programming, funding, and policy with clarity rather than hope.
Bringing it together: A roadmap for action
Here is a summary roadmap for how Canadians can work together to encourage girls in competitive sport:
- Family: emphasise fun, explore multiple sports, support logistics, and model activity
- Coach/Club: foster inclusion, recruit women leaders, balance structure with enjoyment, make development visible
- School: expand intramurals/no-cut teams, diversify sport offerings, highlight female role models, link to local clubs
- Community and Province: invest in access and facilities, fund female athlete pathways, increase media visibility, support long-term development
With each layer working in parallel, girls in Canada will have stronger opportunities to play competitively, stay engaged through adolescence, and build meaningful experiences from sport.
How Rising Stars Helps Girls Participate in Sport
At Rising Stars, we recognise that in order for girls to thrive in sport, the environment must feel inclusive, supportive, and connected to their lives, not just competitive from day one. Our programs are designed to remove barriers for girls in Canada by offering flexible entry points, mentorship by female coaches, peer-support structures, and pathways into competitive sport that value fun and growth as much as performance. By partnering with local schools and community leagues we reduce cost, coordinate logistics, and ensure that girls are stepping into sport with confidence, community, and a sense of belonging. Rising Stars is committed to helping girls not only access sport but stay with it, rise into leadership roles, and enjoy the full benefits of being active, connected, and empowered through competition.
References
- Canadian Women & Sport. The Rally Report 2024.
- Sport Canada. Safe Sport, Gender Equity and Participation in Canadian Sport.
- ParticipACTION. 2024 Children & Youth Report Card.
- Sport for Life Society Canada. LTAD & Quality Sport Frameworks.