New campaign aims at scoring victory for girls and women in B.C. sports

VANCOUVER – A B.C. organization created as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic Games wants to make sports in British Columbia more inclusive for women, the disabled, the poor and those with non-traditional sexual orientations.

ViaSport is taking aim at gender equity as it launches its #LEVELTHEFIELD campaign, encouraging broader participation in all sports in the province.

ViaSport says girls and women are under-represented as athletes, coaches, officials, board members, executives and sport leaders.

CEO Sheila Bouman says the viaSport campaign will offer interactive tools, workshops and dedicated funding to help 70 sport partners and community leaders create their own gender equity and action plans.

Bouman says the more people talking about gender equity in sport, the faster traditional attitudes can be shifted.

Provincial Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Peter Fassbender says the drive represents an important step in creating a stronger, more equitable sport system for all British Columbians.