Fuelling Women Champions – Champions Fund for Young Women

According to a 2016 study commissioned by Canada’s dairy farmers, only 59% of girls aged 3-17 {and 16 per cent of adult women} in Canada participate in sport. This is one statistic, while unfortunate, doesn’t surprise me.

My own sport involvement dropped significantly in my teen years, then to pretty much nothing in my adult years. Comparing this to my daughters involvements in competitive cheerleading, there are few beyond the age of 17.

Reasons for this are complex, life and other obligations get in the way so very easily. Yet in my conversations with other parents, a common topic when it comes to sports involvement – is the cost. The monetary cost for sports involvement doesn’t come with a frugal price-tag, and sometimes athletics fall to the wayside when economic times are hard or when the funds are deemed more applicable elsewhere.

This is especially true when approaching the age of first jobs and increased academics, time is a factor but I know many older children that drop their sports activities when it comes time for them to foot the bill. We all know that sports are integral to maintaining health and building confidence, however the vast majority of Canadian females abandon sport as young adults.

If only there was an incentive … perhaps more young women would participate in sport.

Fuelling Women Champions (FWC) is a national, multi-year initiative spearheaded by Canada’s dairy farmers, and it’s dedicated to the advancement of women in sport. Under the FWC umbrella, the Champions Fund exists to help break down barriers for amateur female athletes and is a grant that has launched for the second time this year.

Currently, Canada’s dairy farmers are accepting applications for the $150,000 fund – up from $100,000 in 2016 – which will be distributed as 30 grants of $5,000 to deserving female athletes, teams and organizations across Canada in October 2017.

Thanks to Fuelling Women Champions, 30 young women will have the money, which is in fact the opportunity, to continue their athletic goals and a healthy lifestyle. We all know goodness starts with small initiatives, and you never know, one of the recipients in a small Canadian community might inspire more young women to follow suit {or more award initiatives once the importance is realized}.

Change starts somewhere and in this case, it’s with the Champions Fund and Fuelling Women Champions.

Yet, it only works if there are applications, right? Apply for the Champions Fund, before September 20, 2017. The Champions Fund Committee will select the 30 winners from the top 50-60 applicants in October 2017.

This is a sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own