Media
Coaches confident that more gender barriers will fall in the future
The Globe and Mail, January 22, 2016Print
As gender barriers are starting to fall in the pro coaching ranks, some in the Canadian sport community say there is a bigger issue at play — getting women to consider coaching at all. “The go-to answer is the environment is not welcoming and it’s pretty lonely,” said Coaching Association of Canada chief executive officer Lorraine Lafreniere. “I think until we tackle getting an equitable amount of women’s coaches coaching women’s teams, that’s the starting point as far as I’m concerned ... to me that’s the biggest challenge,” she added.
CIS need 'Rooney Rule' to boost women coaches, advocates say
TSN, April 10, 2015Online
URL: http://www.tsn.ca/talent/cis-need-rooney-rule-to-boost-women-coaches-advocates-say-1.253173
Two prominent coaching associations are asking Canadian universities to introduce a bylaw to ensure women are interviewed for head coaching positions, a concept styled after the National Football League’s so-called “Rooney Rule.” TSN has learned the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) on Thursday wrote to Canadian Interuniversity Sport, or CIS, the governing body for athletic departments at 56 Canadian universities, to ask that the CIS board to consider methods to increase the number of female coaches.
Biography
As CEO of the Coaching Association of Canada, Lorraine Lafrenière was twice named to the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport Top 20 most influential women in 2014 and 2015. Her career spans more than 25 years across many sectors within the Canadian Sport system, including roles with the Canadian Olympic Committee, National Sport Organizations, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as Petro-Canada, one of Canada's leading Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsors. Prior to joining the Coaching Association of Canada in November of 2013, Lafrenière held Chief Executive Officer positions with CanoeKayak Canada from 2009-2013, one of two sports in Canada to produce three Olympic medals in London 2012. She was also the CEO of Cycling Canada from 2006-2008, where she contributed to re-establishing the organization's financial stability and its high performance and development structure in order to improve Canada's performances on the international stage. Lafrenière's commitment to volunteerism has been consistently demonstrated throughout her career. She has had the honour to serve on the boards and committees of many organizations, including the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Cancer Society (Ottawa-Carleton), Run for the Cure, Big Sisters of Ottawa, and Ottawa-Carleton Epilepsy. She was also the co-chair of the 2004 Ontario Summer Games held in Ottawa. Lafrenière is also a cancer survivor.
Recognition/Reconnaissance
CAAWS Most Influential Women List | Professional
Annual recognition of Top 20 Most Influential Women which celebrates game-changers in sport and physical activity in Canada and on the international stage