Everybody Watches Women's Sports
In 2024 women's sports have attained a level of excitement, support and inclusion never seen. The formation and success of the PWHL ( Professional Women's Hockey League) is exhibit one. The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is filled with players whose talent resonates with star-driven media coverage, and are better people. Added to this the teams share the ball and play defence in entertaining fashion that has many basketball people saying that this year the women's tournament is more fun to watch than the men's.
Sunday's NCAA final between Iowa and South Carolina was the most watched basketball game in the last five years. Men or Women. College or NBA.
Its like a seismic shift toward sport for all, and the entertainment value of women's sport has taken place. This environment of inclusion is important for the journey of young people watching, who may be dreaming tonight of being the next Caitlin Clark or Natalie Spooner. Organizations and people who have faught for years to make this a reality should be commended.
People like Olympia alumnus Sabrina Razack.
Sabrina was motivated to go after her dreams and help others by the interaction she had with teachers as a young athlete growing up in Kitchener Ontario, and then hit the motherlode when she saw one of those Olympia posters outside the Phys Ed office. Why did she want to go to Olympia? Because all the kids in the pictures looked like they were having so much fun! Fun is at the forefront of everything Sabrina has done.
Sabrina Razack turned out to be a quick study in such things throughout her journey. And what a journey!
Sabrina and her twin sister Yasmin were similar yet different when they were young. Sabrina was heavily into many sports-playing soccer, basketball, volleyball and track while Yasmine was very good in Field Hockey. Sabrina's leadership began to blossom and she eventually became student council president, loving the ability to help create meaningful school experiences.
That poster sure made Olympia look like fun but Sabrina was also motivated to get better at basketball. She decided to go week 9 because that was the week right before school tryouts in September. She remembers being coached by Bill Pangos ( full disclosure I was there too!) and Bill telling her that with more training she could play university basketball.
After two years as a camper, where she loved everything about camp; Dave talk, counsellors Jackie and Kendra, the dancing, the songs that would make her lose her voice by the end of the week, Sabrina knew she wanted to become a counsellor.
The great teachers that Sabrina had at Preston High School gave her the start to her path, and her career. Her experiences in Phys Ed class guided her to take Kinesiology and Health Sciences at York University. She craved opportunities to play and to meet others through play. She went out for the basketball team at York but was cut.... by Bill Pangos!... but that turning point lead Sabrina to play varsity Rugby.. all good Bill...
Funny things happen sometimes on our way to what we think our path is. Sabrina admits in hindsight that more focus on the sport of basketball MIGHT have produced different results, but her continued love for the sport allowed her passion to increase access and opportunities for radicalized girls and young women play and enjoy sport. She has worked for Ontario Basketball and the Toronto Raptors and has been involved in numerous events throughout her career. The leadership she found to love in high school has allowed her to impact the lives of so many others.
Sabrina loved the idea of teaching, and also loved the planning that went into sporting events, and knew that York would be a good start. After graduation she taught for more than a decade, focussing on girl's programming and physical activity. Her passion for organizing sporting events, especially promoting inclusion through sport, made her go after so much more.
Sabrina spent years in the sport sector focusing on community mobilization and research, addressing various equity issues while producing several published works. She co-authored a report on the racial climate of 20 Universities in Ontario that led to sweeping changes within athletic departments and varsity programs. As an award winning curriculum writer, her published works influenced educators and practitioners to implement innovative methods required to lead conversations around anti-racism, sexism, digital literacy and social justice in sports.
The flexibility in teaching allowed Sabrina to pursue graduate work and be involved in the sporting environment. She completed her master's and eventually earned her PhD at the University of Toronto in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education with a collaborative specialization in Women and Gender Studies. She always questioned why the media wasn't paying more attention to women's sports and how the internet and social media were creating and maintaining harmful stereotypes about racialized women in sport. This led to research focused on the analysis of media, race, sport, gender and social movements. Sabrina imagined a future of more inclusive sport and physical activity.
That future is now.
This leader that the Olympia family should be proud of continues to fight the fight of inclusionary sport for all. She realized the power of mega-sporting events for bringing communities together when she was Manager of Education and Outreach for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Games. This role prepared her to deal with athletes, government, sponsors, venue management and artistic directors. She is rightfully proud of the social and cultural legacy of Toronto 2015, and is motivated further by the opportunities for community building through amateur sport, and for such events to be the catalyst for change.
Always looking for further challenges and opportunities, Sabrina is now the Canada Project Lead for the project "Promoting the Rights of Children in the 2026 FIFA World Cup." FIFA 2026 is the global soccer phenomenon that will be co-hosted by Canada, the United Sates, and Mexico. Sabrina's role involves working with all the host cities to develop and implement opportunities for active child citizenship, to affect change through the value of sport for all and awareness of child's rights.
This dynamo was also named an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education on Aug 21, 2023. Without a doubt, one of the most accomplished leaders in Canadian sport.
A long way from Tuck and Pro... Continued success on your journey Sabrina!
Are you an Olympia Alumni like Sabrina? Register today for the Olympia Alumni Association and get those in your Olympia circle to do the same. The link is:
.https://forms.gle/woWsggqM7zpUyHge9
Olympia has created an App that will allow Alumni to connect with the camp events, read content about some amazing Olympia people, and maybe sign your child or grandchild up for the week of their lives.
We know that the stories captured in The Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp just scratch the surface of the amazing people of Olympia and we envision the OAA as a way to share many more hero's journeys and for all alumni to have a vehicle to stay in touch.
If you have someone who you feel is a hero of their journey and who the Olympia community would like to hear about connect with me at coachdools71@gmail.com. Within a community of everyday heroes there are many stories that people would love to read about, stories I would love to write about.
Copies of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp can be ordered through Amazon, Indigo.ca and are available at The Different Drummer Book Store on Locust St in Burlington. Or if you live in the Hamilton/ Halton area etransfer $30 with your address and I'll deliver it to your door.
Online copies are available at aherosjourney.ca
One of my favourite counsellors . Proud of you Sabrina!
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