Inaugural OUA Women in Sport Summit creates ‘empowering and inspiring’ legacy

Oakville, Ont. - On May 13th and 14th, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) welcomed more than 40 women student-athletes from across the conference's 20 Member institutions for the inaugural On the Rise: Women in Sport Summit.

The two-day summit brought together student-athlete leaders from across the province who are passionate about pursuing careers in and around sport. Through speakers, panels, leadership workshops, and networking opportunities, participants connected with peers and professionals across a range of sport-related career pathways.

Developed in collaboration with the OUA Women in Sport Committee and Member institutions, the summit reflects the OUA’s commitment to enhancing the student-athlete experience through leadership development, career exploration, and connection. 

“The On the Rise: Women in Sport Summit was created to give women student-athletes a space to connect, learn, and start thinking about what their future in sport can look like beyond competition,” said OUA Director of Sport Kauri LaFontaine. “Our goal was to bring together inspiring voices, meaningful conversations, and real opportunities for growth so participants left feeling supported, confident, and excited about what comes next.”

For many participants, the summit delivered exactly that. “[It] was an amazing event to be a part of, as it allowed me to connect with so many people from different schools and sports who I would have never met without this event,” shared Elise Pridmore, a TMU Bold women’s volleyball player. “This summit truly opened my eyes to the possibilities of women in sport and the different careers in the sporting world and I am excited to see the growth continue.” 

The first day began with a session led by Olivia Ho of The Give & Grow, who guided participants through a workshop focused on core values and leadership while they designed and painted basketball planters. 

“The Give & Grow workshop was a great starter, hosted by Olivia Ho where she shared her entrepreneurial journey and how she built her business out of sport,” shared Jenna Ford, former Guelph Gryphons lacrosse player, now assistant coach.  

After the creative icebreaker, participants took part in a personal marketing session with Kat Bitove from xoxo Sports, who shared ideas and examples before leading the group through a professional photoshoot. Student-athletes incorporated gifting, sporting equipment, sponsor items, and exclusive On the Rise merchandise into their respective shoots.

To cap off the busy day, the group was recognized during the OUA Honour Awards, an evening celebrating OUA's best and brightest throughout the 2025–26 season.

Day 2 began with an intimate networking opportunity between student-athletes and women athletic directors and administrators from across the OUA. The session gave participants the opportunity to engage with leaders in university athletics, explore potential career paths, and continue building relationships across the conference.

The networking continued as the group made its way to the Oakville Conference Centre for a series of engaging speakers and panel discussions, a packed scheduled led by sports reporter Lindsay Dunn, who has covered some of the biggest moments in sport.

The first speaker of the day was Canadian Olympic gold medalist and Toronto Sceptres star Renata Fast, who shared her hockey journey, highlighting the importance of her support system and how she has navigated failure and disappointment throughout her career.

Building on that strong start, the day continued with a panel discussion on sports business focused on building a career in sport. The panel featured Brenda Andress, founder and president of SheIS and the SheIS Sports Network; Nakissa Koomalsingh, founder and CEO of HOOPQUEENS; Mariah Amber, in-arena and digital host for the Toronto Raptors; and Chantal Brioux, founder of The Sport Sisterhood.

Panelists spoke about taking risks, dealing with doubt, learning from setbacks, and creating opportunities in the industry.

Reflecting on the day, Ford noted: “One comment made by Brenda Andress really stuck with me. She stated how there’s still a long way to go for women in sport and we can’t let off the brakes now, that you need to tell a good story in order to get people to buy in. It’s the little moments in a game that bring us together…as the OUA continues to enhance these moments and spotlight female athletics, the caliber and commitment to sport in Canada will continue to grow. It all starts somewhere, grateful to have been part of this.” 

Kat Bitove also took to the stage on Thursday to share more on athlete sponsorship and branding, building on the photoshoot from the day before. 

Tying the conversations back to the OUA, the Journey in Coaching panel featured four past and present OUA coaches, spanning different sports and career stages. 

The group consisted of Natasha Spaling, head coach of the University of Guelph women’s volleyball team; Vicky Sunohara, two-time Olympic gold medalist and head coach of the Toronto Varsity Blues women’s hockey program; Michèle Bélanger, recently retired head coach of the Toronto women’s basketball team, who led the program from 1979 to 2020; and Carla Munch, a PGA of Canada golf professional who has served as head coach of the women’s golf program at Waterloo since its inception in 2004. 

It was a storied group with decades of coaching experience to share with the student-athletes.

The morning closed out with Olympian and former Windsor Lancers track star Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, talking about her career and journey to the Olympics, managing setbacks and close finishes. Bishop-Nriagu and Dunn also discussed MOMentum, a support system for women navigating motherhood and sport.

Wrapping up the day, Alyson Walker tied together many of the day's themes. Drawing from her experiences as a high-level athlete and her career in sports marketing at THE·TEAM, she spoke about leadership, growth, and how her journey has shaped where she is today.

Reflecting on the event, Mya Barton of the York Lions women’s rugby team shared her thoughts: “This event demonstrated the resilience of women athletes, and the courage to fight barriers that attempt to diminish us and the work we put in. It was empowering and inspiring to myself and many other women athletes, to see the community of women that support each other, showing us we can be who we want to become and achieve our goals.” 

The debut event brought women student-athletes together in a meaningful way, leaving many participants with new connections, fresh perspectives, and greater confidence in what their future in sport can look like.