CEC is excited to announce the Recipients of our first ever CEC Community Grant, supporting projects focusing on increasing participation of Women and BIPoC individuals in Sport Climbing. This Grant is made possible by the support of Sport Canada and Arc’Teryx.
2020-2021 Gender Equity Grant Recipients
GENDER EQUITY GRANT, funded by Sport Canada
Bolder Ladies Night
Bolder Climbing Community, Calgary, AB
Bolder Climbing Community’s Ladies Night event has the goal to host events to welcome all persons who identify as female and climbers of all abilities to an evening of coaching and community building. Once a month in the upcoming three months, members and newcomers to Bolder can participate in an evening consisting of a female coach to promote female body anatomy in climbing, a recovery yoga class, and community building with mingling and food after the event. The CEC Community Grant will eliminate financial barriers for participants, and provide a safe and welcoming space for female climbers.
Climbing Your Way: An Exploration of Movement
The Hub Climbing, Mississauga / Markham, ON
Thanks to the CEC Community Grant, we will run three workshops, twice each over the span of 6 weeks. Our target audience is the gender minority groups (cis and trans women as well as non binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers the experiences of women).
- Behind the Scenes in Setting
- Recognize your Strengths: Climbing for Your Body Type
- Recognize your Weaknesses: Taking Your Climbing to the Next Level
These workshops will give participants an opportunity to network with one another, learn more about themselves as climbers, and introduce them to different aspects of climbing.
Pour l’amour de l’escalade (For the love of Climbing)
D-Vert, Magog, QC
The Love of Rock Climbing Project consists of a series of three workshops offered free of charge and led by a specialized kinesiologist. The main goal of the project is to promote the discovery, practice and / or performance of rock climbing among women in our community. Each workshop is aimed at a different clientele and the content changes according to that clientele. These three workshops will be offered on three separate Saturday mornings in order to avoid scheduling conflicts with family, work or other nature with the participants and to promote their registration. Since D-Vert is a new climbing center installed in Magog since only April 2021, we are still at the stage of building our community. It is important for us to promote as much equity as possible and to create a healthy and exciting climbing environment for women. The CEC Community Grant will allow us to offer these workshops, as well as equipment rental, free of charge to participants!
BIPOC REPRESENTATION GRANT, funded by Arc’Teryx
Indigenous Youth Introduction to Climbing
Bolder Climbing Community, Calgary, AB
Bolder Climbing Community aims to partner with local indigenous climber, Cassie Ayoungman, to support her initiatives in increasing access and representation for indigenous youth in climbing. For most indigenous communities, individuals must travel off reserve to be able to visit climbing-specific facilities. This physical barrier combined with social constraints and a general lack of resources, prevents many from the ability to engage with the sport.
For Cassie, climbing has given her a space to connect with her land and culture and realizes the importance that mentorship had in her climbing journey. In November and December of this year, we are welcoming Cassie and a group of indigenous youth into our space for a 5-week introductory program. With support from the CEC Community Grant, we will be able to extend the program and provide mentorship from one of our coaches for each session.
Colour the Trails
https://colourthetrails.com/
The Hive, Vancouver, BC
Colour the Trails advocate for inclusive representation in outdoor spaces, to create accessibility. We subsidize outdoor adventures, create diverse content. We are building our community as a form of reclamation, a way to take up space, where everyone is welcome.
With the help of the CEC Community Grant, we will be hosting a series of intro to bordering clinics at the Hive in Vancouver to further support BIPOC folks. We will hire a BIPOC certified climber to teach our clinic, support participants with some punch cards, and connect them to experienced climbers. This way we are breaking barriers to access by creating opportunities.
