North York Academy has been presented with a very exciting opportunity, as we have been selected as a recipient of Canadian Women & Sport’s WISE Fund for 2022. 

 

The academy is one of 45 organizations across Canada chosen to receive the grant, which was created to “enable initiatives that will increase opportunities for women to participate and become leaders within sport.” 

 

NYA plans to use the funding for a variety of initiatives within the club, all with the goal of improving and expanding programming for women and girls. This includes training opportunities for female athletes to take on more leadership roles.

 

Hiring coaches to expand the women's side of the club is among the top priorities. Growing the ‘06 Girls team to a full squad to play 11v11 games is a specific goal. For female players, there are currently two youth teams and one adult team within North York Academy, and the club hopes to add to these offerings in the near future.  

 

Another goal is to encourage enrollment among girls at the grassroots level. The Women & Sport grant will be used in part to pay for coaching and field time for programming at the grassroots level. Grassroots programming is key to ensuring a strong female program at the club. There will be a strong focus on getting young kids into the sport and keeping them involved as they get older. 

 

Keeping players aged 12 to 16 interested and involved in sport has been a challenge for many clubs. Providing opportunities for competitive play with high quality training is a solid step towards retaining these players.

 

Overall, the club will use the funding from Canadian Women & Sport to work toward the goal of improving the state of women’s and girls’ soccer in Toronto.

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More information on Canadian Women & Sport and the WISE Fund can be found here.