In recent years, as the participation of girls and women in sport in Canada has skyrocketed, barriers have tumbled and opportunities have proliferated. Women are now found in every aspect of sport, from the playing fields to the boardrooms, as administrators and officials, at the grassroots level through to high performance.

While coaching, too, has been affected by this explosion, women who choose to coach continue to face serious challenges, generally as a result of programs that, when designed, did not consider their unique needs. Other barriers include a lack of mentoring, the failure of sport organizations to spotlight female role models, mis-communication, and a lack of access to information that is critical to professional success.

To address these challenges, in September 2000, the Women in Coaching program of the Coaching Association of Canada introduced The Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching. The premise of the Journal is that timely, accurate, targeted information goes a long way towards creating a healthier and more positive environment for women coaches, in Canada and around the world. During the research phase, a worldwide search turned up little information that is specific to the situation of the woman coach. One dominant concern is family life. Other pressing issues focus on negotiating equitable compensation and satisfactory contracts, breaking into the high performance echelon, establishing personal behaviour guidelines, understanding employee and employer rights, and working effectively with a board of directors.

As well as tackling pertinent issues, the Journal goes one step further by providing practical, hands-on, and proactive suggestions and solutions that inform coaches, their employers, the parents of their athletes, and their clubs and associations. Above all, the Journal is designed to make sure that readers will develop an understanding of the unique challenges women coaches face.
If, through the Journal, the challenges faced by women coaches are "put on the table" and workable solutions are offered, an important step will have been taken towards breaching the formidable barriers to getting ahead.

Journal Personnel

Publisher: Sheilagh Croxon, Consultant, Women in Coaching program, Coaching Association of Canada

Editor: Sheila Robertson

Editorial Board: Guylaine Demers, Sheilagh Croxon, Gretchen Kerr, Dru Marshall, Rose Mercier, Sheila Robertson, Penny Werthner

Copy Editor: Heather Ebbs

Translator: MATRA • gs Inc.