Young girls come together at TD Place to find empowerment through sports

Students leap through the track and field section on the grounds of TD Place for Sports Day the Girls Way. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

Hundreds of students from schools across the city came together Monday to find empowerment through sports.

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Showing some fancy footwork and soccer moves, fourth grader Rosalie Khoury is cheered on by her friends while practicing her soccer moves.

"I felt good," said Rosalie of the experience.

"Because it was really fun, and I had people I knew."

Having fun is the name of the game for "Sports Day the Girls Way" put on by the OSEG Foundation. 800 students from schools across the city have been brought to learn and try out sports like soccer, track and field, and karate.

Rosalie says because she’s with friends, it was easier.

"I was thinking, I can do this, I’m fast, I can do it," she said. "So, I was doing the best I could."

That’s the goal says Debbie Lloyd, the principal for St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School – to inspire the younger generations of girls to believe in themselves in what is often a male dominated field.

"I think it's really important that girls learn that they, too, have this incredible body that can achieve so many great things," she said. "And sport is a great way of achieving that."

The students also heard from professional athletes, Olympians and Paralympians, who are hoping to create that spark, and show them a world they can pursue.

Women's sports in Ottawa is growing fast. This year, a new professional women’s hockey team and soccer team were brought to the city.

Young girls can find their future and passion in sport through new role models, said Rosey Edeh, an Olympic hurdler and a host on CTV Morning Live Ottawa.

"The landscape is changing dramatically," she said. "These girls get to grow up and go, yeah! What, doesn't everybody know about professional women's hockey? What's the big deal? I love that. I want that to be the norm. And that's exactly what's happening. And it’s about keeping that momentum going."

Soccer star and Olympic bronze medalist Dianna Matheson says spaces like these are vital.

“I've definitely found in my career that being in environments with just girls, just women, helps to provide a safe space. Where maybe if it's something you're not as used to, you don't do as much sport on your own,” she said.

"Days like today can have that new experience where you're being introduced to it in a safe way."

Grade 5 student Janice Nyufor says that is the best part – it’s a no judgement zone, a place to try out new things.

"If one of us doesn't know something, another of our friends will be like, oh, come on, you got this," she said.

"And if they don't have the ball, we'll just take it from them and said you did well or whatever. So it feels nice."