Greater Toronto Area Netball League: Girls Can Play

http://www.gtanl.ca/

GTANL's Girls Can Play initiative focuses on promoting physical activity, leadership and skills of young women by increasing their participation in sports. It offers an 8-week netball skill-building program and a 6-week leadership development program. Participants can gain nationally recognized coaching certification, which can help them access meaningful employment opportunities in leadership and recreation.

Through the initiative, young women vulnerable to negative influences are building positive health and fitness habits, developing leadership skills and making new friends. To date, the initiative has enabled 164 young women between the ages of 11 and 24 to learn about and participate in the game of netball. GTANL has also developed partnerships with six organizations (Netball Ontario, CanTYD, Girls Unlimited, City of Toronto, Heron Park Community Centre, Ellesmere Community Centre) to assist with outreach and recruitment, creating meaningful community partnerships, to ensure the program is accessed by hard-to-reach young women. The initiative has also been successful at connecting young women from diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds, providing opportunities for cross-cultural learning.