The McGill Women in Sport Program (WiS) 
Changing the landscape for female student-athletes
McGill University's Athletics and Recreation (A&R) Unit has maintained a tradition of supporting female student-athletes and gender equity for decades. In September 2018, A&R received a
$3.5-million transformational gift from McGill alumni
Sheryl Kerr (BCom'67) and
David Kerr (BSc'65) to create the Women in Sport (WiS) program.
And in June 2025, McGill received a
gift of $1.25 million from
Monica Leitham Hantho (BEd'81), and
Mark Hantho (BCom'81), to provide support for women's athletics while helping to drive discovery at the Sylvan Adams Sports Science Institute (SASSI) to improve female athletic performance and inform coaching practices.
To date, WiS is one of the only programs in Canada devoted to female athletes and coaches; groups that have historically received less attention and resources compared to their male counterparts.
The WiS program has a two-pronged approach to closing the gender gap in varsity sports:
- Enhancing female representation in coaching staff and providing them with opportunities for professional development
- Empowering female student-athletes to become leaders on and off the field of play by offering mental performance services, career readiness workshops, nutrition services and more
Sheryl Kerr (BCom'67) and
David Kerr (BSc'65)
Monica Leitham Hantho (BEd'81), and
Mark Hantho (BCom'81),
Empowering women: at home and away
McGill Athletics Women in Sports program is dedicated to supporting female student-athletes on their journey to excellence, fostering empowerment and equality through sports. Each year, the WiS program hosts
Women in Sport Day, whereby all female varsity athletes are invited to a Martlets game with the objective of bringing student-athletes together and creating a sense of belonging across female varsity teams.
More than a local effort, this program has a global impact, inspiring women everywhere to break barriers and redefine the possibilities in sports. Together, we're building a future where female student-athletes thrive on and off the field. In May 2024, the Martlets soccer team traveled to Paraguay to host mentorship workshops with school groups, volunteer with local charities and encourage young women not just to get into sports, but to stay in sports.
Join us in championing women's achievements in sports and creating a lasting legacy of empowerment!
Women leading women
McGill is proud to be a leading university when it comes to female head coaches. Currently, the Martlets basketball, hockey and volleyball teams are all steered by women. These same teams also boast full-time assistant coaches, as do the McGill soccer and swimming programs.
The Women in Sport program isn't just about in-house coaches though. McGill's program has helped other female coaches, who started at the University, go onto careers in sports outside of the Roddick Gates including Dianna Ros, the head coach of the University of Toronto's women's basketball team.
The current roster of female coaches at McGill Athletics includes:
Rikki Bowles, Head Coach, McGill basketball (w)
Marilyse Roy-Viau, Assistant Coach, McGill basketball (w)
Alyssa Cecere, Head Coach, McGill hockey (w)
Leslie Oles, Assistant Coach, McGill hockey (w)
Kelsey Wilson, Assistant Coach, McGill soccer (w)
Savannah King, Assistant Coach, McGill swimming (m & w)
Nikki Van Noord, Associate Coach, McGill swimming (m & w)
Marie-Christine Lapointe,
Head Coach, McGill volleyball (w)
Over the first five years of existence,
the WiS Program more than doubled the proportion of female coaches at McGill, moving from only 16.7% at the program's inception to 38.1% by 2022.
Game changers: Women in Sport student-athlete council
In order to invoke real change, we need to work together with our alumni and current student-athletes to understand the challenges female varsity athletes face, and how we can tackle them as a group.
In 2024, under the leadership of Roxane Carrière, the Women in Sport (WiS) student-athlete council was formed.
Being invited to serve on the board recognizes an individual's commitment to advancing the visibility, promotion, and empowerment of women in sports, while offering valuable insight to the WiS program.
The Council will contribute by:
- Ensuring WiS services, activities, and projects reflect the diverse needs of female student-athletes.
- Generating ideas aligned with the program's objectives.
- Acting as a liaison between program management and female student-athletes to drive engagement.
The 2024-25 Council is comprised of the following student-athletes:
In the spotlight
Learn more about the amazing things happening within McGill's Women in Sport program – and because of the program – with our latest news stories.
- A $3.5-million gift to McGill aims to level playing field for female athletes, click here to read the full story.
- A $1.25-million gift to McGill to aims provide support for women's athletics while helping to improve athletic performance and coaching practices, click here to read the full story
- Roxane Carrière appointed manager of McGill's Women In Sports program, click here to read the full story.
- McGill's Sheryl and David Kerr, Montreal's Robert Panet-Raymond named 2024 Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year, click here to read the full story.
- McGill Women Leading in Sports, click here to read the full story.
- McGill Martlets help Soccer Québec's Academy to enhance professional development of women coaches, click here to read the full story.
- McGill's King, a two-time Olympian, selected for U SPORTS Apprentice Coach Program, click here to read the full story.
- McGill's Van Noord selected for U SPORTS female Apprentice Coach Program, click here to read the full story.
- McGill grad and former national team player Lapointe appointed head coach of Martlets volleyball program, click here to read the full story.
Meet the Team
Roxane Carrière, Ph.D. was appointed as the manager of the WiS Program at McGill Athletics and Recreation in February 2023. She brings seven years of experience in research, education and applied sport psychology. She replaces Sylvie Béliveau who stepped down from the position to accept a new opportunity at Égale Action, a Quebec-based organization dedicated to the participation and advancement of girls and women in sport and physical activity.
Mental Performance Consultant Team
Varsity teams who are supported by the WiS program benefit from the services of a mental performance consulting team including Gordon Bloom, Ph.D. (lead), Danielle Alexander Ph.D., Heidi Malo, M.HK, Camille Charbonneau, M.HK and Siobhan Henderson, Ph. D. Candidate and intern.
Gordon Bloom, Ph.D.
(he/him) |
A current and founding member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association, Gordon Bloom earned his Ph.D. degree in Sport Psychology at the University of Ottawa and has been working in the field for over 25 years.
He is currently the director of the McGill Sport Psychology Research Laboratory that is designed to help athletes and coaches achieve personal development and performance success. Gordon is an active mental performance consultant who has consulted with Olympic, professional, and amateur athletes from many different sports, including those who have won Gold Medals at the highest levels of competition. Gordon has also worked with performers in other contexts including business, the performing arts, and academia. Gordon is a well published author and practitioner with regular appearances on various communication platforms, such as radio and television. His work as a mental performance consultant is linked to his research and teaching, where his focus is to teach people to deal with performance pressures by providing information, skills, and support for the athlete/performer/leader/coach who want to improve their mental game.
|
|
Danielle Alexander, Ph.D.
(she/her/elle)
Certified Mental Performance
Consultant with Martlets swimming since fall 2018
|
Danielle earned her Ph.D. and Masters degree in Kinesiology & Physical Education at McGill University specializing in sport psychology. She has been a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association since 2022 and recently obtained her certification as mental performance consultant (CMPC). Danielle's interest in sport began at an early age with her involvement in performance-based sports, including figure skating and dance, for over 20 years. She has been involved in coaching, personal training, and mental performance consulting and is interested in helping clients achieve well-being on a physical and psychological level. Specific to the latter, Danielle has a passion for understanding the mental side of sport and how to enhance female athlete's psychological skillset to optimize their performance and satisfaction in sport. Acting as the mental performance consultant for numerous teams at varying competitive levels, Danielle has led interactive group activities (e.g., team building), lecture-style seminars (e.g., building confidence), and individual consultation sessions to provide an in-depth assessment of athlete needs. |
|
Heidi Malo (she/her/elle)
Certified Mental Performance
Consultant with Martlets volleyball and basketball since fall 2019
|
Heidi earned her Master's degree in Human Kinetics: Intervention and Consultation at the University of Ottawa, and her Bachelor of Psychology degree at Concordia University. She has been a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association since 2010. In addition, Heidi currently works as High Performance Director at Excellence Sportive des Laurentides supporting the development of athletes and coaches in the region. Her background in sports psychology includes working with a variety of athletes from grassroots up to provincial and national level. She also has had the privilege of accompanying athletes in the last five Olympic cycles, making her a mental performance consultant with several years of experience. Her unwavering commitment to elevating athletes' mental performance is underscored by her philosophy as a mental performance consultant: "train with no regret, compete with no regret." She firmly believes that purposeful training, combined with the spirit of "serious fun," engenders a positive mindset that manifests on the day of competition. Her ultimate aspiration is to empower athletes to compete with unwavering confidence, laser-like focus, and the ability to adeptly manage stress and pressure while reveling in the entire process.
|
|
Camille Charbonneau (she/her/elle)
Mental Performance Consultant with Martlets soccer and hockey since fall 2019
|
Camille earned her Master's degree in Human Kinetics: Intervention and Consultation from the University of Ottawa, and her Bachelor of Physical and Health Education degree from McGill University. She has been a professional member of both the Canadian Sport Psychology Association and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology since 2016, making her a mental performance consultant with several years of experience. Her background in sport psychology includes working with grassroots athletes and teams, all the way up to the professional level. In addition to working with athletes, Camille has experience working with musicians at the McGill Schulich School of music, where she supports students with mental skills for their performance. With a background in fitness training for over 12 years, as well as the completion of the well-known Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (Jon Kabat Zinn) in 2016, Camille is a consultant who believes that physical activity and mindfulness are important pillars to performance and overall mental health and well-being. She is also an ambassador for the Canadian Center for Mental Health and Sport and strives to help student-athletes show up at their best both in sport and in life. |
|
Siobhan Henderson (sher/her/elle)
Intern with Martlets hockey since 2021
|
Siobhan earned her Master's degree in Kinesiology & Physical Education from McGill University and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Sport Psychology. She has been a student member of the Canadian Sport Psychology since 2022. She was introduced to sport psychology while competing as a springboard diver at the national level. Through her experiences, Siobhan has learned that attitude, self-belief, and focusing on elements in your control are crucial for performance success and goal achievement. She aims to help her clients develop these mental skills and learn how to apply them in various contexts outside of sport to improve time/energy management, the ability to excel in pressure moments (exams, presentations), and resilience. Currently, she is interning with the men's and women's hockey teams at McGill where she leads group workshops and individual consultations that aim to help athletes develop their own mental game and improve their performance.
|
|
|
To Make a Donation
Ryan Kelly
Associate Director of Development, McGill Athletics
514-290-4671
ryan.kelly3@mcgill.ca
