Squash Canada Embarks on Female Participation and Leadership Initiative

Ottawa, ON (October 18, 2019) — Squash Canada is pleased to announce that it is embarking on a goal to enhance female participation and leadership in Canadian squash.  Sport Canada has recently announced new funding to help support this initiative that will enhance Squash Canada’s long-term efforts towards gender equity in squash.

Participation data shows a gender imbalance in squash across the country and in every role.

In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada announced a target to achieve gender equity in sport at every level by 2035. This included an initial commitment of $30 million over three years to support data and research into innovative practices to promote women and girls’ participation in sport, and to support national sports organizations in promoting greater inclusion of women and girls in all facets of sport.

In order to access the funding, Squash Canada identified a series of initiatives, many of which are to create the beginnings of ongoing programs and resources in collaboration with Provincial/Territorial Squash Associations, and in some cases, to provide actual funding to those associations and squash clubs to undertake grass roots female participation and leadership initiatives.  For more information related to planned initiatives, please review the Gender Equity Initiatives Outline – Click Here

To help guide and support delivery of the new initiatives, Squash Canada has initiated the following:

  1. Creation of a national Female Engagement and Gender Equity Committee, the terms of reference for which is attached.
  2. Put in place the capacity to lead and deliver initiatives by contracting the services Tara Mullins who brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the sport of squash.  Bio on Tara included below.

Immediate Call for Volunteers – by October 22

Squash Canada is now searching for interested individuals who would be great candidates for the national Female Engagement and Gender Equity Committee.  The committee’s objective is to create strategies to engage and grow the participation of females in the sport of squash as participants, competitive athletes, coaches, officials and leaders at all levels.

To review the Female Engagement and Gender Equity Committee Terms of Reference – Click Here

We’re moving quickly… Interested candidates are asked to email Tara Mullins at  tara.mullins@gmail.com by October 22.  Sending along a brief bio or resume would be helpful.


Tara Mullins

Tara is a leader, builder and change agent with a unique blend of experience spanning business, professional sports and board membership.  She brings expertise in business development, team leadership, and strategic partnerships with the ability to build community, align stakeholders and deliver results.

Tara has been involved in squash for over 20 years.  As an athlete she was a member of the Canada National Team and represented Canada on an international level competing in both the PSA and WSDA Pro Tours.  As Director of Squash at GoodLife Fitness she was responsible for the strategic development of the function across the company.  Her initiatives successfully led to the growth in memberships, team members and programming, establishing GoodLife as a go-to-place in the squash community. She worked with over 40 squash pros to successfully engage over 8000 clients in squash. As a coach, Tara has experience working with all level of players from beginners through to high performance athletes. Just recently she coached the Ontario Junior Team at Canada Winter Games in 2019 and was involved in the High-Performance Training Camp and Battle of the Borders in 2015 and 2019.

Tara holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business, is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) Toronto Chapter and is currently pursuing her Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) designation

Contact:  tara.mullins@gmail.com or (416) 346-6814