'It's about time': Female boxing makes its debut at the Canada Games
CBC
There won't be any P.E.I. athletes when female boxing makes it debut at the Canada Winter Games, but people in the sport hope young girls on the Island will be inspired by what they see and set their sights on the next Games in 2027.
Tracy Stretch is the boxing sport lead on the sport organization committee for the 2023 Games.
She made boxing history in 1995 when she represented P.E.I. as the first woman to compete in the first women's national amateur boxing competition, bringing home a bronze medal — but she was not able to compete at the Canada Games.
"It was a little disappointing because I thought, why not? I'm able to do it at a national level. I'm able to represent my province in regional competitions. Why not at the Canada Games level?" Stretch said.
"At the time in 1995, boxing wasn't included as an Olympic sport ... for females," said Stretch. Female boxing made its debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"When I heard that boxing was going to be a part of these Canada Games, I was like, it's about time."
Cassie Watts recently won a silver medal in boxing at the Brampton Cup, the largest Canadian amateur boxing tournament in the country.
She vividly remembers as a teenager training in boxing wondering why she wasn't able to compete at the Canada Games.
"When I was training in Charlottetown with boxing, all my teammates were males, there were no females," Watts said.
"I just remember watching them getting ready for Canada Games, and how badly I wanted to be a part of that at the time. And now that it's official that females are involved, it it just makes me so happy to see that," she said.
Watts said the sport can be very male-dominant.
"It's hard to see females come in and stick with it. I think it does take a certain type of athlete to want to be involved with a contact sport like boxing as a female," Watts said.
Taylor Perry has been in the sport for eight years and coaches an all-female group at the KO-ED Boxing Academy in Charlottetown.
None of her boxers had the level of experience needed to compete at the 2023 Canada Games, but she's hopeful for 2027.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.