Krista Guloien 

Sharon and Shirley Firth are now the first Aboriginal women inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. The twin sisters, members of the Gwich'in First Nation, grew up in Inuvik, N.W.T. They were major contributors to their sport of cross country skiing, representing Canada and competing in 4 Olympic Games between 1972-1984. (Read more about the Firth twins.) Sharon accepted the twins honour last night, as Shirley passed away in 2013 after battling cancer. I am sure it was a

​She trail blazes within her sport and leads by example. She stands out as a strong competitor in general, not just a strong female competitor. She pushes boudaries and refuses to let the differences between male and female athletes to be labelled as weakness. Just because it is a rule or it hasn’t been done before, does not mean that it can’t be done is one of her mottos. She lives in a world of possibility and credits that to her strong family foundation. I relate to an ath

At nine years old she registered herself in hockey as Ab Hoffman, instead of Abigail in a boys league since there were no girls leagues to play in. In the recently filmed documentary "Play Fair", she comments that she just wanted to play hockey. After making all star status as a younster, her gender was uncovered when she had to hand in her birth certificate and she was cut from the team. Referred to as the "rebel with a cause", Abby went on to compete in track and field, alw

When I was growing up, I do not recall being exposed to many strong female role models from the sports world. They existed, but there wasn't enough story telling and publicity of women in sport, there still isn't. The athletes we recall from the 1990s were mostly from male dominated team sports, such as football, hockey and basketball. Michael Jordon and Pavel Bure are two names that come to mind. For many, seeing possibiltiy and opportunity ignites the dream. It is important