Kick off the sixth annual Women in Business Conference put on by Saint Mary’s University and their Sobey School of Business, and SMU’s homecoming, this Thursday with two, um, kick-ass events:
Game On! Celebrating Women in Sport Business is an all-day event Oct. 3, celebrating women “in all aspects of sports—athletes, coaches, executives and the business leaders shaping the industry,” reads the event page, and which will use the day to “explore the intersection of sports and business [and share] valuable insights into collaboration, innovation, and advocacy.”
From 10am-4pm, the day features a keynote address from SMU alum and CBC Sports play-by-play commentator and reporter Signa Butler, break-out sessions, a networking lunch, and an hour-long discussion and Q&A featuring five women panelists talking about their own experiences with sports and business, including challenges and insights for anyone who might be struggling to break into these fields today.
The panelists include Cheryl MacDonald, the CEO of Sport Nova Scotia, and legendary baller Justine Colley-Leger, the director of athletics at the Halifax Grammar School who set the record for most points scored in Canadian women’s university basketball history during her five years playing with the SMU Huskies. The full-day event is free to SMU students, faculty and staff; however, registration is required. Tickets are $20 for non-SMU students and $50 for everyone else.
Also happening Thursday is the premiere of the documentary The First 50: A Half Century of Women’s Varsity Athletics at Saint Mary’s University. This never-before-seen 15-minute film created by Robbie Loughery will be screened as part of SMU’s ongoing celebration of 50 years of women’s varsity sports. The film features stories from present and former Huskies coaches, athletes and leaders off the bench. Hosted by the Scott McCain & Leslie McLean Centre for Sport, Business and Health, the screening and ensuing discussion will happen from 5:30-7:30pm at SMU’s Scotiabank Conference Theatre in the Sobey Building at 923 Robie Street. It’s free to attend, but registration is required here.
For more ongoing celebrations of 50 years of women’s varsity sports at SMU, check out their upcoming speaker series, She Leads the Game: Women Shaping Sport Business, which will host a new speaker one Tuesday a month from Oct. 15 to April 15, 2025. Register for the series here.
