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September 8, 2026 – Winnipeg, MB – Sport Manitoba’s Girls Got Game campaign launched today, focused on keeping girls in sport during the years they are most likely to walk away from it.
Girls Got Game is about helping Manitobans, especially parents of girls ages 6-12 and girls ages 13-17 themselves, understand what’s at stake when girls drop out of sport during adolescence, while also showing girls that sport is already a place where they belong.
For basketball, that message is especially important. Basketball provides girls with opportunities to compete, develop confidence and leadership skills, build friendships and remain active throughout their teenage years and beyond. Basketball Manitoba joins Sport Manitoba in encouraging coaches, clubs, schools, officials, families and other members of the basketball community to continue creating positive environments where girls feel welcomed, supported and valued.
According to Canadian Women & Sport’s 2024 Rally Report, nearly four in ten Canadian girls are missing out on the benefits of sport, and more than one in five who do play leave during adolescence, right when confidence is most fragile and most worth protecting.
The same report found that seven in ten girls say sport has a positive impact on their mental health.
Girls Got Game exists to close that gap: not by telling girls they can belong in sport if they try hard enough, but by showing them they already do.
Creating positive sport experiences is a shared responsibility. In basketball, this can include supportive coaching, welcoming team environments, meaningful opportunities to participate and compete, strong female role models and pathways for girls and women to remain involved as athletes, coaches, officials and leaders.
Throughout the Girls Got Game campaign, Sport Manitoba will share stories, resources and programming information for girls and families across the province, including the Women to Watch Grant and the Female Mentorship Program for Manitoba coaches, alongside national resources including the Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship Program and Canadian Women & Sport’s Gender Equity LENS.
These resources and additional campaign content will be shared through Sport Manitoba’s website and social media channels.
The campaign is one of the ways Sport Manitoba is putting its Manitoba Action Plan for Sport (MAPS) into action, with gender equity in participation and leadership named as a current priority.
Girls Got Game marks a shift from Sport Manitoba’s past event-based initiatives for women and girls toward a sustained, Manitoba-relevant campaign focused on the real barriers keeping girls out of sport — from confidence to access — particularly as they move through their early teenage years.
The campaign is a call to action for every Manitoban, including Manitoba’s basketball community, to help ensure girls feel they belong in sport.
Quotes
“Every girl who walks away from sport is walking away from something that has the potential to shape her life. That’s not a statistic we can accept as inevitable. This campaign is Sport Manitoba’s commitment to changing that: making sure every girl has a reason to stay in the game and the support to do it.”
Evan Andrew, President & CEO, Sport Manitoba
“Sport gave me far more than medals or competition—it built my confidence, resilience, leadership, and lifelong friendships. Every girl deserves that same chance, not just to try sport, but to keep going long enough to see what it gives back. By creating environments where girls feel welcomed, supported, and inspired to continue participating, we are investing not only in their future in sport, but in their future as strong, healthy, and confident individuals.”
Susanne Dandenault, Chair of Sport Manitoba’s Board of Directors
Learn More
Visit sportmanitoba.ca and follow Sport Manitoba on Instagram, Facebook and X to learn more about the Girls Got Game campaign and how you can help foster belonging for women and girls in sport.
Basketball Manitoba encourages basketball clubs, teams, coaches, officials and families across the province to support the campaign and continue working to make basketball a place where girls can play, compete and belong.
About Sport Manitoba
Sport Manitoba is a not-for-profit organization and the lead planning, programming and funding agency for the development of amateur sport in Manitoba. Located at 145 Pacific Avenue in Winnipeg, Sport Manitoba partners with more than 100 organizations to deliver sport throughout the province.
Sport Manitoba is responsible for programs including the Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro, Sport Manitoba Coaching, Team Manitoba, Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, Fit Kids Healthy Kids and KidSport. Services include the Sport Manitoba Clinic, Sport Manitoba Performance, Sport Manitoba Fitness Centre and the Paul Robson Resource Centre for Leadership and Coaching.
Safe Sport Line: 1-833-656-SAFE (7233)