Stacey Weldon is a Canadian Inspiration
Stacey Weldon has been selected to represent the IFSC in as a part of the Women in Leadership Program for this year's Summer Olympics
In 2016, the first International Federation Women in Leadership Forum took place in Lausanne, Switzerland. The purpose of the Federation was to design an action plan through which sporting opportunities for women and girls might be increased both on and off the field.
The 10-point action was designed to ensure that International and National sports organizations would prioritize equity among genders in leadership positions in a conventionally male-dominated industry.
According to an article published by the Olympic Organization, “The three-day forum was jointly organised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) as part of efforts to bring more women into leadership positions in all levels of sport, including management, coaching and officiating positions.”
“Around 60 representatives from across the Olympic Movement took part in the discussions, including women in mid or senior positions from 23 Summer and Winter Sports Federations.”
The 2016 Forum was closed by Lydia Nsekera, the Chair of the IOC Women in Sport Commission. She said, “We must know that we have a place in sport! Power is not reserved for men, far from it. It is also reserved for us.”
In composition with the goals of this 2016 Forum, it was announced on February 14, 2021 that Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) President of the Athlete Commission, Stacey Weldon, had been selected by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) to be a part of the Women in Leadership Program of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.
As a member of the CEC’s Board of Directors and, as a 15-year Team Canada Athlete, Weldon is the first elected athlete representative for the CEC. With career highlights reaching to the 12th place finish at the 2015 Chongqing World Cup, and two 7th place positions at Youth Worlds in 2002 and 2004, Weldon is a strong representative for Canadian Climbing and professional female competitors.
According to the CEC’s publication, “Every International Federation member of the ASOIF (33) was able to nominate two women leaders to take part in this series of online leadership courses for women within the sphere of International Federations. The IFSC called out to all the Climbing National Federations to submit the name of one deserving woman leader in their community.”
“Without a doubt, CEC submitted the name of Stacey Weldon for this program. It is with great excitement that we received confirmation that Stacey was amongst the very few selected for this international program!”
Recommendation 11 of the 2016 Forum stipulates that the IOC works with International Federations “to achieve 50 per-cent female participation in the Olympic Games and to stimulate women’s participation and involvement in sport by creating more participation opportunities at the Olympic Games.”
Weldon’s long-term commitment to the sport and her trailblazing example in the CEC is an inspiration to all Canadians.
Featured Image by Shane Murdoch of Stacey Weldon.
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