Christine Sinclair may be retired from playing soccer but she continues to make a difference in the game.
On Saturday, the former Canada captain — and now part owner of the new Northern Super League's Vancouver Rise — hosts the inaugural Sinclair Soccer Summit in Vancouver under the auspices of the Christine Sinclair Foundation.
Forty-four local girls, aged 11 to 14, will take part in a day of learning on and off the field at the National Soccer Development Centre at the University of British Columbia.
It's the first major endeavour for Sinclair's foundation. The hope is the summit becomes an expanded annual event, moving around the country.
"We're just ramping up on how the foundation will come to life," said Jessica Doherty, vice-president of strategy and growth with Torque Strategies, a sponsorship and marketing agency that helped put the event together and works with the foundation. "Hopefully there's a scholarship in the future as well."
Sinclair has a "real passion for helping support the next generation and using what she's accomplished to pay that forward." Doherty added.
Doherty's company helped organize the launch of Sinclair's foundation last December before family, friends and sponsors at B.C. Place Stadium, one day after her 331st and final appearance for Canada.
The players taking part Saturday were selected in collaboration with B.C. Soccer and ISPARC (Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council).
"This isn't a performance camp or a talent ID camp," said Doherty.
Instead they looked for girls who would benefit the most.
"We know that a lot of girls, particularly in this early-adolescence phase, are at risk of not continuing with sport. And we wanted to be able to use this event to address and acknowledge some of these barriers.
"And a lot of the girls that maybe aren't on the performance pathway are perhaps most vulnerable to that."
Studies show one in five girls who have participated in sport drop out by late adolescence with low confidence, negative body image and cost among the reasons for their decision to quit.
Girls were chosen from clubs in the Lower Mainland area and Sunshine Coast for Saturday's event, with the decision to stay local in part because of the demand for local hotels from concertgoers attending Taylor Swift's weekend shows at B.C. Place.
B.C. Soccer also helped select six female coaches, from the B.C. Soccer Coach Mentorship Program, to help with the summit.
The schedule includes workshops on leadership and communication, as well as positivity and body confidence. There will also be a panel discussion, involving Sinclair, Vancouver Rise president Sinead King and Vancouver Whitecaps performance data scientist Elise Chourrout, "to shine a light on the many routes into sport and the many ways to stay involved."
On the field, invitees will be able to play on the same team as Sinclair during scrimmages. They will also leave with a photo with the former star forward and a swag bag from sponsors like Nike, Canadian Tire, SportChek, Subway and the Vancouver Rise.
And it comes at no cost for those participating,
Sinclair's club career with the Portland Thorns ended last month in a NWSL playoff loss to defending champion Gotham FC.
The 41-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., had played for Portland since the NWSL's launch in 2013 and helped the Thorns win titles in 2013, 2017 and 2022. She scored a club-record 65 regular-season goals with the team, ranking third all-time in the league.
Sinclair leaves the game as world soccer's all-time leading scorer among both men and women with 190 goals.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
