About Girls Who Lead…
Led by Co-facilitators, Jamie McElgunn (GLOW and HIGH FIVE Sport certified, Leadership and Communication Coach and Speaker) and Katie Doerksen (Trainer, Educator, HIGH FIVE Sport Certified, P&PA Coach and Physical Literacy Coach at GWL), Girls Who Lead is a program developed to Build Confidence in Leadership & Movement.
According to the Rally Report (Canadian Women in Sport, 2022), 40-50% of young girls are discontinuing participation in organized sport or activity by age 11. On the other hand, most women in high level career positions attribute their success in leadership and communication skills to their time spent in sport/organized activity as youth. (Ernst & Young, Women in Sport)
Girls Who Lead is our response to a need in our communities - where we see young girls pulling away from movement opportunities due to a lack of confidence. In pairing leadership and communication skills with physical activity, we hope to meet a growing need and to create a safe, inclusive space for our girls to confidently challenge themselves, while feeling supported and encouraged.
A central piece to our Girls Who Lead programming is the inclusion and encouragement of peer mentorship. This is implemented through the inclusion of Junior Coaches (girls slightly older than the participants) at each class. Our participants greatly benefit from having Junior Coaches lead by example, role model behaviours and work directly alongside. Youth learn best from their peers, and having Junior Coaches proves to be instrumental to our participant's willingness to persevere and participate. GWL facilitators work directly with the Junior Coaches to teach and support as they take on greater responsibility over the session.
Offering a mix of summer camp options, 5-8 week sessions, team workshops and school-based packages, Girls Who Lead is built to meet girls where they are at, and encourage progress in leadership and movement.
Topics can include: leadership, communication, body image, gratitude, goal setting and celebrating who you are, while movement opportunities can include: fundamental movement patterns through learning to fall, strength training, sport skills development, playground games, archery, etc.
Our mission is to give girls a chance to try something new so they can confidently join in when future opportunities arise!
Girls Who Lead Winter 2026 Session Info below!
Girls Who Lead: Leadership & Communication Session
Winter 2026 Registration is open!
Our flagship program: Leadership & Communication is open for Winter 2026!
We’re back to build confidence in leadership & movement through challenge, communication and peer connection!
Leadership & Communication is our flagship program at Girls Who Lead, and one that we have developed out to share in other communities throughout North America. We can’t wait to run this program again in our home community and make it better than ever!
We dive in to what makes great leaders and communicators through 8 weeks of activity. Our session is divided into topics covering: goal setting, self talk, gratitude, learning how to fall, agility, hand-eye coordination, determination in sport, listening to your body and more. Our amazing Jr Coaches attend and support our sessions so that girls have peer mentors in place to encourage and lead them through challenge.
Girls will have the opportunity to move, play, craft and discuss throughout our time together. Girls Who Lead is designed to ‘build confidence in leadership & movement’, and what better way to develop these characteristics than to practice them with peers and encouragement alongside? As always, GWL sessions are a 50/50 split of leadership activities and movement, and girls can expect to play through strength training, running, walking, parkour, learning how to fall and more!
Come join us for Girls Who Lead: Leadership & Communication! We have two age groups open (6-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds) and eight weeks of programming, starting January 8th-March 5th, from 4:30-6:00pm at the Duchess Rec Centre.
*No session during Family Week, February 19th.
We have a lot of fun planning our programs for girls, and can’t wait to welcome them to Girls Who Lead! Follow the link below to register for our Winter 2026 session, and learn to set goals, communicate and move through challenge at Girls Who Lead!
*NEW Referral Program: see below!
*NEW Referral Program:
If you are a past participant of Girls Who Lead and share our programs with friends, we are excited to thank you with a small gift from us when your friends sign up!
We’ll get a GWL exclusive gym bag to you, and you can look forward to 10% off your registration fee for next session (Winter 2026).
We appreciate our friends and community encouragement of our programs so much, and are excited to thank you for sharing the impact and opportunity!
Move, Lead, Repeat.
A reminder for our gals to keep it simple!
Move, Lead, Repeat hoodies come in Youth & Adult sizes.
$50 per hoodie. Order within the registration form above, or if you can’t make it to our Winter Session but still want a hoodie, use the order form below!
*Pick up available in early January 2026.
GWL Swag!
Can’t make a session but still want to snag a tee or trucker hat?!
We have a few available for purchase!
$25/Tshirt
$35/hat (pink or charcoal available)
Email us at: girlswholeadprograms@gmail.com to order and check available sizes!
**Shipping costs not included, pick up preferred.
Girls Who Lead WEBINAR
Want to help girls in your community to "build confidence in leadership & movement?"
Join us for a tell-all webinar on Girls Who Lead, learn how to implement our programs within your community and have your questions answered along with options to purchase our resources so you can set Girls Who Lead in motion to build confidence & leadership in YOUR COMMUNITY!
*Missed the LIVE webinar but still want info on Girls Who Lead? Purchase the recording on our website store, get all the details, and reach out to purchase our programs to set in action in your community!
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Jamie McElgunn
GWL Facilitator, GLOW Certified, HIGH FIVE Sport Certified, Leadership Coach and Speaker
Jamie is a Mom of two, a runner, nurse and the one we count on to keep organized at Girls Who Lead! She is passionate about teaching girls to lead others and develop great communication skills.
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Katie Doerksen
GWL Facilitator, Trainer, Educator, HIGH FIVE Sport Certified, Physical Literacy Coach & Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Certified
Katie is a Mom to three girls and loves to run, strength train and teach girls how to appreciate their own body- and to build confidence for a lifetime of movement.