News

“Black girls and women don’t need to change. Sport does.” 

 Earlier this month, Dr. Kaleigh Pennock and Dr. Janelle Joseph were featured in Black Girls and Women Are Creating Community in Sport, highlighting research from the RISE Youth Sport Lab and IDEAS Research Lab.

Working alongside community partners, their research examines how representation, inclusive coaching, and intentionally designed sport spaces can help Black girls and women thrive in sport.

Read the full article here!

Are you exploring themes of body activism, resistance, or reclamation?

Dr. Aly Bailey and Dr. Kaleigh Pennock are guest editing a special issue in Body Image titled "Bodies are Protesting: Reclaiming Body Image in Sport and Movement Contexts." This special issue welcomes both empirical and theoretical contributions that critically examine how bodies, as agentic entities, resist, protest, and reclaim body image within sport, physical activity, and movement cultures.

Interested applicants are asked to submit a 250-word abstract by November 1, 2026. Additional information can be found here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/334928/bodies-are-protesting-reclaiming-body-image-in-sport-and-movement-contexts

Dr. Kaleigh Pennock and the RISE Youth Sport Lab, in partnership with Brock University and Black Girl Hockey Club, hosted Telling Our Stories: Black Girls and Women in Hockey at MLSE LaunchPad in Toronto on May 3, 2026. The event brought together more than 40 Black girls and women from across the Greater Toronto Area for a day of hockey, creative activities, and discussion focused on identity, representation, and inclusion in sport.

Participants took part in hockey skills sessions led by Coach Abbah Copeland, creative activities, and facilitated conversations about their experiences in the game. The event also featured guest speakers Angela James, Jam Gamble, and Simone Saunders, who shared personal reflections on creating space for Black girls and women in hockey. Insights from the event will help inform future research, resources, and recommendations to support more equitable and inclusive hockey environments across Canada. Learn more by visiting our project page!

Photo by Dan Harbridge. From left to right: Dr. Tunisha Singleton, Dr. Janelle Joseph, Angela James, Renee Hess, Dr. Kaleigh Pennock

RISE Lab Director Dr. Kaleigh Pennock presented research from our Black Hair & Belonging project at the 10th International Conference on Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (QRSE), hosted by the University of Toronto in May 2026.

The presentation, Black Girls’ Hairstories: Untangling Black Hair, Inclusion, and Belonging in Sport and Recreation, explored how Black girls navigate sport and recreation spaces through their experiences with hair, identity, belonging, and self-expression.

The Black Hair & Belonging project explored how Black girls in Canada experience sport and recreation through the lens of hair, identity, belonging, and self-expression. Using interviews and autophotography, the research centered participants' hairstories to better understand the connections between culture, community, exclusion, joy, and resistance.

We are proud to see this work shared with an international audience and to contribute to ongoing conversations about creating more inclusive sport and recreation environments for Black girls and women!

Learn more about the Black Hair & Belonging project by clicking here.

From left to right: Dr. Braeden McKenzie, Dr. Lynda Mainwaring, Dr. Kaleigh Pennock

Congratulations to Kelly Dao and Mathusiga Sivakumar, undergraduate students in the RISE Youth Sport Lab, on their recent conference presentations.

At the Eastern Canadian Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (ECSEPS) in Niagara Falls, Kelly presented original research examining media discourses concerning women athletes and sport-related concussions. This presentation identified key themes regarding the identity, legitimacy, and strength of women as athletes related to their concussion experiences. A great opportunity presenting at a graduate-level conference! 

Kelly and Mathusiga presented their work at the Bertha Rosenstadt National Undergraduate Research Conference hosted at the University of Toronto.  Kelly presented on the evolution of media narratives for women and sport-related concussions across two time period (2010-2018 and 2019-2025). This work emphasized a shift in the coverage of women’s concussions, from the need to ‘protect’ women from concussions, to ‘heroic’ tales of redemption that underscore problematic narratives concerning gender, injury, and sport ethic. Mathusiga (Mathu) presented on concussion education materials within Ontario sport organizations under Rowan’s law legislation. This work highlighted how existing concussion education materials lack sport-specific contexts or adequate athlete diversity or representation, and as such, may be limited in their effectiveness to support athlete decision making concerning concussion. Incredible work by these two promising scholars, congratulations! 

Dr. Pennock was selected for the Inclusion in Canadian Sports Network (ICSN) Black Leaders in Sport Day. This national event brings together leaders in the community sport sector, along with MPs, Senators and policy leaders, to address systemic inequities in sport, develop leadership pathways, and build sustainable networks of support. Learn more about Black Leaders in Sport Day.

The RISE Youth Sport lab presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) annual conference in Vancouver, BC. Pictured is Braeden sharing his work on risk narratives in action sports in Canada. Well done team! 

Dr. Pennock will be featured on a panel on safe, inclusive, and holistic sport at the Ontario Sport Community Summit on November 19^th. Hosted by partners from MLSE LaunchPad, the Ontario Sport Network and Brock University, the panel will discuss the importance of fostering, safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces across all levels of sport participation. More information about the event can be found at Ontario Sport Community Summit. 

Dr. Pennock delivered a talk for Parks and Recreation Ontario, entitled ‘From Participants to Partners: Transforming Youth Engagement, Access, and Inclusion in Recreation’. Drawing from her research on risk, responsibility, and harm in youth sport, Dr. Pennock discussed why rethinking the way we engage with today's youth is essential for increasing youth engagement, improving mental health outcomes, and uplifting future recreation and sport leaders.

The RISE Youth Sport Lab is pleased to welcome Gabriela Estrada as our Research Coordinator. She holds an MSc in Exercise Science from the University of Toronto, where her thesis explored the movement-based experiences of racialized women. Read more about Gaby.