Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO of Canadian Women & Sport, led a group of influential women's sports leaders who presented the results of a study commissioned by the organization.

The report, titled “The Time is Now: Leveraging the Power of Women's Professional Sports Fans,” shows, among other things, that two-thirds of Canadians aged 13 to 65 – or about 17 million people – consider themselves fans of women's sports .

“If we want to convince Canadian companies to make decisions with confidence, relying on this Canadian data can really make a difference,” Sandmeyer-Graves said, pointing out that all existing data on women’s sports comes from the United States come.

“Knowing with confidence that certain trends seen elsewhere in the world are happening here, but even more so knowing that 17 million Canadians are fans of women's sports, will allow these companies to make decisions or adopt strategies with confidence develop. »

This study, commissioned in collaboration with IMI Consulting, was conducted in October 2023 with more than 2,000 Canadian respondents aged 13 to 65.

It also reveals that two in five Canadians describe themselves as “sports enthusiasts” and regularly follow elite or professional women’s sports. These events include the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Women's World Cup.

Six in 10 sports fans said companies should do more to support women's sports in the country, and four in 10 sports fans said they would give more support to companies involved in the development of women's sports.

The study was conducted by IMI Consulting and presented by Canadian Tire, with support from Women and Gender Equality Canada. It was overseen by a Women and Sport Canada advisory group made up of people from media, business and sport.

“Initiatives like It's Time have been aimed at investors from the start,” noted Sandmeyer-Graves. We heard that social support [envers le sport professionnel féminin] has always been strong. It's true, but professional sports is a business.

“That’s why we need to talk to business leaders. We need to present information that is relevant to them in order to invite them to the conversation. »

The results of this study were announced two days after a Professional Women's Hockey League game was played in front of 21,105 spectators at the Bell Center. This set a new mark, surpassing the 19,285 spectators who attended an LPHF game at Scotiabank Arena on February 16th.

Jayna Hefford, Hockey Hall of Famer and LPHF vice president of hockey operations, believes the league's successes five months into operations are due to the business people working behind the scenes.

“We are on the same wavelength on the path forward, which is to disrupt the established order in many ways, to be open to doing things differently and not to be trapped in the framework that we know in professional sports.” , she said. But at the same time, it is important to maintain the traditions of the sport and not change the way you practice it, while at the same time continuing to look for ways to be different.

“If you have passionate, committed people, you can achieve a lot in a short time. »