New Weekly Feature – Kaitlyn’s Sport Stories Recap: Meet Kaitlyn!

The Fast and Female team is so excited to share our new weekly feature – Kaitlyn’s Sport Stories Recap, written by Kaitlyn Lehbert. Each week, Kaitlyn will provide us with the top stories in sports across Canada and beyond, highlighting girls and women in sports stories, events, highlights and more. Let’s get to learn more about Kaitlyn:

• Name: Kaitlyn Lehbert
• Pronouns: She/Her
• Social Channels: IG – @kaitlynlehbert ; Twitter/X –  @kaitlyn_lehbert
• Your favourite sport/physical activity: My favourite physical activity is lifting weights/resistance training. I also recently tried surfing and loved it! I’m hoping to do some more once spring and summer roll around.
• Your favourite post-movement snack: A smoothie. I love the Booster Juice ones specifically!
• Your favourite pump-up song: Karma by Taylor Swift

Kaitlyn, tell us more about you!

My sports journey began in high school when I volunteered to film the football games of the boy’s team. I ended up doing this all four years of high school! This led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management at Brock University. I found out a lot about women’s sports during my time in that program, and it quickly became and has continued to be my passion. I also love fitness, horror movies, travel, and anything health and wellness-related.

As an avid sports fan, why is it important for you to highlight and share the success of women’s professional sports?

It is important to highlight and share the success of women’s professional sport because there are constantly new stories coming out. Sometimes, it is difficult to catch all this information in a timely manner, and unfortunately, if that is the case, there may be a false impression left that there aren’t active updates and developments taking place in the women’s sports world. Being able to consistently and intentionally share new developments can help increase awareness of business developments and new research. It can also increase accessibility to games and other events.

What is your favourite women in sport memory or experience you’ve had/been a part of?

My favourite women in sports memory that I’ve had was when I was on a trip to New York City in June 2022. I attended a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) New York Liberty team game. It was the first-ever WNBA game I attended in person, and it was so surreal to finally witness a game live and see the players in person after following their stories online. By lucky chance, later that evening after the game, I was scrolling online and found out about a documentary premiere on the Liberty team taking place the next day in New York. I quickly adjusted my plans and bought a ticket to attend the premiere. It was an exciting event with a red carpet, photographers, current and past players, and a full crowd in attendance to view the documentary. It was so epic to learn more about the New York Liberty franchise and its history through the documentary. To think that by scrolling at the right time online, I had the same calendar plans as the team for two days in New York!

Who is your sport role model and why?

My sport role model is likely a popular but justified choice: Billie Jean King. There’s so much to admire about her tennis career and her fight for gender equality in sports. I admire how brave and relentless she was when she chose to fight for equal pay in tennis and her decision to participate in (and win!) a Battle of the Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs in 1973. I’ve heard from numerous people that she’s described as being “full of life force” and determined for gender equality to progress and be achieved in multiple sports, not just tennis. 

What is your hope for the present and future for girls and women in sport and physical activity?

My hope for the present for girls/women in sports and physical activity is to have more live events that fans and stakeholders can attend. I’d also love to see increased representation of women’s sports in magazines, books, and documentaries! My hope for the future of girls/women in sports and physical activity is to one day have a WNBA team that can play in Canada! I also hope that there’s more investment into providing accommodating and enjoyable spaces for professional women athletes, whether it be proper practice and training facilities or chartered flights when travelling.

Check out Kaitlyn’s first Sport Stories Recap by clicking here.