Female Athlete Representative Election
Meet the Candidates
Athletics Canada has received three nominations for the position of Female Athlete Representative. You can read and learn about them below and then cast your vote. Eligible voters must be current Athletics Canada member athletes.
Voting is open until Tuesday April 26.
Best of luck to our three candidates.
Andrea Seccafien
If voted in, what are the issues within the organization that you will first want to address / feel are the most urgent?
I feel the most urgent issue needing to be addressed is the provision of further education for athletes with regards to Safe Sport. Despite being a member of the Athletics Canada national team since 2014, the only education I have received as an athlete on Safe Sport occurred last year before the Olympics through a mandatory online Sport Canada training module. I believe that this type of information should be given to all national team members as well as to varsity (NCAA, USports) athletes in the same way that clean sport courses are required. This would provide athletes with a resource to determine what is appropriate behavior for a coach/athlete relationship, which is vital to creating a healthy, safe sport environment especially at the collegiate level. It is not always apparent what is harassment versus tough coaching and I feel this is a problem in many collegiate and professional programs. Athletes should also be aware of the support that is available from their university and Athletics Canada in reporting Safe Sport violations. I also feel strongly about improving the depth of women’s middle and long distance running in Canada. We have very good athletes at the top but are lacking athletes who are the next generation in the 1500m to 10 000m. As a country, I feel we need to focus more on the development of athletes in these events by providing competition opportunities at distances over 1500m, including a more meaningful national championships at the senior level. While athletes who compete in the NCAA have opportunities to be exposed to the 5000m and 10 000m at the collegiate level, those who compete in Canada have very few opportunities if not none. Adding in some competitions domestically specifically targeting athletes who are interested in pursuing these events for Junior national teams could potentially encourage more athletes to run these events. I feel passionately about improving the 5000m and 10 000m in Canada and have been working my whole career to try to be as successful as possible on the global scale to help encourage the next generation.
What strengths and skills do you bring that would be of value to the Athlete Council and the Board of Directors?
I have been a track athlete for the past 16 years and have competed at every level of the sport -from local Junior competition to the World Championship and Olympic final. My athletic journey has been unique – as I spent time as a university athlete in both the Canadian system and, briefly, in the NCAA. As a result, I have insight into how both developmental pathways operate. I have been a member of senior national teams for the past 7 years having competed in two World Championships and two Olympics. During this time, I have trained professionally in Canada as well as internationally in Australia and the United States. My experience both in competition and training as a professional athlete in international settings has provided me with a unique and broad perspective of the sport. Specifically, I have gained insight into how other federations operate, and some aspects of what brings them success. I have also navigated many elements of being a professional such as hiring agents, negotiating contracts, planning training camps, and competing all over the world. While most of my career has been focused on the track, I am currently transitioning to the roads. My experience in these disciplines means I can represent the needs and concerns of both of those groups of athletes. Being in a position to cross over between these two disciplines means that I have developed relationships with top track and road athletes and communicate with them regularly. All of the experiences mentioned could lend insight into the athlete experience to the Athlete Council and Board of directors. I also coach adult recreational runners which allows me to have the perspective of a coach, although at a different level of the sport. The business I work for, Purdue Performance, has cultivated a large community of runners and developed strong connections with athletes all over the world. The skills I have developed in this role such as communication and organization, while also having the experience of being invested in an athletes would be of value to the Athlete Council and Board of Directors.
Christabel Nettey
If voted in, what are the issues within the organization that you will first want to address / feel are the most urgent?
An issue that is particularly important to me is equitable access to high level coaching. Within Canada, we have a hub model in which Athletics Canada hires event coaches. I believe it is vital that Athletics Canada evaluate the coaches they hire in their ability to produce and work with high level athletes across all event areas within their discipline. As well, AC should move to hiring a team of event coaches so that athletes have options on who they will train with. All Canadian national team athletes should have the opportunity to train within Canada and know that they are being developed to the highest level.
Recognizing that coaches hired by Athletics Canada may have event specialties and not have equal ability to coach all events within their discipline at a high level, I believe it is also important for Athletics Canada to develop relationships with coaches throughout the world – particularly the US – to support athletes in finding high level coaching when such coaching can’t be provided in Canada. We see time and time again that developing athletes, particularly Canadians competing in the NCAA, will graduate and not know what steps to take to continue their athletic career. As well, established athletes often don’t know who to connect with when forced to seek new coaching situations. Athletics Canada should have coaches in place at the Hubs that can continue to develop these athletes or, if not possible, know which coaches to advise these athletes to train with.
Another related issues that is important to me is access to and communication between the training hubs and national team athletes. There are many athletes who fall under the umbrella of the West Hub, by virtue of being from Western Canada. However, with the Hub being based on Vancouver Island, it is inconvenient for athletes to access, particularly when they are in town for short periods and are looking to access facilities, coaches, and personnel for IST and training. As well, I’ve found that, by virtue of catering almost exclusively to endurance athletes, many of the Jumpers/Sprinters/Throwers do not receive communication from them. However, these athletes also don’t received communication from the East Hub that caters to Speed/Power athletes as they don’t fall under their umbrella. If Athletics Canada believes in a Hub model, it’s important that they are properly servicing and accessible to all national team athletes.
Aligned with my above comments regarding communication, another issue I believe it’s important for Athletics Canada to address is providing greater clarity and communication on the purpose and goals of the Athlete Performance Advisors. In speaking with athletes, it’s unclear the precise purpose of APA, with athletes having wildly varying levels of interactions and experience with their APAs, and even receiving differing information. Ideally there should be consistency in the information being shared with athletes. As well, a positive move would for this relationship to become more like a mentorship in which athletes feel comfortable sharing and can receive advise. The current popular perception of APAs by athletes is that they have complete control of athlete funding but are minimally involved in their athletes’ affairs. If Athletics Canada believes it is important for APAs to exist, there should be a minimal amount of involvement required on both the parts of the athlete and APA with clearer understanding of why the involvement must occur and what it should entail. As well, if/when athletes are removed from the national team program, there should be a formal exit interview in which resources and supports that are available to the athlete are shared by their former APA.
What strengths and skills do you bring that would be of value to the Athlete Council and the Board of Directors?
The greatest strength I will bring to the Athlete Council and the Board of Directors is my experience and network. Having been a member of the national team since 2013, I have developed relationships with many of our athletes across all event groups, with athletes feeling comfortable in sharing their issues and concerns with me. As well, I have been a member of the AC Athletes Council since 2015 and so will bring 7 years of experience as a Member at Large within the council to a leadership role.
Tia Thevenin
If voted in, what are the issues within the organization that you will first want to address / feel are the most urgent?
If voted in, I would want to address the pathway to the podium, the gap in between NCAA athletics and creating a more equitable environment to foster excellence leading into the next Olympic Games and all of the competitions in between.
What strengths and skills do you bring that would be of value to the Athlete Council and the Board of Directors?
I was a national team athlete at all levels, I was also an NCAA athlete and understand the intricacies of trying to attain excellence at all levels.
Cast Your Vote
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