OTTAWA – Athletics Canada announced today that Kate Van Buskirk, an accomplished middle-distance and cross country runner, has been appointed to the position of Athlete Director on Athletics Canada’s Board of Directors.
Eligible athletes voted online and in person during the Canadian Track and Field Championships to put Van Buskirk’s name forward to the Board of Directors. The Board unanimously accepted her nomination and appointed her to the position of Athlete Director.
Van Buskirk has represented Canada on numerous occasions, winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 1,500-metres. She also set the Canadian record of 4:27.02 in the indoor mile in 2018 (since broken by Gabriela DeBues-Stafford), before being named to the IAAF World Indoor Championships Team. Van Buskirk was also named Team Captain of Canada’s 2018 NACAC Championships team by her peers and team coaches.
“I am honoured to have been elected to the role of Athlete Director. With 16 years of National Team experience, I feel that I am intimately connected to and invested in the sport and our national organization,” said Van Buskirk. “In addition to my years of experience within the sport, I am deeply passionate about and committed to furthering the rights of traditionally marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+, people of colour and women.”
Van Buskirk went on to say “I am also an outspoken promoter of increased awareness, acceptance of, and support for mental health initiatives, having personally faced mental health challenges throughout my sport career. I am confident that my connection to these myriad communities and causes will equip me to support and represent our diverse National Team over the course of my two-year tenure. Thank you to my fellow athletes for the opportunity, and I look forward to meeting and working closely with each of you.”
The Athlete Council is composed of three Athlete Directors (Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Jennifer Brown, and Van Buskirk), in addition to eight to 12 athletes who bring diverse perspectives, experiences and knowledge of athletics in Canada to the fold. Together, the Council helps identity issues, recommends solutions, and generally expresses their needs and concerns to the Board and Athletics Canada leadership staff. The Athlete Directors also sit on the National Team Committee that designs, delivers, implements and evaluates National Team Policies to fulfil Athletics Canada’s high performance goals and objectives in a transparent and accountable manner.
“Kate is a strong advocate for human and LGBTQ+ rights, mental health and feminism. She is the kind of person I believe can bring a lot to the table by her ability to work with others and be respectful. She is outspoken and dedicated to what she pursues and I am confident she will do a great job working for the athlete’s rights and voice at Athletics Canada,” said Philibert-Thiboutot.
“I would also like to thank Jillian (Drouin) for her incredible work and involvement as an Athlete Director over the past four years,” said Philibert-Thiboutot. On a more personal note, thank you for passing on great knowledge and experience to both Jennifer and myself, and for giving us the tools to successfully lead the Athlete Council and to take part in the Board’s activities with professionalism.”
Van Buskirk’s term as Athlete Director will run through to the end of the 2021 Canadian Track and Field Championships. For more on the Athlete’s Council, please visit www.athletics.local/federation/governance.
Athletics Canada’s Athlete Council:
Jennifer Brown, Athlete Director
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Athlete Director
Kate Van Buskirk, Athlete Director
Inaki Gomez, COC and IAAF Liaison
Oluwasegun Makinde
Lanni Marchant
Alister McQueen
Christabel Nettey
Micha Powell
Joy SpearChief-Morris
Dustin Walsh
Angela Whyte
For more information, please contact:
Amanda Nigh – Manger, Communications & Marketing
amanda.nigh@athletics.ca
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