Induction year: 2018
Induction category: Builder

Order of Sport recipient and Hall of Famer, Dr. Sandra Kirby is an Olympic rower and an accomplished educator, sport administrator, coach, and activist who has dedicated much of her career to fighting sexual harassment and abuse, homophobia, and violence against children in sport. For over forty years, Dr. Kirby’s activism and compassionate scholarship have helped transform the values and the ethics shaping sport practices in Canada and around the world. She urged athletes and sport administrators to embrace diversity and principles of social justice. Beginning in 1989 Dr. Kirby taught in the Department of Sociology at the University of Winnipeg, specializing in the study of women in sport. Over her career, she has written over fifty publications, often breaking new ground by addressing a range of topics that previously received little to no scholarly attention, including: sexual harassment and gender equity in sport; athletes living with disabilities; and, human rights issues in sports. Dr. Kirby remains a professor at the University of Winnipeg and continues her work as an advocate in the sport sector.

Rowing

Rowing is the propelling of a boat using a fixed oar as a lever. In modern sports, rowers race against each other as individuals or in crews of two, four or eight.