Women Coaches Symposium

After careful consideration and consultation, and in keeping with the University of Minnesota’s guidance for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Women Coaches Symposium (WCS) Planning Committee has made the very difficult decision to postpone the WCS for this spring. We are looking at dates in the Fall to hold the event and will communicate with you as updates unfold.

We want to be proactive in planning for the 2020 Women Coaches Symposium related to the COVID-19 outbreak. We must acknowledge the uncertainty this virus is inserting into planning for April. We are considering how to best support all attendees who may find their lives disrupted by the effects of the virus.

The University of Minnesota staff members and our WCS planning committee continue to monitor COVID-19 and its impact to community members and colleagues' travel. We will keep you updated as we make decisions effecting the WCS.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We are thrilled Muna Mohamed will be on our Changmakers Panel this year. Recently, the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota ran a story that detailed Muna's achievements.

Muna Mohamed levels the playing field on and off the court.

In just a few short years, Muna Mohamed received her master’s in kinesiology, started her own business, and was recently recognized by three influential organizations on local and international levels...Read the full story  here.

In the seven years we have hosted the Women Coaches Symposium (WCS) we have encountered many amazing women! We know of many exemplar women coaches at all levels of sport who are committed to "doing it right" and we want to honor them. We at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, at the University of Minnesota have developed an award and criteria that honors these women. This award is presented by Jostens.

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: Monday, March 2, 2020.

AWARD CATEGORIES: We are honoring two coaches: one collegiate coach (any level), one youth sport/high school/or club coach.

LINK to NOMINATE A COACH.

CRITERIA FOR THE WCS Jostens COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS:
* Commitment to giving back
* Cares about and fosters holistic athlete well being and development
* Strives for performance excellence
* Honors the game by demonstrating good sport behavior & showing respect for rules, opponents, officials, athletes & self
* Maintains high ethical standards
* Conducts herself with professionalism
* Gives back and pays it forward

If you have any questions, please contact McKenzie Arbeiter, [email protected]
We expect the coach and nominator to be present to accept the award at the WCS.

LINK to NOMINATE A COACH.

To register for the WCS being co-hosted by the Tucker Center, WeCOACH & Gopher Athletics, held on April 24 at TCF Bank Stadium and see our amazing program and speakers visit WCS.UMN.EDU

We know that some coaches and coaching practices are detrimental to the health of female athletes. Read this story titled, Toxic sport cultures are damaging female athletes’ health, but we can do better.

To address and to educate coaches, at the WCS 2020 we have invited a panel of health professionals from the TRIA Women's Sport Medicine Clinic to discuss many of the issues raised in the above article.