Events & Gatherings

Emmarae Dale was born and raised in Saskatoon, where she grew up playing a multitude of sports. As the youngest of six kids, she was no stranger to competition and her love for sport flourished. She attended St. Joseph High School and was a multi-sport athlete playing soccer, basketball, track, badminton, and flag football. She also played elite soccer for years and got to compete at club nationals twice. After high school, she enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan, and completed a B.Sc. in Kinesiology, majoring in Exercise and Sport Studies. While in school, Dale was a thrower on the Huskies Track and Field team and started her tackle football career with the Saskatoon Valkyries. From there, football led her to incredible heights, from being recruited to the Saskatoon Hilltops and Team Canada; to her current positions at Ignite Athletics as a strength and conditioning coach; and with Football Saskatchewan, where Dale works in women and girls’ football. Dale feels extremely blessed to have her life still entwined with sport and continually looks forward to the new places it will take her.

Heather Morrison is a public speaking coach, award-winning theatre artist, and broadcaster from Saskatoon. She has worked as backfill radio host for CBC and as a sideline reporter for a number of sports platforms, including national coverage on TSN. Heather played soccer for 30 years and now coaches her son’s team. She is the founder and president of Deliver Your Best Coaching (@deliver.your.best on Instagram) where her signature program transforms even the most nervous people into confident speakers. 

Reed Thorstad grew up in Saskatoon and discovered her love of sports at a young age. Early memories of sport are connected to family for her: being coached by her dad, her mom being her most dedicated supporter, throwing the football outside or playing hockey on the backyard rink with her younger sisters. She is now a teacher, football player, and coach. She has played flag football and tackle football at the local, provincial, and national levels. Over the past 10 years she has coached various youth teams. In recent years, Reed has been part of coordinating and coaching new flag football and tackle football leagues for high school girls in Saskatoon. She believes that participation in sport builds resilience, belonging, and confidence. She values the relationships that she has built through sport and aims to build this sense of community on the teams she coaches. 

Kendra Weenie is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and workshop facilitator from Sweetgrass First Nation. She is a CBC Future 40 Award recipient and has been featured locally and provincially on International Women’s Day.  Weenie came from humble beginnings, but through sport and culture she was able to further her confidence, work ethic and sense of identity. Weenie continues to share her story through keynotes and workshops in hopes of encouraging others to heal, and promotes self-care and healing through her workshops geared towards trauma survivors. In 2023 Kendra created the Indigenous Women’s Empowerment Summit, an inspiring event filled with storytelling, resources for healing, and connection for women-identified individuals. Although she has her own challenges as a single mother, she believes that true success comes from our ability to help others in need.