UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN REACHES WOMEN'S HOCKEY SETTLEMENT

The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission announced today the settlement of a complaint related to the Huskie Women's Hockey program.

In April 2000, a community group known as Women 2000 launched a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission alleging the University's hockey program for women was inferior to that of the men's program. Issues raised in the complaint included less money spent on coaching the women's team and inadequate facilities.

"Since the complaint was launched, many of the differences between the men's and women's athletic programs have been addressed," Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission Acting Chief Commissioner John C. Hill said. "However, achieving gender equity in sports programs continues to be a challenge in universities across the country. We commend the U of S for making this commitment toward ensuring that Huskie Athletics is equitable to all athletes."

Provisions of the settlement include: hiring of a high-performance, on-campus women's hockey coach; increased funds for student athletic awards, distributed equitably among teams and genders; and equal recruitment funds granted to the operating budgets for both women's and men's hockey. The settlement makes it unnecessary for the complaint to be heard by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal.

"The University of Saskatchewan has always been and remains fully committed to the women's hockey program," U of S Acting Athletic Director Bill Seymour said. "Student athletics are important to our campus and the student experience. We are proud to be a leader in women's hockey programming and look forward to even greater success for Huskie Women's Hockey."

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For more information, contact:

Fiji Robinson
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-933-5952
Email: frobinson@shrc.gov.sk.ca

Patty Martin
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-966-6919
Email: patty.martin@usask.ca