Jill Moffatt (2013, ON) has recently teamed up with a group of fellow Team Canada athletes, including other Canada Games alumni Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (2009, ON) and Kim Gaucher (2001, BC), to support elite Canadian female athletes with any family planning needs during their preparation and recovery from national team events.

Aptly named, MOMentum received funding from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s OLY Canada Legacy Grant, which, in turn, will allow them to provide grants, education, mentorship from fellow athletes, and legal resources - all with the aim of making family planning fit more seamlessly into the life and career of an elite athlete.

“We were able to identify the gaps from listening to athletes' stories, listening to top researchers in this area, and thinking about what true equity would look like,” Moffatt said. “It became very clear, very quickly, that there were a lot of gaps for women athletes in Canada, and our group organically formed to fill these gaps.”

Moffatt said this area of need didn’t arise from her own lived experience. But, while training for the 2020 Olympics with Rowing Canada, her teammates were openly having conversations about fertility and having children.

Soon after, Moffatt started in a journalism program at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and wanted to examine the issue further.

“When I began my journalism fellowship, I wanted to write a story about egg freezing and pregnancy planning,” she said. “I connected with many of the women who are part of MOMentum, such as Melissa Bishop and Kim Gaucher, and I was shocked to hear their experiences and to really begin to understand the issues that many Canadian elite athletes were dealing with.”

Getting to collaborate with big names on Team Canada en route to making MOMentum a reality has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience, so far.

“Melissa Bishop was someone I watched during the Rio 2016 Games and was always such a fan of hers, so it's pretty cool to work with her and everyone else,” Moffatt said. “The other rewarding part is to see how excited people are for this project. The attention we've gotten for our idea alone confirms to me that these resources are desperately needed.”

As Moffatt continues to train for the Olympics this summer, she outlined some of her plans for her future after rowing. She said, for her, having an identity beyond being an athlete has always been important, so she has long been preparing for life after elite competition.

Already with a master’s degree, in addition to her journalism credentials, Moffatt will return to school after Paris with MOMentum top of mind.

“Working on this project has motivated me and inspired me in many ways, and I am actually going to be pursuing my PhD in the fall at Laurentian University with Dr. Kerry McGannon as my supervisor,” Moffatt said. “Her research focuses on elite athlete motherhood and critically examines media narratives around these athletes. It is my hope to do similar research and continue to create change for women in sport.”

Canada Games alumni like Moffatt continue to spark greatness for years after attending the Games, both in competition and beyond.

As she gears up for the Olympics, Moffatt said her experience going to the Sherbrooke 2013 Canada Games meant a lot.

“I felt a ton of pride representing my province and it showed me what it would be to train for a major event,” she said. “It definitely motivated me to want to pursue the Canadian team afterwards.”

Anyone interested in lending their insight or helping MOMentum continue to grow can contact Jill Moffatt.