Girls from across Ottawa heard from female leaders and role models in sport on Tuesday, while also having the chance to try activities and new sports.

Tuesday was “Sports the Girls Way Day” at TD Place. Seven hundred girls in grades 4-8 participated in activities including lacrosse, soccer, rugby and boxing.

“It’s really cool because I’ve never done this before, so having a professional do it is really nice,” said Hazel, who got her hands dirty, guided by boxer Mandy Bujold Canadian Olympic and two-time M. -I am a champion of the games.

“At the moment I’m just figure skating, so I can do more sports,” says Hazel.

It was a day of grueling activities and listening to Olympians and high-level athletes.

“We’re here to empower young girls, like, hey, you can get involved in sports, even though right now there’s not a lot of girls out there, representing this sport, it’s always good to get involved and then you can be a leader in the sport,” Bujold says.

“And if we can start at this age to understand all the good things, what are the things that I’m good at, I think that’s the one thing I want them to take away from it,” said Fabienne Blizzard, OUA and CEBL Basketball Coach and Hall of Fame Basketball Player.

The theme of the event is empowerment.

“For me, it’s just about learning that empowerment through sports, that connectedness… just girls growing up knowing that they can do anything a boy can do, anything they want to do” , explains Brianna Hennessy, Canadian paracanoeist, parakayer, and wheelchair rugby player.

“We want to recruit and retain girls in sport, so this is an opportunity to get them excited about sport and all it has to offer,” says Janice Barresi of the OSEG Foundation.

This event comes at a time when women’s sport is experiencing exponential growth. Most recently, Ottawa was named one of six cities to have a Professional Women’s Hockey League team.

“Knowing there’s a team here in Ottawa with the PWHL is pretty special,” said speaker Jamie Lee Rattray.

Rattray, an Ottawa native and Olympic hockey champion, also plays in the PWHL, having been drafted by the Boston team.

“I hope when I come here as a visitor, this rink will be full of girls like this and cheering for them,” she said.

“Having a day like this, maybe meeting new friends or just getting active and playing different sports, is something really cool – I think it’s a great thing for young kids to be involved in, and especially young girls.”