Stephanie Dixon, a graduate student in the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), is this year’s recipient of the Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund. The scholarship, established in 2014, aims to stimulate thoughtful examination of values-based and ethical sport.
Dixon, who is in her second year of a master’s degree in kinesiology under the supervision of Professor Gretchen Kerr, dean of KPE, is focusing her research on the experiences of athletes with the process of reporting maltreatment.
“I am very grateful to receive the Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics Fund in support of my master’s thesis,” says Dixon. “Although overdue, it is wonderful to see a surge in attention and commitment to safe and ethical sport in Canada. I am passionate about contributing to the conversation and advancement of safe and inclusive sport that allows more Canadians to be themselves and to feel safe when participating in sport.”
Dixon is a decorated Paralympian and served as Canada’s chef de mission at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. At the age of 16, she won five gold medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, setting the Canadian record for most golds at a single Games. Since then, she has gone on to win many more medals and set world records, booking herself a spot in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and an appointment to the Order of Canada.
“Sport can be the most empowering and transformative experience or it can be a space where harm is done – and sometimes it is both,” she says. “I have witnessed and experienced sport from both sides and truly believe there is a better way to deliver sport in Canada and around the world.”
For her thesis project, she wants to share athletes' experiences of the maltreatment reporting process.
“There are many initiatives being developed right now, including a nation-wide reporting mechanism for national team athletes, and it is important that athletes' experiences are informing the development and implementation of these initiatives,” she says. “Athletes deserve to have safe and affirming experiences in sport, especially during a reporting process where harm has already occurred.”
Dixon is particularly interested in sharing the stories of athletes from marginalized groups.
“Sport and safeguarding initiatives do not always include the experiences and perspectives of equity denied and deserving groups,” she says. “This grant will allow me to engage more deeply into my thesis project and take the time I need to develop a trauma informed methodology.”
Dixon is the second graduate student from the U of T kinesiology program to win the Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund. Last year, KPE doctoral student Erin Willson was awarded the sport study scholarship for her dissertation project on gender-based violence in youth athletes.