On July 20th at the Surrey BC Summer Games Civic Luncheon, ProMOTION Plus, the City of Surrey and the Surrey BC Summer Games Society honored Kim Eagle with the Leadership Award for her outstanding contribution to girls and women in sport.

Kim Eagle has a long and rich history of involvement in sport. Growing up in East Vancouver, Kim was gliding along the ice by the age of five, skating and playing hockey. Encouraged by her sports-loving dad, she was involved on many sports teams, excelling at softball and field hockey. In Grade 11, Kim was actually a participant in the 1978 BC Summer Games, competing in Field Hockey.

Kim received her teaching education at UBC and has spent her 25 year career in Surrey, specifically at schools in the Cloverdale area. Her most recent posting was as Surrey School District #36 P.E. Helping Teacher, where she connected teachers, coaches and students with available resources. Kim took on the colossal role of Equipment Chair for this year’s BC Summer Games, working tirelessly to ensure all venues have exactly what they need for their competitions to run smoothly. This fall she will return to the classroom and gym, working once again directly with the students that she loves to teach, coach, mentor and encourage.

When asked why she loves what she does, she replied: “There are so many words for why sports are important. The first would be ’empowering’, especially for girls. Through sports they learn leadership skills and confidence that they often do not find in other ways.”

Kim feels strongly that, particularly for young girls and women, being part of a sports team is an important social feature in their lives that must continue to be actively supported by everyone in the community.