Dear Team Canada Supporter,

We all have role models.

It may be a celebrity, a family member, a friend, or a mentor that we look up to. 

Role models are important in life to help guide us, lead by example and give us inspiration.

Kia Nurse, an aspiring basketball player from a basketball family, had a limited number of elite basketball players to look up to, because women’s basketball had very little exposure in Canada. 

So Kia wanted to be exactly like her older sister by nine years, Tamika.

Their father helped both girls chase their dreams. He started up a program called Blue Star Ontario, to help girls basketball development and entice scouting and coaching to come to Canada.

It started a wave of Canadian basketball talent being scouted to play at US NCAA schools. Kia Nurse was one of these students. She played for Connecticut, and now she wants other young girls to have the same opportunities that she and her sister were given. She wants girls to have a role model to look up to and aspire to be like.

Her amateur program is called Kia Nurse Elite, modelled after boys elite programs. It will give girls the opportunity to improve their basketball skills to have a chance at competing in the sport they love.

The project may be named after Kia, but it is a full family affair, with her sister Tamika, their father Richard and mother Cathy all helping with the program.

Like Kia, we believe in the power of giving to sport in Canada. Sport philanthropy is at the root of what we do, and you can support the next generation of aspiring female basketball players too. Possibly even the next Kia Nurse! These athletes who are tenacious, fiery and never back down from a challenge. Your generous donations to the Canadian Olympic Foundation can go towards making their dreams a reality.