CSC WCIP Goals

• Provide women intern coaches with ongoing mentorship from a qualified mentor coach, with a national or international coaching development opportunity, and enhanced professional development and learning opportunities
• Connect all participating women intern and mentor coaches in an ongoing supportive network
• Increase the number of high performance women coaches in Commonwealth sport in Canada

Mentor Coach: Carolyn Murray, ChPC

“Working with other women coaches is an amazing opportunity for me to grow and learn.”

Sport: Triathlon (as an athlete); Para Triathlon (as a coach)

Occupation: Carolyn is the head coach of Para Triathlon, a discipline that became part of the Paralympic Games in 2016. Its three events are a 750-m swim, a 20-km cycle, and a 5-k run.

Intern Coach: Lisa Mensink

Sport: Para Triathlon

Athletic History: Carolyn, who was born in St. Albert, Alta., and resides in Victoria, competed in triathlon at the 2008 Olympic Games. Finishing 29^th, she was the top Canadian. From 2002 to 2008 she was a member of Canada’s national triathlon team and competed in five straight world championships. She won the gold medal at the 2008 World Cup.

Why A Coaching Career? Carolyn chose coaching because she felt that with her experiences as an athlete, she had something to offer up-and-coming triathletes. She also had many amazing coaches from whom she learned and wanted to support athletes the way she was supported. Her track coach at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Brit Townsend, was a big influence on her decision to coach as she demonstrated that being a parent and an excellent coach was possible. “She made it look easy, which it is not!” 

Coaching History: Carolyn is a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) and is National Coaching Certification Program Competition-Development certified. She was a participant in Own the Podium’s Coaching Excellence Program (Own The Podium - Canada Coach). Carolyn has a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in kinesiology from SFU and a Certificate of Business from the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University. She is also a registered acupuncturist.

Carolyn began coaching part time with the Commonwealth Triathlon Club; it was her start in a performance program. As a newly retired athlete, she saw it an opportunity to share her knowledge and experience with a new generation. Coaching was not a path she predicted, but she finds it challenging and rewarding. After the 2008 Olympic Games she joined Triathlon Canada as a development coach based at the Canadian Sport Institute-Pacific, where she coached from 2008 until 2012 after which she became head coach of the National Performance Centre Victoria.

Carolyn then became an elite coach with Lifesport Coaching, a Victoria-based club that “offers world-class triathlon and endurance coaching to athletes of all abilities and backgrounds.” She assumed her present position as Triathlon Canada’s head Para coach in 2014. Although she lacked experience with Para sport, Carolyn was excited by the challenge presented by the opportunity to lead the program. “It is an amazing role to work with such talented, resilient, and driven individuals.”

Carolyn’s leadership philosophy is to demonstrate excellence through her core values of “Respect, Connections, Compassion, and Commitment”. She models her values through passionate leadership enhanced with collaboration and continuous growth. Carolyn brings extensive knowledge and experience in high-performance sport to her coaching; another strength is detailed planning.

Coaching success stories include Stefan Daniel, the four-time Paratriathlon world champion who was the silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020. Carolyn also coached Jessica Tuomela and guide Marianne Hogan to the bronze medal at the 2019 Paratriathlon world championships.

Carolyn has served on Triathlon Canada’s Board of Directors and the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Para Committee. She currently chairs the ITU Para Coaches Working Group. She has also been manager of a U-11 girls’ soccer team.

Coaching Awards: A four-time recipient of the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award, Carolyn was 2015 BC Sport Female Coach of the Year and Triathlon Canada Elite Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.

Importance of the CSC WCIP to Carolyn: Carolyn considers the CSC WCIP to be a great opportunity to work in a more formal setting with Lisa. She is a knowledgeable and passionate coach, from whom Carolyn can learn as well. Working with other women coaches is an amazing opportunity for her to grow and learn.

Importance of the CSC WCIP for Lisa: “The resources and experiences offered through the CSC WCIP will provide Lisa with new opportunities to expand her network and add to her toolkit as a coach. The coaches in this program have a wealth of knowledge and experience that we are both fortunate to be part of.”