DANIELS Haley

General
FAMILY OFFICIAL
Her father Kimberly is an international canoe slalom official who served as a gate judge at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and was appointed to officiate at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. In 2020 Kimberly announced that she is a transgender woman. "2020 has been a big year for my family. My dad has come out as a transgender woman who now goes by the name of Kimberly and uses 'she/her' pronouns. My mantra throughout the whole process is to be open and honest. I only get one family and one dad, so it was natural to support her transition and welcome this journey together. My brother and I were both so happy when Kimberly declared she wanted us to continue to call her dad and she is proud to tell the world she will always be our dad. I have to admit, today I don't have a conventional mother and father, but I do have two incredibly loving and supportive parents and for that I am grateful. I hope to be one of the first female [C1 slalom] canoeists to ever compete in the Olympic Games and my dad may be one of the first transgender women to ever judge at the Olympics." (olympic.ca, 04 Nov 2020; cbc.ca, 17 Jun 2021)

GENDER EQUALITY
She has campaigned for gender equality in the sport. Three women's events across canoe slalom and canoe sprint have been added to the Olympic programme for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, including her C1 slalom event. "I initially started kayaking then switched to canoeing because there was an opportunity it would become an Olympic sport. I was able to go to the World Cups and the world championships but there was no opportunity for us to go to the Olympics. With this challenge, I banded together with a group of women across the world as we looked for ways to achieve gender equality in our sport. This was in 2009 and at that point there were three categories available for men in the Olympics, and only one category for women which was women's kayak. I didn't even know I was passionate about gender equality until I was a part of this. I feel strongly that just because I'm a girl, does not mean I should have a less opportunity than my male counterparts. With our successful advocacy, Tokyo will be the first time that we will be gender equal in the Olympics. I fell in love with canoeing for the rush and the thrill of being outdoors, but now I look at it a bit differently. I love that through our passion for gender equality we have been able to leave this legacy for future women canoeists to come." (untoldathletes.com, 07 Jun 2020; calgaryjournal.ca, 11 Feb 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has also studied for a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurial management, business and commerce at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, Canada. (LinkedIn profile, 15 May 2021)