This is part two of a two-part series, celebrating exceptional leaders from the women’s rugby team.
Content warning: This article includes discussions on eating disorders, sexual assault, and gender-based and sexual violence. The content of the interview may be triggering for some. For support, please see the university’s resource page.
“Celebrate me for being strong.”
That’s the message at the heart of the ‘March for Women’ campaign and fundraiser, created by women’s rugby player Samantha Slater.
The campaign ran last year for the first time, aiming to raise awareness of how eating disorders, domestic violence, mental health, and breast cancer affect female athletes.
“As someone who has grown up with an eating disorder, really bad mental health problems and been sexually violated–specifically in the context of sports, it was really important to me to start talking about how that takes women out of sports,” Slater said.
The campaign’s mission was twofold: End stigma around mental health issues that take women out of sport, and educate men on how to better support women in sport.
That includes getting them to understand how common sexual violence is – and how it might not look like what they imagine.
Slater remembers being outnumbered by men at an after-school basketball clinic when she was in grade eight. “We lined up to take a picture, and someone grabbed my butt,” she said. “I don’t know who did that to me, but everyone there was my friend.”
Incidents like these had a big impact on her, and highlight the importance of men recognizing their own behaviour and keeping other men in sport accountable, she said. “This kind of behaviour is what can drive women out of these spaces. It is important that all genders work towards creating a safe space for women to grow and to thrive. Unfortunately, at this age boys are not being held accountable when they sexualize girls and women. This needs to come from their role models, their dads, brothers and their own peers.”
Slater said this contributed to her developing an eating disorder. “[I thought] the more weight I gain, the more muscle I put on, the less attractive I am,” Slater said.
A turning point came at her first practice back for rugby in grade 11, when not eating meant that she couldn’t keep up with her teammates. Her coach reminded her that she was an integral part of the team.
“[The choice was] be skinny or play rugby, and I chose rugby,” she said.
It’s not quite as simple as that – eating disorders are complex – but ever since then, Slater said, it’s been a choice every day. “Rugby prevails. It brings me that joy.”
That’s not the case for many young women, she said – an emphasis on thin body composition, coupled with bad mental health, is a huge contributor to why women leave sport. “If you aren’t eating, you don’t have the energy to play.”
And “it is so easy for me to gain weight, to bulk and get stronger,” Slater said. “I’m one of the most muscular people on my team and it’s easy for me to do that. I was never meant to be small.”
March for Women
The March for Women campaign was supported by the women’s rugby team and the Women’s Athletic Leadership Council, of which Slater was the events executive (she’s now vice-president).
Slater also leaned on Spens Alexander, a player on the men’s rugby team, for advice on event planning and marketing – he directed McMaster’s Movember campaign over the last two years. Alexander also helped to get the men’s team involved in supporting the campaign.
Karaoke night.
March for Women kicked off in March 2025. Over the month, they ran a karaoke night, a running initiative, and a weekly booth where people could get necklaces, blind dates with a book, raffle tickets and more.
Slater also took part in a panel event as part of the Marauders’ Mental Health Week in January, speaking about women’s health in sports and eating disorders. Both the women’s rugby team and the men’s rugby team showed up in numbers to support her.
“It was a full house, and it was so beautiful… to see that I had that much support, that these people care,” Slater said.
Talking about these topics and her experiences makes her emotional, but it doesn’t trigger her, Slater said. If anything, it makes her feel better, knowing that it could help someone who hears it. “I’d rather talk about it, so other people know that they’re not alone.”
Since she’s been sharing her story, she’s had “so many girls tell me their stories about domestic violence, sexual abuse, eating disorders, mental health,” Slater said. “It’s so pervasive.”
It’s hard in a society where often it feels that women are supposed to be passive, sexualized objects, Slater said. “Women are shaped to be dependent. Their agency is stripped from them and it begins with as little as shaming them for their muscles… and I want to change that so badly.”
Making impact
The weekly booth, where people could get necklaces, blind dates with a book, raffle tickets and more.
In the end, March for Women initiative raised $1,400 for each of four local charities:
It’s been a transformative experience for Slater to see how much power her words can have – and wonderful to see men who are willing to be uncomfortable in these conversations in order to learn.
She’s had people come up to her and share personal asides about seeing their friends struggling, asking her how they can better support women.
“I think it started a great conversation,” she said.
Momentum
At the 101st Marauder Student-Athlete Awards banquet, the women’s rugby team were announced as winners of the Joyce Wignall Award for their extensive community involvement and civic leadership, including the March for Women campaign.
Winning the award was a really beautiful moment, said Slater. “It felt like it was all worth it.”
As the team took the stage to accept it, Slater’s teammates pushed her to be the one to hold the award. “They were like, ‘No, Sammi. Sammi gets the award. Sammi holds the award.’”
“Obviously it takes a village,” Slater said. “I’m grateful to be acknowledged, because that traction will be great for our platform.”
Two of the first-year students on the women’s rugby team, who were constant pillars of support throughout the campaign, have asked Slater if they can take it over after her. She’ll spend the next year teaching them the ropes before she graduates.
After that, Slater said, “we can only hope for more.” But she’d like to see March for Women keep going for a long, long time. “I want people to know what this is about.”
Her legacy is just beginning.
Check out part one of this story, focusing on player Cassady Smith.
Follow @mcmaster.walc on Instagram for updates on March for Women this year, or reach out if you’re interested in getting involved.