What do you get when you combine craft beer and women in sports?
Take Your Shot Lager.
Brewed for women in sports by our friends at Arcadia Brewing Co., Take Your Shot Lager is made to crush with your teammates, after work, and while you’re watching your fav sports.
Made in her Soul Shot’s home of Edmonton, Alberta, Take Your Shot Lager features 9 women in sports from Edmonton who have taken their shot in sports and continue to inspire others on the daily.
Lauren Farnell is one of them.
How are you involved in sports?
LAUREN: I’ve had a love affair with sports for as long as I can remember, and thankfully, I’ve been able to transition that into a career for the last 15+ years.
Currently, I’m the Senior Director, Strategy, Grey Cup & Events with the Canadian Football League (CFL), which essentially means I get to work with an amazing team to stage Canada’s largest annual single-day sporting event – the Grey Cup – and accompanying week-long Grey Cup Festival.
Previously, I worked as an Event Attraction Strategist with the City of Edmonton, helping secure major national and international sport and cultural events to our great city. Before that, I lead marketing and communications efforts for the 2018 Grey Cup and 2014/2015 FIFA Women’s World Cups here in Edmonton. And many, many years ago, I got my first taste of working in sports PR at Northlands racetrack.
How did your love for sports start and continue to where you are today?
LAUREN: I was born bleeding the Edmonton green and gold, orange and blue. My dad has always been a huge supporter of the Oilers and former Eskimos, now Elks of course, and he transferred that love onto me and my sister at an early age, so I grew up in the stands attending live sporting events.
Soccer was my first true love though. I grew up playing and later coaching. And while I could hold my own, I knew I’d never be a superstar, which dashed any hopes I had of playing professionally. So I chose to build a career working in sport instead.
I thrive off the energy and the adrenaline, which is what I enjoy the most about having a career in this industry. It fuels me. Everyday. And it’s allowed me to experience some of the coolest moments of my life to date. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
What’s the biggest lesson(s) you’ve learned through sports?
LAUREN: The hustle is real and it’s 24/7/365. Sports don’t sleep. No different than on the pitch, you need to be prepared to hustle if you want a career in this industry. And as a woman, to hustle harder than everyone else to make a name for yourself.
You will be underestimated along the way, but those moments WILL make you better.
And there will be personal sacrifice – lots of it.
But I’m reminded the hard work and sacrifice is worth it every time I’m at field level, minutes before the national anthem is sung. I take a look at the crowd and remind myself there’s absolutely nothing like the power and the community of sport. For all the sacrifices you make along the way, moments like these make it all worthwhile.
What’s the biggest piece of advice you’d give to other girls and women in sports?
LAUREN: I have a sign over my desk with one of my all-time favourite sayings – it comes from Calamity Jane, frontier woman of the wild West, an OG female badass if you will. She’s quoted as saying, “I figure, if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.”
Be a legend.
Not overnight of course, but over time. By making yourself memorable. Through your passion and love of the game. Your hard work and dedication. For your relentless drive to do and to be better than you were the day before. Be true to your word and keep your promises, always. Be kind. To everyone. The old adage is true – you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. And never underestimate the power of strong female mentorship and allies.
Work hard. Stay humble. Legendary status to be achieved.
What do you want those who drink this beer to know about women in sports?
LAUREN: First and foremost, know that this ‘Take Your Shot Lager’ is incredibly unique. A beer, brewed and dedicated to women in sport? Groundbreaking. Unheard of. And just an unbelievably cool initiative and a privilege I’m sure every woman you see featured on the label is humbled by.
Second, this is about more than beer. Every woman featured, regardless of the role they play, whether on the ice, field, pitch, court, or boardroom, all have one thing in common – they’ve worked TIRELESSLY to get to where they are today. And I guarantee it hasn’t been an easy road. They are strong, they are powerful, they are resilient, and they belong in sport. And we ain’t going nowhere!
If you can see it, you can be it — and these nine women are living proof of that.
Now let’s crush some beers and shatter some more glass ceilings, shall we?
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