Cathy van Ingen, PhD

Professor, Kinesiology
Director, Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies

Cathy van Ingen, PhD

905 688 5550 x4981
[email protected]

Cathy van Ingen is a Professor of Kinesiology at Brock University and a documentary filmmaker. She also serves as Director of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies and is affiliated with the Social Justice and Equity Studies (SJES) Master’s program. Her research engages with critical-creative methodologies in the areas of sport/physical activity, health, and social justice. Holding an MFA in Documentary Media, she makes films that centre the people and communities who turn sport into an engine for equity, justice, and social change. Through her production company, Catchweight Films, her recent films include Out On the Water, Gone For a Run and What Ales Us? She also co-founded the Shape Your Life program, a free, trauma-informed boxing program for survivors of violence.

Research Interests

  • Documentary filmmaking and research-creation
  • Feminist physical cultural studies
  • Critical race and anti-racism frameworks
  • Trauma-informed physical activity and research approaches
  • Gender-based violence
  • Boxing and women’s boxing
  • Geographies of sport and resistance
  • Sport for Development and Peace

Professional Affiliations, Accreditations and Certificates

  • North American Society for the Sociology of Sport
  • North American Society for Sport History

Academic Distinctions and Awards

  • North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Research Fellow (2017)
  • Award of Distinction, Ontario Victim Services / Ministry of the Attorney General — Shape Your Life Project (2018)

Scholarly Publications

Film & Research-Creation

  • Sheikh, A. & van Ingen, C. (2026). Out on the Water. Catchweight Films.
  • van Ingen, C. (2025). Gone For a Run. Catchweight Films.
  • van Ingen, C. (2024). What Ales Us? Catchweight Films.

Books (Edited)

  • Fullagar, S., Rich, E., Pavlidis, A., & van Ingen, C. (Eds.) (2022). Transforming Sport and Physical Cultures through Feminist Knowledges. Routledge.
  • Chawansky, M., Hayhurst, L., McDonald, M., & van Ingen, C. (Eds.) (2018). Innovations in Sport for Development and Peace Research. Routledge.

Selected Articles & Chapters

  • van Ingen, C., Hayhurst, L., Cobban, K., Otte, J., & Wilson, B. (2026). Pedaling stories: A post-qualitative analysis of Changing Gears. Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
  • Crook, R., Costas-Bradstreet, C., Spence, J., Tamminen, K., van Ingen, C., & Hopper, T. (2023). “I feel like a kid again”: The experiences of homeless youth in a mobile recreation program. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.
  • Gammage, K., van Ingen, C., & Angrish, K. (2022). Measuring the effects of the Shape Your Life Project on the mental and physical health outcomes of survivors of gender-based violence. Violence Against Women.
  • van Ingen, C. (2021). Stabbed, shot, left to die: Christy Martin and gender-based violence in boxing. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
  • van Ingen, C. (2020). Trauma and recovery: Violence against women in a neurological age. In Forces of Impact. Routledge.
  • van Ingen, C. (2019). Women’s boxing: Bout time. In The Cambridge Companion to Boxing. Cambridge University Press.
  • van Ingen, C. (2013). “Seeing what frames our seeing”: Seeking histories on early Black female boxers. Journal of Sport History.

Teaching and Service

  • Recent Courses
    • KINE 2P91: Social History of Physical Education and Sport
    • KINE/WGST 4P95: Gender and Sport
    • KINE 4P40: Cultural Studies of Sport and Leisure
    • KINE 4P11: Sport Ethics
    • AHSC 5P23: Sport, Social Change and Human Rights (graduate)

    Selected Service

    • Director, Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies (2026-2029)
    • Co-Chair, 2SLGBTQI+ Working Group, President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization (PACHRED) (2024–2026)
    • Faculty of Applied Health Sciences representative, Collective Bargaining Team, Brock University Faculty Association (2025–2026)
    • Ongoing editorial and peer-review service across the sociology and history of sport, cultural geography

Undergraduate Student Opportunities

Students interested in feminist and anti-racist approaches to sport, community-engaged research, or documentary storytelling are welcome to reach out. Opportunities can include directed study in the cultural studies of sport, research assistantships, and involvement in community-based and film projects.

Graduate Student Opportunities

Students at all levels (MA, PhD, postdoctoral) with an interest in qualitative research or critical-creative methodologies focused on sport/physical activity, health, and social change are encouraged to apply.  Although some internal funding may be available, Canadian applicants are encouraged to apply for external funding from SSHRC or CIHR.