The Coaching Association of Canada announced a new mental health and sport project funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Tuesday.

The National Mental Health and Sport project will be launching in February 2023.

The project will have three key objectives including updating some existing training modules, to create an online accessible national resource hub, and to strategically promote the educational content and national resource hub to new and diverse audiences across Canada.

CAC hopes to increase mental health literacy amongst coaches at all levels of sport and in all provinces and territories.

Although the program will benefit all coaches who participate, the project will put an emphasis on supporting coaches and community sport leaders in the communities identified as the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health has been identified by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as the greatest risk to people in Canada as a result of COVID-19.

Hockey Canada has named its slate of candidates to fill the nine vacant positions on its board of directors on a one-year term.

The organization's members will hold a vote Saturday on whether to accept or reject the entire slate, which includes five women and four men.

Hockey Canada's board stepped down in October as part of the fallout from its handling of sexual assault allegations against former members of two of its world junior teams.

Hugh L. Fraser, a retired judge with nearly three decades of experience at the Ontario court of justice, has been nominated as board chair.

Fraser, who as born in Kingston, Jamaica and grew up in Kingston, Ont., has been an arbitrator on the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 1995 and served on the first ad hoc court at the Olympic Games in 1996.

Cassie Campbell-Pascall, a three-time Olympian who captained Canada's women's team to gold medals in 2002 and 2006, is among the eight board members nominated.

The other nominees are Grant Borbridge, Julie Duranceau, Dave Evans, Marni Fullerton, Jonathan F. Goldbloom, Marian Jacko and Andrea Poole.

The Norman Northstars take on the Interlake Lightning this Saturday and Sunday in their second home stand of December.

The puck drop for Saturday night's game is 7:30 at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena.

On Sunday, the action starts at 1:30 pm.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed head coach Mike O'Shea to a three-year contract extension.

O'Shea won his second consecutive Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's top coach this year after leading the Blue Bombers to a club-record 15 regular-season wins and a third straight trip to the Grey Cup.

The Blue Bombers are 82-58 under O'Shea with Grey Cup championships in 2019 and 2021.

Winnipeg has posted six consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, matching a franchise-best stretch first established from 1957-62.

A former star linebacker, O'Shea was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017 after a 16-year playing career with Toronto and Hamilton that saw him earn three Grey Cup rings.

He began his coaching career as special teams co-ordinator with Toronto from 2010-13, helping the Argonauts win a Grey Cup in 2012.

Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin has won the 2023 Northern Star Award, making her the first female hockey player to claim the honour given annually to Canada's athlete of the year.

The 31-year-old Beauceville, Que. forward led Canada's women's hockey team to both a world title and Olympic gold - scoring twice in a 3-2 win over the U.S. in the championship game in Beijing.

Poulin finished second in scoring at the Beijing Games with 17 points, one behind teammate Sarah Nurse.

She had 10 points in seven games at the world championship in Denmark, including an assist on Brianne Jenner's opening goal in a 2-1 win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

Poulin is the first female hockey player to win the award, and the ninth hockey player overall. Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was the last to win in 2015.

Media members from across Canada voted Wednesday on the annual Toronto Star award. Other contenders included tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime, golfer Brooke Henderson, swimmer Summer McIntosh, speedskater Isabelle Weidemann, soccer player Alphonso Davies, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar and B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke.

Morocco advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time, beating Spain 3-0 in a penalty shootout on Tuesday.

Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets missed their penalties for Spain, with Sarabia hitting the post and Montreal-born Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopping the other two.

The teams drew 0-0 in regulation and extra time.

Morocco has been the biggest surprise of the tournament and will next face either Portugal or Switzerland.

Morocco is the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the last eight. It is the only Arab - and African - nation left in the tournament.

Canadian skips Brad Gushue and Matt Dunstone dropped their opening games Tuesday at the Grand Slam of Curling's Masters event.

Yannick Schwaller's Swiss side ran Gushue out of rocks in a 5-3 victory at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.

Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell scored a single in the eighth end for a 5-4 win over Dunstone.

At No. 2, Dunstone's Winnipeg-based rink is the top-ranked Canadian team on the year-to-date world rankings list. Sweden's Niklas Edin is No. 1 and Gushue, from St. John's, N.L., is third.

In other early games, Toronto's John Epping defeated Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers 7-3 and Scotland's Bruce Mouat dumped American Korey Dropkin 8-2.

Four draws are scheduled on the day. Play continues through Sunday.