For more than a decade, Moira Lassen has been helping break down barriers in what had long been considered a man's sport.

As a parent, a volunteer, an official and a Canadian ambassador, Lassen has dedicated countless hours to the sport she loves weightlifting.

From the time her daughter, Jeane, attended the first junior world weightlifting championships that allowed women in 1995, Moira has been hooked.

Eleven and a half years later, Jeane has built an impressive list of podium finishes and was nominated as a finalist for Canadian Press' 2006 female athlete of the year.

Moira has built up her own impressive resume and last week, was informed she had just been named to the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity's (CAAWS) 2006 list of the Most Influential Canadian Women in Sport and Physical Activity.

'My initial reaction was shock,' said Moira, who is also the assistant Chef de Mission for Team Yukon for the Canada Winter Games and runs the Kids Recreation Fund at Sport Yukon.

'My eyes welled up and then I phoned Jeane right away to tell her.'

Moira joins an impressive group of women on the recently released list, including five Olympic medalists and two Olympic coaches. Because the list is done alphabetically, she is sandwiched inbetween speed skating superstar Cindy Klassen and former rower, now author and children's advocate, Silken Laumann.

The list recognizes women who have made a significant impact as athletes, administrators, advocates, board members, coaches, executives, officials, policy makers and volunteers.

This is the fifth time CAAWS has announced its Most Influential Women list. In presenting the 2006 names, Winnipeg's Janice Forsyth, Chair of the CAAWS Board of Directors outlined what constitutes an influential woman.

'While many of the women named to our list this year are truly outstanding athletes, what makes them influential is often what takes place in addition to their competitive careers. We have been inspired by the stands that they have taken to keep sport drug-free, to focus attention on people who are much less fortunate and to give back to the sports they love. Others have chosen to exercise their influence in many different ways, by opening up research forums, speaking and educating others, from recreational participants to the elite level of athletes in sport.

'These women also represent people who have made sport a professional career, as well as those who serve as volunteer administrators and officials. They have all made the Canadian sport and physical activity world a better place due to their contributions this year.'

While her 'day job' at Sport Yukon is certainly important, it was Moira's influence in the world of weightlifting which garnered her the nomination. After learning from the sidelines for the several years while she watched Jeane, Moira became the secretary general of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation in 2000.

In 2003, she became an international official and as of this year, is ranked at Level 1. She also sits on the scientific and research committee for the International Weightlifting Federation, was one of the instrumental people involved in bringing the 2008 junior world weightlifting championships to Whitehorse, and currently, is training to be approved as the first ever female technical controller at an Olympic Games, in Beijing in 2008.

Moira was already the first female technical controller at a senior world championships, last fall in the Dominican Republic.

'There was one (female technical controller) about 15 years ago,' she explains. 'Unfortunately, she cried when she got yelled at by a big coach and that kind of deterred (any progress). But that was when they were pushing women through without proper training and that was unfortunate.'

While this year marks the 20th anniversary of women being involved competitively in the sport of weightlifting, Moira has certainly experienced many barriers in what she admits is still very much a male-dominant sport.

'I've had people, even in my own country, in my own federation, say that I should feel lucky that I'm even there, because weightlifting isn't a women's sport,' she said. 'That's the kind of people I have to work with some times.'

So why does she continue to do it?

'I'm a glutton for punishment,' she jokes, before getting serious. 'I've been put in a position of power, just through my work, so now it's my responsibility to stay there and push for it.

'We've come really far in 20 years. The fact we have women on international committees is fantastic, and it's women from all parts of the world too.'

Moira pointed to the 2006 Olympics in Torino as an example of how far women have come on the global sports scene most of Canada's medals were won by women.

'I think Sport Canada and the sport system in Canada have done a fantastic job. We're leaps and bounds above everyone else in the world. At the athletes level, women are doing very well in all sports.

'But we can't stop there. We have to get women involved at the officials level and in the positions of power. Right now, people in power are not always reflective of who the population base is.'

Moira believes that in the future, Sport Canada will make it mandatory for a certain number of women to be on the various boards. She sees nothing but progress over the next 20 years on the sports scene, especially considering the number of influential women of all ages the country boasts on the CAAWS list.

A total of twenty women were named to the 2006 list, while one young woman was named as 'One to Watch', 11-year-old Holly Micuda of Oakville, Ont. After watching the 2006 Olympics on television, Micuda came up with the idea of helping raise money for athletes' training, coaching and living expenses.

Now, more than 17,000 of the $3 wristbands have been sold with the proceeds going to Canadian Athletes Now, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support Canadian athletes prepare for international competition.

'Frankly, I think there's no stopping us now,' stated Moira.

It's recognition, such as the CAAWS list, that will go a long way toward keeping people motivated to make a difference, she added.

'I think it's extremely important. Maybe not so much for the athletes, because they get medals. But for people like myself, and some of the other women on the list, you don't get recognition all the time. You're sitting in the trenches and if you don't have the support of the rest of your sporting community, then you can feel really left out.

'This goes a long way for me. I think it was a plot to make me stay around,' she laughed.