Huskies Athletics chief athletics officer Shannon Chinn inside MacLauchlan Arena, the site of the U Sports women's hockey championship in Charlottetown, PEI on March 24, 2022. (Daniella Ponticelli/HuskieFAN)

By Daniella Ponticelli

Shannon Chinn enjoying 'rookie season'

‘Grit, perseverance’ key to Huskies 2021-22 success: chief athletics officer

Mar 25, 2022 | 7:41 AM

Shannon Chinn is having a tremendous rookie season.

The chief athletics officer for Huskie Athletics started in June 2021, when many programs were regrouping after cancelled seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, less than a year later, Chinn is travelling to U Sports playoffs and championships, including the women’s hockey national tournament in Charlottetown, PEI.

“It’s unbelievable the grit and perseverance our teams have had. Fourteen of our 15 teams made playoffs this year,” said Chinn.

“I keep telling everyone this is my rookie season, like I just got here, but what better rookie season than to head to the Vanier Cup (in Quebec City), have our women’s soccer team in final four, our cross country teams always finish strong.”

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And that doesn’t include winter sports like women’s hockey, a mostly rookie team that forced two upset sweeps in the postseason for a berth to the Canada West and U Sports championships.

“All of our national championships, it’s so great to see the athletes coming together,” said Chinn.

“Seeing the eight women’s teams here and the comaraderie between them, you see the little bit of competitiveness, but it’s just a wonderful time to celebrate women’s sports.

When asked about considerations for hosting U Sports nationals one day, Chinn said Huskie Athletics is always looking at opportunities to enhance the student-athlete experience.

“Hosting and playing at home is often a really big deal, and really exciting not only for the City of Saskatoon, but all of our community and grassroots programming,” she said.

“With the rink that we have (in Saskatoon), people are saying it’s probably the top U Sports hockey facility in the country — what better place to host one of these championships.”

Shannon Chinn is the second woman to take on the top Huskie Athletics role since Pat Jackson in 1973. (Daniella Ponticelli/HuskieFAN)

After the 2022 women’s hockey nationals, Chinn heads to Kingston, Ont. for the U Sports women’s basketball championship next week. Huskies women’s basketball is currently ranked No. 1 in Canada.

That same weekend, Huskies men’s basketball will play in the U Sports Championship in Edmonton, Alta., while the Huskies track team is competing in Saint John, New Brunswick.

“We’re going to be watching lots of screens while we’re watching live basketball next weekend,” she said.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Chinn earned a bachelor’s degree in human kinetics from the University of Ottawa.

That’s also where she played varsity basketball and completed a post-graduate program in sports business management.

She is an elected Football Canada board member, on the business development committee, the female development committee and co-chair of the diversity task force.