Sylvia Sweeney
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Sylvia Sweeney (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian journalist and television producer, and former Olympic competitor.
Sweeney was born and grew up in Montreal, and attended McGill University where she was a star of the McGill Martlets basketball team. She also subsequently played for the Concordia Stingers and the Laurentian Lady Vees. Concordia's team made it to the national finals in 1977, and Laurentian's team won the championship in 1979. Sweeney was also a member of the national Olympic women's basketball team in 1976 and 1984, and was named the Most Valuable Player at the FIBA world championships in 1979.
In the late 1980s, Sweeney entered television, becoming a journalist and host for CTV's W-FIVE. She has also been an anchor for the CBC, and has produced award-winning documentary programming for WTSN, W Network, TVOntario, History Television and Vision TV.
In 2002, Sweeney was named the executive producer of the National Film Board's Ontario production centre.
Sweeney is the daughter of music teacher Daisy Sweeney and railway cook James Sweeney, and the niece of jazz musician Oscar Peterson. One of her most famous television productions was In the Key of Oscar, a 1992 documentary about her uncle.
Canadian Interuniversity Sport and TSN present an annual Sylvia Sweeney Award to a Canadian women's university basketball player who best exemplifies the values of athletics, academics and community involvement.
In 1996 Sylvia Sweeney was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and in 2000 was inducted into the Quebec Merite Sportif Hall of Fame.
In 1998 Sylvia Sweeney became a Director of the Ontario Media Development Corporation which is the former Ontario Film Development Corporation, the province of Ontario's Film Commission responsible for issuing film tax credits to filmmakers in Ontario.
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In 2002 as the Executive Producer of the National Film Board of Canada Sylvia Sweeney created the Momentum Film Program, giving filmmakers an opportunity to gain better access to the Canadian film industry. Sylvia Sweeney innovated .the collaboration between the Ontario Media Development Corporation's Al Waxman Calling Card Program and the National Film Board of Canada's development program to increase film budgets for aspiring filmmakers. The first year of that joint program Executive Producer Sylvia Sweeney assigned NFB Producer Peter Starr to oversee the joint Calling Card documentary film project "Hardwood", which was produced by Erin Faith Young and Directed by Hubert Davis and commissioned for television broadcast by TVOntario. "Hardwood" was nominated for an Oscar Award in 2004
Sweeney combines her background in Olympic Competition, National Television Broadcasting and the Performing Arts to create an International Paralympic and Olympic entertainment programs. Sweeney has brought world class artists to perform at Olympic events since 1996, with a Salute to the Canadian Olympic Team in Atlanta starring Leslie Nielsen, Sonia Benzra, Celine Dion, David Foster, Ofrah Harnoy, Ashley MacIsaac, Marie Jo Theriot and many more. Sylvia Sweeney borught artists the Paralympic Games in 2004 and in 2008 was supported by the Beijing Organizing Committee to the Olympic Games in an effort to build an Arts Bridge between the Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the Olympic Cultural events in Beijing, China by staging a series of high profile concerts and television programs.
In 2004 Sweeney resumed her position as President of Elitha Peterson Productions Inc and Sweeney also became the President of International Performing Arts for All (IPAFA) Ltd. IPAFA is an international company with a focus on world class performing arts. Sylvia Sweeney is combining her background as an Olympic Athlete, National Television Producer and her education in the Performing Arts. Sylvia Sweeney brought world class artists to the Olympic Games beginning in 1996, the Paralympic Games in 2004 and in 2008 was supported by the Beijing Organizing Committee to the Olympic Games in an effort to build an Arts Bridge between the Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the Olympic Cultural events in Beijing, China by staging a series of high profile concerts and television programs.
In 2004 IPAFA became the Official Supplier of Arts and Entertainment to the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
