BEYOND THE ARC: A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDERS

In 2023, as first-year law students at Lincoln Alexander School of Law, we started looking for sports law competitions in Canada and noticed a clear gap. The few opportunities that existed were narrowly focused and often limited to upper year students.

So we decided to build something new.

With the guidance of our sports law professor, Professor Sheetal Maya Nanda, and the support of our school's administration team, we created Beyond the Arc: The Women's National Basketball Negotiation (WNBN) Summit. This is a competition designed to reflect modern sports law and the growing prominence of women's professional sport. Today, Beyond the Arc is housed within the Sport Equity & Justice Project at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, helping ensure it can grow and last beyond our time in law school.

Beyond the Arc places students in the role of sports lawyers negotiating player contracts and brand deals. The scenarios are built to feel like real legal work in professional athletics, including the relationship dynamics, bargaining power realities, and strategy decisions that shape outcomes. This year's Summit is grounded in the excitement around Toronto's new WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo, and the broader momentum in women's sport.

Our inspiration came from a few realities.

First, women's professional sports are experiencing rapid growth, yet remain underrepresented in legal education and experiential learning. As leagues expand and new opportunities arise, athletes need advocates who understand the unique challenges facing women's sport. This includes compensation gaps between male and female athletes, unequal investment in facilities, media coverage, and marketing, and differences in leverage at the bargaining table. With fewer teams, shorter league histories, and smaller revenue pools, athletes in women's sport often face a different negotiating landscape than their counterparts in more established leagues.

Second, sports law extends far beyond what many competitions capture. Negotiation is not only about the final number. It is about strategy, credibility, relationship management, brand building, and sometimes collective bargaining issues. We designed our scenarios to reflect that broader reality, while still being accessible to students with varying levels of sports law experience.

We introduced Beyond the Arc at Lincoln Alexander School of Law and the first event exceeded every expectation. In 2025, the internal competition drew strong student participation and was supported by volunteer judges with experience across the sports industry, including leaders connected to organizations like FIFA, Hockey Canada, NBA and the Olympics. Students consistently told us the competition felt meaningful, practical, and fun, and gave them a chance to practise advocacy in a setting that rewarded creativity and preparation.

Building on that momentum, we knew we wanted to take Beyond the Arc national in year two. We were also thinking about legacy. We wanted to build something that could continue to create opportunities long after we graduate. The Sport Equity & Justice Project gave this competition a permanent institutional home and brought together a team of dedicated students who share a commitment to sport, equity, and justice. Their hard work has made this year's expansion possible, and as we graduate, we feel confident passing the torch to a group who will continue to grow this competition.

This year reflects that growth in a visible way. Beyond the Arc has expanded into a national event inviting law schools across Canada to participate. The format has also grown from a single day internal competition to a two-day Summit that includes a networking banquet and a panel, alongside multiple elimination rounds of negotiation.

We are also proud to be supported by the Toronto Tempo, including involvement in the judging process and prizing for competition winners. We are grateful as well for judges joining us from leading organizations across the sports industry. Their time and involvement speaks to the credibility of what is being built and the real need for lawyers equipped to champion equity in women's sport.

To prepare for the national Summit, we recently held an internal WNBN negotiation competition to determine which teams would represent the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. Sixteen teams competed for the opportunity to advance, and four teams ultimately earned their place to represent our school at the national competition.

Ultimately, this expansion is about more than scale. It is about building opportunities that did not previously exist and reimagining how sports law can be taught in Canada. As Beyond the Arc continues to grow, our hope is that it will train future lawyers and also help reshape sports legal education by platforming women's sports, which have long been overlooked.

We are grateful to everyone who has helped bring this vision to life, and we cannot wait to welcome teams from across Canada to Toronto.

Co-Founders of Beyond the Arc: WNBN Summit

Sehij Kang and Sehej Matharoo