A unique background as a former national team athlete has helped Dasha Peregoudova build a distinctive labour and employment practice focused on sports law and athlete representation.
The Aird & Berlis lawyer has established herself as a leading voice in Canadian sports law, particularly in advancing athletes’ rights and developing policies to create safer sport environments.
“As a former Canadian national team athlete, two-time Pan American champion and long-time athlete advocate and trusted sport advisor, Dasha assists athletes and artists, as well as the organizations that champion them, with a focus on governance,” her nomination states.
Peregoudova recently played a key role in representing the Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association during the establishment of North America’s first viable professional women’s hockey league.
Her work helped secure the first collective bargaining agreement for a women’s professional sports union before league operations began.
She also serves as labour counsel and executive director for the Canadian Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association, advising on unionization, collective bargaining, and negotiations with Canada Soccer.
Beyond her client work, Peregoudova holds significant leadership positions in sports governance. She was appointed Director of Sanctions and Outcomes for Abuse-Free Sport, Canada’s independent safe sport mechanism, where she has issued approximately 150 decisions concerning maltreatment in sport.
Her extensive sports governance experience includes serving as Team Canada’s Ombudsperson at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and 2019 Pan American Games,
