Movers & Shakers: 2016's People to Watch

After spending the last few days of this holiday season looking back in year-end mode, we’re more than ready to start turning over the calendar to 2016, which beyond the usual round of sports schedules arrives with some new wrinkles and outstanding issues.

Dominating the calendar up to its August 5 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro is, of course, the Summer Olympics and following that, the Paralympics -- to be held in South America for the first time, amid economic woes for the host country Brazil that will “inevitably” affect proceedings, according to IOC vice-president Craig Reedie.

For another, it’s a year of (hopefully) critical reforms in the governance of international soccer and track and field, with Russia’s athletics program likely to be barred from competing in Rio.  

The ripples cast out from these major ongoing stories extend all over the world, and here in Canada the next 12 months figure to be a year especially worth watching via a number of sports figures across our home and native land.

We present our final set of Movers and Shakers who, at least in these early days of reckoning, are among those with the most at stake in 2016. Enjoy!

Movers and Shakers 2015 series:

Dec. 30: People to Watch in 2016

Dec. 29: The Unsung Heroes

Dec. 28: 2015's Top Athletes

Dec. 24: The Top 5 in Canadian Sport

Dec. 23: Nos. 15-6 in Canadian Sport

Dec. 22: Nos. 25-16 in Canadian Sport