By: Al-Zahraa Rashad

A media professional and athlete who has achieved remarkable success, Nancy recently earned her international refereeing license in canoe slalom, becoming the first Egyptian woman to achieve this milestone. She has worked on several programs and presented prominent media events, serving as an honorable representation of Egyptian women. Let us get to know her better in this report...

Nancy’s athletic journey began with rowing, supported by her late father. She achieved advanced positions in the Republic Rowing Championship from 2004 to 2011, winning numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals. After completing high school, she joined the Faculty of Mass Communication, where she represented the college in Cairo University races and won third place. She then represented Cairo University at the national level among Egyptian universities, winning the gold medal amid fierce competition from all public and private universities in Egypt.

Regarding her transition from rowing to kayaking, she says: "I was among the first girls to practice kayaking in Egypt, back in 2009–2010. When they started selecting referees for the sport, they looked for the founding referees who initiated it, which led me to enter kayaking as a referee." She started as a trainee referee, progressing to third class, second class, first class, passing the "Premier" exam, and finally passing the "Continental" exam. She participated in refereeing the Nile International Championship in Luxor, Arab championships, and the African Championship. On the sidelines of the African Games in Morocco in 2019, she traveled and passed the international exam for the "Canoe Sprint" discipline, earning her international refereeing license.

It is worth noting that Canoe Sprint is a competitive water sport held on calm, straight waterways where athletes race to the finish line as quickly as possible. Regulated by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), it includes four approved international distances: 200m, 500m, 1000m, and 5000m.

In 2022, Nancy earned her international refereeing badge in canoe polo after successfully passing the exam. This competitive sport combines ball-handling skills with boat maneuvering. Each team consists of five players on the water competing to score goals in the opponent`s goal, which is hung two meters above the water surface. The match is divided into two halves of ten minutes each, increasing the sport`s competitiveness.

Nancy recently earned her international refereeing license in canoe slalom, becoming the first Egyptian female referee to secure an international badge in this Olympic sport—which is not widely practiced in Egypt—enabling her to officiate at World Championships and World Cups. This came after her participation in refereeing the Canoe Slalom World Cup held in Prague, Czech Republic, from June 4 to 7, where she successfully passed both the practical and theoretical exams covering canoe slalom and kayak cross, thereby earning her international refereeing badge in the sport.

Commenting on this, she said: "I had an ambition to have Egyptian referees in this sport because it is exciting and competitive. The sport takes place in a water channel with the audience lined up on both banks, which heightens the excitement. Canoe slalom is a race held in a fast-flowing water channel where a paddler must navigate between 18 and 25 gates suspended over the water, including 6 to 8 upstream gates, while the rest are downstream. To win a medal, a player must finish the race as quickly as possible while avoiding penalties, as a 2-second penalty is added for touching a gate, and a 50-second penalty for missing or improperly crossing a gate."

She expressed her delight at being selected by the International Canoe Federation to referee canoe sprint competitions at the Mediterranean Games scheduled to be held in Taranto, Italy, in August 2026.

Nancy has achieved several milestones. In addition to earning her international canoe slalom referee badge, she was also the first Egyptian woman to referee at a Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poland in 2022, and the first to participate in a World Cup.

In the field of sports media, Nancy has worked as a media coordinator for both the Egyptian Canoe and Kayak Federation and the Rowing Federation. She contributed to promoting rowing and kayaking in Egypt by handling media coordination for various championships in both sports. She also served as media coordinator for the African Canoe Federation and the U23 African Canoe Championship hosted in El Alamein in 2019. Furthermore, she held the position of spokesperson and media coordinator for the Athletics Federation, media coordinator for the Military Sports Directorate, and participated as a media coordinator for the broadcasting of the Republic Table Tennis Championships in cooperation with On Time Sports.

She also worked as media coordinator for the 2021 African Youth Volleyball Championship, the 2022 African Rowing Championship in El Alamein, and served as media coordinator for several other tournaments, including the 2022 African Beach Rowing Championship in Tunisia, the 202nd Arab Clubs Table Tennis Championship, the 2024 El Gouna International Fishing Tournament, the Sharm El-Sheikh Veterans Tennis Championship (2023–2025), and the 2025 Arab Youth and Junior Tennis Championship. Additionally, she served as a member of the media committee for the Egypt International Table Tennis Championship. Her dedication to sports for people with disabilities was also evident, as she served as a member of the media committee for the 2023 African Paralympic Table Tennis Championship, the 2024 Egypt International Paralympic Table Tennis Championship, and the 2025 Egypt International Paralympic Table Tennis Championship.

She expressed her gratitude to the Egyptian Canoe and Kayak Federation, headed by Major General Ahmed Kamel, for supporting her approval and nomination to travel for international exams, noting that no referee can take international exams without nomination and approval from their local federation. She also expressed her happiness regarding the participation of Egyptian athletes in the canoe and kayak events at the Paris Olympics.

On the other hand, Nancy boasts a distinguished media career. She has worked across several channels and media institutions, serving as an assistant director at Rotana channel and Al-Tahrir channel for several programs, most notably "Tawq Nagat" (Lifeline) hosted by Mona El-Maraghy and Dina Abdullah, "Al-Shaab Yoreed" (The People Want) hosted by Ahmed Moussa, and "Al-Kalam Al-Tayeb" hosted by Sheikh Ramadan Abdel Moez.

She also worked as an assistant director at Al-Kahera Wal-Nas channel on several prominent programs, including "Al-Kahera 360" hosted by Osama Kamal, "Hizb El-Kanaba" (The Couch Party) hosted by Naila Emara, "Al-Hekaya Fiha In" hosted by Sohair Gouda, "Al-Sandoq Al-Aswad" (The Black Box) hosted by Abdel Rahim Ali, and "Al-Doctor" with Ayman Rashwan, in addition to covering the 2014 presidential elections on the program "Al-Rais Wal-Nas" (The President and the People).

She worked as an assistant director on the program "Ismahli" (Excuse Me) hosted by Mofid Fawzi, broadcast on Extra News in 2016, and as an executive director for the closing ceremony of the program "Al-Kahera Tabtakir" (Cairo Innovates) on Al-Nahar channel in 2019. She worked as an assistant producer for "Hokomet Nos El-Lail" (Midnight Government) hosted by Ahmed El-Essaily and "Big Show" hosted by Akram El-Sharkawy, both broadcast on CBC. She also worked as a news bulletin director for the Palestinian Al-Kofiya channel, as a correspondent for the "Egy Times" website, and participated in covering the 2021 World Cycling Championship.

Furthermore, she worked as a post-producer coordinator for the 2023 El Gouna International Film Festival and collaborated with the United Media Services (UMS) on several projects, most notably as a producer for the film "Muhafazat Al-Giza 202," the program "Min Al-Asima" (From the Capital) hosted by Kholoud Zahran in 2024, the El Alamein Festival, Motor Week events, and the 2024 Olympic Heroes Award Ceremony.