SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
Superstars or a super-team? Building capacity to play like a championship team
What makes a winning team? Is it raw talent, star power, or an overflowing budget? Think again. The most successful teams—on the field or in the office—don’t just rely on superstars. They thrive on balance, leadership, and a collective drive that turns a group of individuals into an unstoppable force. Take the 1972 Miami Dolphins,…
Introduction The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) was introduced to the Canadian sport system at the national level in 2022. It may be time to think about its role across the entire sport...
Sports are often celebrated for their physical benefits, but they also play a crucial role in mental health. Participation in sports can improve mood, stress relief, and foster a sense of belonging (Bruner et al., 2018; Panza et al., 2020)....
Centralizing the voice of the athlete is a critical step in ensuring Safe Sport is realized. This was the primary theme of our talks on the panel “The future of safe sport: Hooked on hope not fishing for problems” at the...
Highlights High performance coaches and administrators are key stewards of a shift to safer sport In our research, coaches and administrators identified 6 challenges to culture change in high performance sport: Sport is inherently unsafe Turbulent, unstable sport environment Lack...
Safe sport and safeguarding in sport have become top priorities for the Canadian sport sector. Prevalence studies have revealed that athletes across different levels of sport frequently experience maltreatment (Alexander et coll., 2011; Vertommen et coll., 2016; US Center for...
Highlights There are several evidence-informed approaches to sport delivery that researchers and sport organizations encourage, and that you can engage with, to promote positive experiences and combat harmful cultures in sport and society Quality sport, values-based sport and safe sport...
Sport-Related Concussion has become recognized as a major health problem that affects millions of people around the world annually (Wang et al., 2016). In Canada, sport and recreational activities account for a large proportion of concussions, particularly amongst children, adolescents...
“This is how we’ve always done it.” You’ve heard that phrase before. Whether you’ve said it or heard it said, it’s clear that groupthink is present in every corner of our society. When we fail to consider fresh perspectives in...
People who are into sports like soccer and rugby are familiar with yellow and red cards. When an official presents a player with a yellow card, that’s a warning that they’ve committed an offence on the playing field. A red...
Participating in sport can have many benefits for lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGBTQ+) youth. Sport has the potential to bring joy, distraction and mindfulness that frees LGBTQ+ youth from worry and fear in other domains of their lives. Sport can...
