Articles

SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.

Featured Article

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,…

Search Articles

Search
Showing 1-10 of 11 Results

Beyond the scoreboard: Sport’s role in climate action

May 13, 2024
|
Oliver Scholfield
In recent years public awareness and concern about climate change have significantly increased. Organizations are increasingly acknowledging and addressing the direct link between their operations and climate change, embracing initiatives from paper straws to carbon offsets. However, as climate impacts...

The Board, the Chair, and the CEO: Role clarification within sport governance

August 16, 2023
|
Rose Mercier
Organizations deserve exemplary governance.  And yet, few boards perform at this level. I believe every board wants to shape a meaningful future for the organization it is governing. If it is do this a board needs to achieve 3 outcomes...

Recruiting, retaining and supporting volunteers in a changing sport system

July 5, 2023
|
Caela Fenton and Paul Varian
Paul Varian is a sport-management consultant and thought-leader with experience at all levels of the sport sector, from community and amateur sport to large national governing bodies.  Throughout his long career in sport, Varian has served as the Chief Executive...

Governance in membership organizations

April 12, 2023
|
Rose Mercier
The landscape of Canadian sport is populated by thousands of membership based nonprofit organizations. In the sporting context, membership organizations are ones in which members pay fees motivated by their interest to participate in their chosen sport (for example, a...

Governance, strategy, evaluation: Digital future-proofing for sport organizations

September 14, 2022
|
Caela Fenton, Wes Chen and Michael Naraine
As we transition into an increasingly online world, how can sport organizations not only cope, but thrive? What are the potential benefits of social media for sport organizations of all levels, and what are the downsides? SIRC put these questions...

Gold medal governance: Embracing a steward-leader board

April 6, 2022
|
Rose Mercier, The Governance Coach
This is the fourth blog post in a series designed to increase sport organizations’ capacity to govern well in an increasingly complex world. Check out the previous posts about the role of the board, strategic foresight and the keys to...

Gold medal governance: Understanding and optimizing the role of the board

October 13, 2021
|
Rose Mercier, The Governance Coach
This is the third blog post in a series designed to increase the capacity of sport organizations to govern well in an increasingly complex world. Check out the previous posts about strategic foresight and the keys to gold medal governance....

Six Keys to Gold Medal Governance

August 26, 2020
|
Rose Mercier, The Governance Coach
Unlike the young athlete who dreams of becoming a champion, few of us grow up dreaming about joining a board of directors. Many people join a board out of a sense of duty to an organization with which they have...

Financial Literacy – What is it and who needs it?

February 7, 2018
|
Kathy Hare
In sport, we often talk about physical literacy as “the mastering of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills that permit a child to read their environment and make appropriate decisions, allowing them to move confidently and with control in a wide...

Board Governance – Succession Planning: Volleyball Canada

December 13, 2016
|
Nora Sheffe, Certified Professional Facilitator, Sheffe Consulting Inc
Recognizing the importance of engaging highly qualified leaders on the Board of Directors, Volleyball Canada recently completed a succession planning process. Mark Eckert, President and CEO recognizes that, “With only 7 people on our board, it’s critical that we continue...
Skip to content