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

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Preventing eating disorders among young athletes

Introduction  Adolescence is a pivotal stage marked by increased vulnerability to the development of body image concerns, disordered eating, and eating disorders. For adolescents involved in sport, where they may face pressure to conform to a certain body type to progress and achieve success, the risk may be even more pronounced.  Consider some of the…

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Showing 1-10 of 17 Results

Chasing dreams at any age: Confessions of a Masters athlete

February 10, 2025
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Gabrielle Cadotte
For Masters athletes, the finish line isn’t a signal to stop, it’s an invitation to continue, proving that age isn’t the end of the race but just another part in the journey of sport. Staying active throughout life is essential...

Cirque du Soleil: Bridging the gap between athletes and artists

February 5, 2025
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Paula Baker
Cirque du Soleil is renowned for its breathtaking performances, combining artistry, athleticism, and storytelling to create unparalleled spectacles. But how does this world-class organization find and transform its talent? André Lachance, Senior Director Casting and Artist Contract Management at Cirque...

Beyond the Stats: Understanding Sleeper Athletes with Dr. Joe Baker

January 22, 2025
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Paula Baker
In a sports culture obsessed with early success, Canada may be missing out on some of the best athletes, sleepers, those who develop later, defying the traditional timelines of talent. Dr. Joe Baker, a leading expert on talent development and...

Is it time to rethink our long-term sport participation models?

January 19, 2022
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François Gallant and Mathieu Bélanger, Université de Sherbrooke and Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick
In Canada, Sport for Life’s long-term athlete development model (Balyi, Way, & Higgs, 2013), now known as Long-Term Development (LTD) in Sport and Physical Activity, has served as the guiding framework for national, provincial and territorial sport programming since 2005....

The True Sport Experience: Bringing physical and ethical literacy to life in and out of the classroom

August 25, 2021
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the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
Physical and health education teachers and coaches are experts at helping kids learn new skills. By patiently walking students through each learning step, they build the blocks of learners’ physical literacy. However, sport and recreation experiences aren’t built on physical...

Grappling for answers: Exploring the process of life skills development in youth mixed martial arts athletes

March 22, 2021
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Theresa Beesley
Project summary Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that integrates striking and grappling techniques from a variety of other combat sports (i.e. martial arts, boxing, sumo, wresting, karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, and Tae Kwon Do). MMA...

The effects of adolescent physical growth and maturation on selection into sport and the long-term effects on sports participation

March 15, 2021
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Adam Baxter-Jones
Project summary Sport Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model acknowledges that there are limitations to ensuring appropriate development of team sports, especially with regards to selecting into chronological age (CA) bands. Adolescent of the same CA can be 4...

Trickle down effect? Exploring the influence of the Olympic Games on preschooler sport participation and development

December 28, 2020
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Jessica Fraser-Thomas
Background / Context / Objective The benefits of sport participation among youth are well recognized, yet little work has focused on understanding sport participation among very young children, despite growing participation at increasingly early ages. The first objective of this...

Comparison of the determining factors in adopting the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model for Canadian athletes among coaches from various sport disciplines

August 31, 2020
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François Trudeau, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
Summary of the project The purpose of this investigation is to determine the process for the adoption and implementation of the LongTerm Athlete Development (LTAD) model by coaches of various sports: soccer (n=116), ice hockey (n=43), figure skating (n=49), gymnastics...

Infrastructure & expertise: A model to investigate effective training through long-term athlete development

March 30, 2020
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Kelly Lockwood
Project Summary A Hockey Intervention Program (HIP) was established as an innovative vehicle to evaluate the infrastructure-athlete relationship for training athletes in the sport of ice hockey. This research examined both system level and athlete level factors that influence stakeholders’...

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