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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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FUN MAPS: Rethinking the joy of sport

For many, sport is synonymous with fun. Its why children sign up for soccer leagues, join hockey teams, and try out for rowing clubs. But what exactly makes sport fun? And how can coaches and program leaders ensure that fun isn’t just an afterthought, but a core component of the sport experience?  Dr. Erin Sharpe,…

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FUN MAPS: Rethinking the joy of sport

April 23, 2025
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Paula Baker
For many, sport is synonymous with fun. Its why children sign up for soccer leagues, join hockey teams, and try out for rowing clubs. But what exactly makes sport fun? And how can coaches and program leaders ensure that fun...

ParkSeek: Linking young Canadians to parks and recreational resources using geo-targeted messaging in a smartphone application

January 1, 2024
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Alexander Wray
Introduction and Context  The ParkSeek study aimed to identify barriers to youth (aged 13-25) engagement with parks and recreational resources via a novel geographic ecological momentary assessment (GEMA). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, substantial challenges were encountered in...

Transitioning to inclusive sport:  Understanding barriers to transgender Canadians’ participation in recreational and high-performance sport

July 17, 2023
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Sarah Teetzel
Project summary  How and where trans athletes participate in sport is highly contested and inconsistent due to the competing, and often contradictory, policies in force throughout the country in different sport disciplines at a different levels of competition. This study...

What parents and guardians need to know to create positive youth sport experiences

March 13, 2023
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Alex Murata
Highlights Parental behaviour has the potential to either positively or negatively impact youth athletes Current sporting contexts that frequently foster negative parental behaviour include parents “living vicariously” through their kids, the rise of youth sport professionalization and the high financial...

The role of social capital in the organizational capacity of community sport

May 3, 2021
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Alison Doherty
Project summary  Social capital is the trust, reciprocity, and shared understanding that may be produced and reproduced in a social connection. When generated among individuals and within groups in an organization, this ‘social energy’ may be an important resource for...

Understanding barriers to sport in Hamilton, ON

January 11, 2021
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Andrew Clark
Project summary This study uses a random group of adults in Hamilton, ON to determine what barriers to sport are preventing adults from being active through sport. The research using data from a questionnaire that was part of a larger...

Adolescent leisure opportunities in a changing community

March 9, 2020
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Peter Morden
Project Summary The context of leisure is especially amenable to fostering the acquisition of developmental assets and the development of. However, the issue of access to developmentally significant opportunities becomes problematized as inner-city areas are transformed by the process of...

Understanding Parents’ Experiences in Facilitating Physically Active Leisure for their Children who are Overweight or Obese

February 17, 2020
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Charlene Shannon-McCallum
Project Summary Parents are key influencers of their children’s leisure behaviours. They identify and create opportunities for their child’s continued participation in leisure activities including sport. There are a number of factors that affect a parent’s ability to support his/her...

Relative Age, Recreation Sport Participation and Youth Development

January 6, 2020
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Nick Wattie
Project Summary In both youth sport and education, children and adolescents are grouped into cohorts by using annual age grouping policies, whereby a child must be a certain age by a specified selection date (e.g., December 315). Relative age describes...

Bridging the Gap Between Seniors and Recreational Sport and Fitness Programs

December 16, 2014
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Seniors may be overlooked when thinking about adding diversity to your sports and fitness programs when the fact is that many seniors share the same barriers when facing sport participation. Community recreation and sport programs can be great for older...

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