SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
Concussions in Sport: What Parents Need to Know About the Youngest AthletesÂ
Each year in Canada, more than 200,000 athletes experience a concussion. The numbers are striking, and so is the fact that until recently, the youngest athletes were almost absent from research and public conversation about these injuries. Dr. Miriam Beauchamp is a professor at the University of Montreal, a researcher at Sainte-Justine Hospital, and Canada…
Vicki Harber, PhD and Paul Jurbala, PhD, Sport for Life
You’ve probably heard of the Relative Age Effect – the concept that when children are placed into groups such as school classes or sports based on their chronological age, those born early in the cohort may have physical or intellectual...
Periodization is a systematic approach to training that involves varying training variables, like volume and intensity, over time. The objective of this planning is for the athlete to reach his or her peak at a specific, pre-determined time, while optimizing...
Coaches, in a nutshell, are educated leaders who influence people to work towards a specific goal. Effective leadership in sport requires knowing the best approach for assisting players based upon their level of skills and motivation, and transforming that knowledge...
Hazing is a complex issue that is entangled in the culture and tradition of Canadian University sport. Hazing is defined as an event created to establish a team’s social hierarchy by humiliating, degrading, abusing and/or endangering newcomers regardless of a...
This study aims to gain a better understanding of the sports experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes. There is very little Canadian data so far on the reality of LGBT athletes. However, all existing studies on the...
Relative age effects (RAEs) are developmental advantages experienced by those born in the early months of the year relative to an age-defined cut-off date (Barnsley et al., 1985). In sport and educational settings, RAEs tend to endure, resulting in an...
September 23-30, 2017, marks the third annual National Coaches Week! The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and the 13 Provincial and Territorial Coaching Representatives (P/TCRs)’s National Coaches Week is a week to celebrate the positive impact coaches have on athletes...
Concussion continues to be a very hot topic in sport these days. In fact, the Governor General spent a full day in December 2016 hosting a conference with former professional athletes, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the medical community, and the...
A concussion is a common head injury, also known as a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI). It is an injury that is caused by the brain being shaken around inside the skull after a direct blow to the head, or...
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital & the Greater Toronto Hockey League
The growth in knowledge of the potential impact of concussion in recent years has prompted a demand for sports organizations across Canada to work with experts in health and health care to enhance the safety of athletes. One example of...
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