SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
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,…
View the summary of this research here. This study explored physically disabled skateboarders and wheelchair motocross (WCMX) riders’ experiences with the skateboarding community, online (on Instagram), and within skatepark settings. It aims to add to the growing research on physically...
Corliss Bean, Tarkington J. Newman, Martin Camiré, Leisha Strachan
As youth sport researchers, we seek to understand how youth develop and transfer life skills. In recent years, cultural issues have urged us to evolve our understanding of life skills. For instance, the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements continue...
‘Settler Colonial Sport Venues’ explores the settler histories of sporting places, and the role settler athletic venues have played in colonization and carcerality. It aims to challenge the idea that building sports facilities is always positive, showing instead how these...
Highlights Social media has had an enormous impact on the sport sector, economically and culturally Athletes may use social media as a platform for personal updates or activism, or as a venue to work with sponsors in a financial relationship,...
Highlights The Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium identified the creation of an “Athlete Transfer System” as a way to broaden Para athlete development pathways Athlete transfer is when an athlete switches sports or takes on an additional sport...
Brad Millington, Michael Naraine, Parissa Safai, Andrew Manley and Liz Wanless
Highlights The rising importance of data and technology in sport over the last two decades reflects the arrival of a wider digital economy There are “twin revolutions” occurring in sport: a change in how we understand the world around us,...
Highlights Low energy availability (LEA) arises when there is not enough energy (calories) consumed to support critical body functions as well as extra physical activity, such as training Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) is a result of longstanding LEA...
Highlights Our bodies experience cold as a physiological stressor, meaning that one’s body must work hard to keep itself in thermal balance It is important for athletes and coaches to be aware of ways to mitigate the risks of cold...
Highlights While Canadians are used to severe winter weather, 9 of the 10 warmest years on record in Canada have occurred in the last 25 years. This has real world implications for outdoor sport events. For example, even the best...
Introduction and context Although young athletes represent the users of youth sports programs, parents are intricately involved in the decision-making process related to their children’s enrollment and registration in such programs. As such, sport administrators must grasp the elements that...
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