SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
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…
Sports help to develop crucial skills on and off the court, field, or ice. Participating in sports can help youth athletes stay physically healthy, build positive relationships with coaches and other players and learn valuable skills. While coaches often play...
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...
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...
An essential part of improving sport service delivery is program evaluation. Program evaluation allows sport organizations to understand how their programs or initiatives work in different ways. However, many organizations receive insufficient training or lack the capacity (staff, funding or time) to engage in evaluative work (Carman & Fredericks, 2010). One...
If there was ever a time in our history to consider how to not leave anyone behind, 2020 was that year. As people and organizations seek to reconcile the impact of COVID-19, we need to think about how we build...
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...
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...
Project Summary The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches using Jarvis’s theory of human learning to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching...
Gamification is the use of game techniques, such as the allocation of points and rewards, to provide incentive and fuel the competitive spirit in aspects of life outside of sport (Bunchball, 2020). Examples are abundant, and include Points Days at...
Project Summary Research focusing on the development of psychological skills in sport, has been conducted primarily with athletes and coaches. However, we know little on how to assist officials to enhance their performance. Thus, the general objective of this research...
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