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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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Cirque du Soleil: Bridging the gap between athletes and artists

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 du Soleil, shared insights into the fascinating process of talent acquisition and development, where elite…

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Supporting positive parental decision-making in youth sport

February 8, 2023
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Heather Larson
Parents and guardians have significant influence on their children’s sporting experiences, as well as broader sport culture. They serve as interpreters, role models, and providers of childhood sport experiences (Fredricks & Eccles, 2004). As such, their decisions can have long-lasting...

Mobilizing knowledge into action:  Exploring sport administrators’ and parents’ perceptions  of the quality of youth sport programs

January 23, 2023
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Jean Côté
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...

Sport participation through the transition from adolescence to adulthood

January 2, 2023
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Mathieu Bélanger
Introduction and context Studying factors that contribute to sport participation maintenance in a context where so many people drop out of sports will help develop better strategies and interventions aimed at increasing the number of Canadian sport participants. However, previous...

How to write a quality grant application

November 17, 2022
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Eric Cartlidge
For many charitable or not-for-profit sport organizations, funding is the main topic of discussion on most days. As they look to continue their missions or potentially create new, innovative, and inclusive programming, two questions regularly come up:  How much money...

Cultivating a mastery climate in youth sport

August 10, 2022
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Noah Lipin and Luc Martin, Queen’s University
When children are asked about why they play sports, having fun is consistently ranked as the number one reason. Trying their best, being treated with respect and getting playing time are reasons that fall close behind. Winning, on the other...

Current perspectives on multi-sport participation

July 25, 2022
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Paul Jurbala, Sport for Life
Highlights If lifelong and healthy engagement in sport is the goal, childhood and youth participation in a variety of activities, including unstructured play, make more sense than early specialization Research shows that early specialization in sport correlates with increased likelihood...

Everywhere, all the time, anywhere: Why physical literacy matters

May 18, 2022
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Jackie Robinson, Marika Warner and Bryan Heal, MLSE LaunchPad
The loosening of COVID‑19 pandemic restrictions on sport and physical activity presents a unique opportunity to dramatically change how we engage young people in sport and physical activity. Pre-pandemic sport participation was marred by high dropout rates among girls and...

New True Sport Report sheds light on the potential power of sport in a changing world

February 2, 2022
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SIRC with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
On February 1, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) published “Power of Sport: The True Sport Report.” The new publication builds on “What Sport Can Do: The True Sport Report” (2008) that provided conclusive evidence of how good...

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....

How 2 sports came together to enhance player development in the North

October 6, 2021
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Adam Steiner and Veronica Allan, SIRC
From February 23 to April 4, 2021, in Hay River, Northwest Territories, 7 minor hockey goalies traded in their hockey sticks for table tennis rackets. In an exciting collaboration between Table Tennis North, Table Tennis Canada, Hockey NWT, Hockey North, Hay River Minor...
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