SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
Beyond the Stats: Understanding Sleeper Athletes with Dr. Joe Baker
In a sports culture obsessed with early success, Canada may be missing out on some of the best athletes, sleepers, those who develop later, defying the traditional timelines of talent. Dr. Joe Baker, a leading expert on talent development and professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, says…
David Legg and David Finch, Mount Royal University
Highlights Despite its status as an Olympic city, attitudes towards sport and recreation initiatives in Calgary have been mixed. A city’s active economy includes all organizations and individuals who directly or indirectly contribute to the development and delivery of sport...
The sport sector considers evaluation an essential organizational practice. Through evaluation, sport organizations can gain insights and solicit feedback about their programs. Evaluation can also inform decision-making, guide program improvements, and build stakeholders’ value and advocacy for programming (Holt et...
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...
Debra Kriger, Amélie Keyser-Verreault, Janelle Joseph, and Danielle Peers
Equity work often “lets some others join” but still centers on the needs of the most privileged members in a group. To better integrate the experiences and perspectives of diverse individuals, intersectional approaches to policies, programs, and practices—which account for...
Heather Ambery and Charlotte MacNaughton, Nordic Strategy Steering Committee
Anyone who spends time in the world of sports—competing, coaching, supporting, or spectating—has heard their fair share of inspirational quotes. From “alone we go faster, together we go further” to “teamwork makes the dream work,” the strength of the team...
Highlights At its core, the Safe Sport movement is about optimizing the sport experience for all—athletes, coaches, sport administrators, officials, support staff, and others in the sport environment. Broader societal changes have influenced the Safe Sport movement: Changing approaches to...
Highlights Both indoor and outdoor sports are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, from heat waves and diminishing amounts of snow to disruptions in supply chains. As a first step to prepare for and adapt to the effects of...
This article is the third and final piece in a special series that explores how Canadian sport leaders are adapting and innovating to safeguard the well-being of athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major games...
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...
Kyle Rich, Kerri Bodin, Kristen Morrison, Karen Lawford, and Sheranne Fairley
Directions from public health organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the sport sector, causing many sport decision makers to reconsider what their organization does and how they do it. Although the full scope of the short- and long-term impacts...
