State of basketball programming in Canada

Beginning in 2022, Canada Basketball sought to innovate the way clubs are aligned to form the amateur basketball system in this country. Since 2015, the popularity of basketball has grown an unprecedented amount. As a result of the rapid rise in basketball’s popularity, youth basketball has been inundated with private enterprises operating outside of the jurisdiction of accredited and recognizable governing bodies claiming that they have the knowledge and programs to create the next star athlete. It’s been a longstanding issue in the United States, and unfortunately, many of the enterprises are driven by financial gains rather than servicing and protecting the interests of young athletes and their families (Spanberg, 2023). The rapid rise in popularity of such organizations in Canada has caused many National Sport Organizations (NSOs), like Canada Basketball, to consider new business strategies focused on enhancing the delivery of their sport to ensure all athletes recognize and experience the benefits of playing in programs that are accredited by a recognizable governing body.

A central focus of efforts to modernize the amateur basketball system in Canada is the creation and implementation of a new club Verification Program. The purpose of the Verification Program is 2-fold. First, the program encourages community-based basketball clubs to enhance their professionalism by developing operational standards and improving their accountability on program delivery. Second, the Verification Program enhances participant experiences by ensuring that clubs deliver welcoming, safe, and developmentally appropriate environments to stakeholders across all levels of competition. With the exception of Canada Soccer’s Club Licensing Program, there are limited examples of successful club accreditation programs within the Canadian sport system. However, similar strategies have been successfully implemented in basketball as well as other sports across Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.

Collaborative sport governance

By creating the Verification Program, Canada Basketball is taking a collaborative approach to sport governance. Collaborative sport governance involves national and regional organizations coming together in unique ways, employing specific methods, to create systems that facilitate comprehensive sports development within their respective networks (O’Boyle & Shilbury, 2018). Collaborative governance is typically relied upon within the various contexts of public administration, but in sport it’s rare. Traditionally, governing bodies have relied on a top-down approach to governance accompanied with coercive pressures (e.g., withholding club insurance, competition entry, or referee assignments) to ensure compliance and uniform delivery of programming and operations (e.g., coach screening and selection) across their respective sports (Morrison & Misener, 2021; Soares et al., 2010). To effectively manage and maintain the growth that has been occurring, Canada Basketball has committed to modernizing the amateur basketball system by moving beyond traditional governing methods to ensure the delivery of basketball programming across the country is conducted in a coordinated and efficient manner.

Creating the Verification Program

Canada Basketball did not want the program to be considered another policy it was forcing on the Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) and local clubs. Central to successfully implementing the Verification Program was securing support and buy-in from the PTSOs and local grassroot clubs. To ensure that both PTSOs and local clubs found value in the Verification Program, Canada Basketball, in partnership with International Institute for Sport Business and Leadership at the University of Guelph, engaged in a research process to determine what stakeholders of the amateur basketball system thought of the Verification Program and what would entice them to join. The research process involved interviewing executives from 12 basketball PTSOs as well as a survey of over 300 local club leaders and coaches across the country. The goal was to gauge the state of basketball in each region, perceptions of Canada Basketball, and any programming or management shortcomings that needed to be addressed. The survey and interviews produced several key insights regarding the state of club basketball in Canada that needed to be reflected in the Verification Program:

· Incentivizing essential stakeholders (i.e., club administrators and coaches) to remain involved in basketball to ensure that the growing number of registrants are properly serviced.

· Addressing the feelings of alienation felt by small clubs (mainly rural or northern areas) as they often have limited capacities and see their efforts go unrecognized.

· Improving the health of club basketball in some areas is directly related to making inroads with basketball programs offered by schools.

With the data gathered from the research, Canada Basketball discovered that to successfully roll out the Verification Program, it would need to both invest in the administration of the program and continuously drive its value to all involved stakeholders. The research demonstrated that many PTSOs are stretched thin within their existing programming and as a result Canada Basketball has taken on the administration of the Verification Program with each club throughout the application and review process. Additionally, as Canada Basketball adds Verified clubs to their website and shares these clubs through social media and newsletters, clubs are notably seeing value in being recognized by the NSO. This is drawing the attention of all clubs, including those operating outside the jurisdiction of their PTSO, which is starting to increase the number of PTSO clubs and overall memberships.

The research also indicated a desire for more technical resources and guidance to support the development of coaches. To support this, Canada Basketball provides free access to an online database of coaching resources for Verified clubs. Furthermore, Canada Basketball has created an ongoing professional development web series that provides all coaches an opportunity to learn from a variety of professionals in the field. While there is a small cost to attend these webinars, all coaches of Verified clubs receive free access.

Current state In the first 12 months since launching the Verification Program, Canada Basketball has Verified 38 clubs across the country. Interest in the program continues to grow, predominantly organically, through clubs’ desires to become Verified, and not yet through a mandate by the governing bodies. This collaborative approach to governance is helping to establish further accountability on athlete safety across the sport system. The Verification Program acts a vehicle to support the implementation of safe sport best practices, while creating greater system alignment within the game of basketball in Canada.

Concluding thought

As the Canadian sport landscape continues to face the threat of becoming more disjointed due to the declining capacities of existing local clubs, those in governing positions are called to mend the sport system’s fractures. As Spanberg (2023) discussed, failure to address the declining capacities of community-based organizations for long periods of time leaves our most vulnerable citizens (like youth athletes) with limited access to sport participation opportunities and effective safety oversight mechanisms. It is important that the current state of governing sport moves beyond traditional forms of achieving compliance and program creation in order to better reflect the voices representing the diverse grassroot experiences taking place across the country. It is through understanding the diverse experiences of sport currently taking place where organizations can ensure that they instill participation opportunities that are safe, welcoming, and equitable for all well into the future.

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About the Author(s)

Daniel Wigfield, PhD

Daniel is a Postdoctoral Research Associate within the International Institute of Sport Business and Leadership at the University of Guelph. His research program and teaching focuses on organizational behaviour as it relates to optimizing the performance of amateur sport systems—especially, those servicing youth athletes.

Sandy MacIntosh, Senior Manager, System Development & Membership at Canada Basketball

Sandy is leading the development and implementation of the Canada Basketball Verification Program, and is motivated to continue to enhance basketball programming and prioritize athlete safety across Canada. His educational background is in the fields of kinesiology, physical education, and adult education.

References

Harvey, J. (2015). Multi-level governance and sport policy in Canada. In L. Thibault & J. Harvey (Eds), Sport Policy in Canada (pp. 37-68). University of Ottawa Press.

Morrison, K. A., & Misener, K. E. (2021). Exploring the conditions for strategic planning in nonprofit community sport. Sport Management Review, 24(5), 747-769.

O’Boyle, I., & Shilbury, D. (2018). Identifying enablers and barriers: shaping collaborative sport governance theory. World Leisure Journal, 60(4), 330-352.

Soares, J., Correia, A., & Rosado, A. (2010). Political factors in the decision-making process in voluntary sports associations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10(1), 5-29.

Spanberg, E. (2023, May 1). Youth sports: Supply. Demand. Access. Sport Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2023/05/01/In-Depth/youth-sports.aspx#:~:text=Privately%20run%2C%20for%2Dprofit%20leagues,burnout%20for%20those%20who%20do

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The information presented in SIRC blogs and SIRCuit articles is accurate and reliable as of the date of publication. Developments that occur after the date of publication may impact the current accuracy of the information presented in a previously published blog or article.