Knowledge Nuggets

Are you a teacher looking for new ideas to activate your students during class, recess or after school; or a coach looking to refresh your practices? The Playworks Game Library and Active for Life Activity Database let you search activities by age, skill, group size, and more!

With varsity teams stepping onto fields across Canada, the risk of hazing is undeniable. However, research indicates that coaches can be the largest influence in changing the culture of hazing when they are actively engaged in educating and working with team leaders to introduce alternative orientations. Learn more in the SIRCuit.

Congratulations Team Canada! The Parapan American Games closed on Sunday, with Team Canada capturing a total of 60 medals (17 gold, 21 silver, and 22 bronze), and qualifications for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games for the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams. Congratulations to all 151 members of the Canadian Parapan American Team – click...

Positive experiences in sport provide a foundation for participation, regardless of whether athletes are participating in community sport programs or competing at the Parapan American Games. The Quality Parasport Participation Framework identifies six “building blocks” of positive sport participation: autonomy, belonging, challenge, engagement, mastery and meaning. Learn more in the SIRC blog.

Wheelchair Rugby, originally known as murderball, is a fast and furious full contact sport. A combination of elements from basketball, handball and ice hockey, the sport was invented in Winnipeg in 1976. Today, it is played in 40 countries and is under development in several more. Congratulations to the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Team for their...

A 2018 review published in the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics, co-authored by the University of Ottawa’s Dr. Jamie Kissick, revealed that concussions were consistently under-reported at international Para sport games. In the #HeadstrongCanada blog series, SIRC talks to the Chief Medical Officer of the Canadian Parapan American and Paralympic Team about the recent...

In a series of videos developed by the Canadian Paralympic Committee in partnership with Pfizer, Para sport athletes share the value of sport in their lives, and talk about the mental component of training and competition. Featured athletes include Tess Routliffe (Para swimming) Keely Shaw (Para cycling), Rob Shaw (wheelchair tennis), and Nathan Riech (Para...

Para cyclists compete on bicycles (sometimes modified for prosthetics), tandem bicycles (for athletes with visual impairments), handcycles (used by amputee and paraplegic athletes), and tricycles (for athletes with impairments affecting their balance and coordination). Para cycling begins today at the Parapan American Games! Learn more about para cycling and follow the competition on the Canadian...

Go Canada Go! The Parapan American Games kick off today in Lima, Peru. Team Canada is comprised of 151 athletes, including sport assistants, pilots, and guides. Check out the action via live streaming services from the Canadian Paralympic Committee in partnership with CBC Sports and Radio-Canada. Watch SIRC’s daily News Hub and social media platforms...

SIRC’s monthly concussion newsletter is the go-to source for best practices from Canadian and international sport organizations, and recommended resources from Sport Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The August edition highlights the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s data-informed approach to concussion management and prevention, Nova Scotia’s collaborative approach to concussion management, and more. Sign...