Knowledge Nuggets

This week a recommendation report from the Federal-Provincial/Territorial (F-P/T) Sport Committee’s Work Group on Women and Girls in Sport was released, aimed at increasing the participation and leadership of women and girls in all aspects of sport. The report outlines an ultimate vision for women and girls in sport, details strategic outcomes that must be...

This week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hear a scheduled five-day appeal in the case of two-time Olympic 800m champion Castor Semenya. Semenya is appealing a ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that will impose limits on testosterone levels for female athletes with differences of sexual development. The case...

While social media can have many positive uses for athletes, from interacting with fans to providing value for sponsors, engagement can also pose risks to performance. In today’s blog, Olympic curler Lisa Weagle provides insight into the steps she and her teammates used leading up to Pyeongchang to control the impact of social media on...

Outdoor play is a basic childhood need, and taking risks is an essential part of play. Whether sledding down a hill, building a snow fort, or playing pond hockey, children are often happiest when playing, and this type of risky play contributes to children’s health, development and wellbeing. Unfortunately, research indicates only 37% of children play...

From February 15th – March 3rd 2019, the Canada Winter Games, Canada’s largest multi-sport and cultural event, will be hosted in Red Deer, Alberta. The Games will welcome 3,600 athletes, managers, and coaches, as well as over 100,000 visitors and spectators. Canada’s elite young athletes will compete for gold in 19 sports across 14 different venues...

The “relative age effect” (RAE) advantages relatively older individuals in an age group while disadvantaging the relatively youngest. This age inequality can have significant impacts on sport and educational performance, and long-term health and wellbeing. Learn more in the SIRCuit.

In 2016, after a season of controversy, the World Curling Federation (WCF) and Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) investigated the effects of curling brush head technology on ice surfaces and their potential effects on where stones come to rest. During three days of testing, the NRC’s ice and materials technologies experts analyzed various manufacturers’ broom...

Sport is often celebrated as a platform through which to develop life skills, such as communication, teamwork, and respect. Approaches to develop these skills are either implicit – where the inherent dynamics of sport provide opportunities for practicing life skills; or explicit – where intentional design provides opportunities to practice life skills. Learn more in...

Many athletes and leaders continue to believe that hazing contributes to team cohesion. Yet research reveals that hazing can have the opposite effective and can fracture relationships amongst teams and between players. Coaches and athlete leaders can use education to debunk the mythical relations between hazing and team cohesion, and use alternative activities to build...

Coaches have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for their athletes. Parents have the right to speak with the coach or the coach’s employer if they have questions or concerns about interactions with their child. Learn more about the Responsible Coaching Movement, a collaboration between the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and the Canadian...