Knowledge Nuggets

The financial cost of sport participation is frequently cited as a barrier to access for low-income families in Canada. School sport is often the most accessible form of sport programming, however schools are increasingly adopting pay-to-play models that restrict access. Canadian researchers conducted a study to understand the extent to which school sport supports low-income...

Sport can serve as a setting for addressing social justice. By expanding the meaning of life skills, seeing life skills through a sociopolitical lens, and teaching life skills that address youth’s social realities all stakeholders in the sport system can work together to progress the positive development of youth and evolve life skills. An important...

Canadian research found that building mental health in the off-season can help varsity athletes maintain their well-being during their sports season. Some strategies athletes can use to help build and maintain their mental health include making time for friends and family, building social networks outside of sport and taking a break from training for their...

On top of having many physical benefits, sports participation can improve athletes’ abilities to cope with difficult situations. Research from the University of Alberta found that sports can provide athletes with higher confidence, positive distractions, and social support, all of which can help them handle adversity in their everyday lives. Highlighting the benefits of sports...

Have you ever been on a run and suddenly started experiencing pain in the side of your abdomen? Many people refer to this as a side stich, but the proper name is exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). To help decrease the chances of ETAP, don’t eat a large meal an hour before your run, avoid...

Does hosting the Olympics result in a higher medal count for the host country? A recent study examined purported home advantage at the summer Olympics from 1996 to 2021. The findings suggest that assumptions about the “host effect” are exaggerated.

Para sport has grown substantially in the past decades with increases in athlete participation as well as training intensities and sport performance (Patricios & Webborn, 2021; Fagher et coll., 2016). Yet, there is still limited research to help inform practice, especially concerning sport physiology and health in Para athletes (Gee et coll., 2021). This blog...

Social media has become an increasingly commercialized space within the sporting industry, with brands and sponsors seeking to reach consumers through athletes’ platforms. So is social media good, or bad, for the sport industry? For athletes? For women and athletes of marginalized communities? The answer seems to be: it’s both. Or, rather, it depends who...

The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) is an initiative from the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. The RCM has 3 pillars: the rule of 2, background screening, and ethics training.

What is okay and what isn’t when it comes to safe sport? Sport Manitoba has compiled a handy checklist for athletes to remind them of appropriate boundaries that should exist between them and sport coaches, officials or administrators. The list identifies green light behaviours and red flag behaviours for athletes to keep in mind.