Knowledge Nuggets

Unstructured play contributes to the mental health of children and youth by promoting positive feelings through experiences of joy, thrill and competence; building children’s resilience through challenging or risky play; and improving healthy relationship by building problem-solving and emotional intelligence. Download an infographic summarizing five key findings relating to unstructured play and mental health.

The first Arctic Winter Games was hosted in 1970 engaging 500 athletes from Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. In March of 2020, an estimated 2,000 athletes from across the Circumpolar North will be in Whitehorse, Yukon as the Games mark their 50th anniversary. Learn more about the Games and its role in athlete development in...

Listening to your friends boasting about their carbon fibre bikes, and wondering what all the fuss is about? Carbon fibre has revolutionized bike frame design, enabling the manufacturing of frames that are lighter, stronger and in more complex shapes. This video from the Global Cycling Network (GCN) explains the science behind the material and takes...

As humans age, they lose muscle. More specifically, the number of motor units that make up each muscle are gradually reduced. However, new research suggests that long-term endurance and strength training expands the size of the remaining motor units to compensate for the decline in motor units in older age – more evidence to support...

Fathers have a unique and powerful influence on their children’s physical, social, emotional and mental health. The DADEE program developed by researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia targeted the father-daughter relationship to improve girls’ self-esteem and physical activity. After the program, daughters were more active, had better sport skills, and improved their resilience...

For newcomers, informal sport can be an initial (and long-term) source of friendships and social networks that help with settlement, integration and belonging. However, in Sydney, Australia, the commercialization of public outdoor space, whether for rentals or redevelopment, is threatening this type of participation. Learn more in this article from The Conversation.

The sport sector has been abuzz about the potential risks of early specialization, including physical injury, athlete burnout, and dropout from sport. However, the link between early specialization and burnout is not well supported by the evidence. Research from the University of Alberta discovered coaches can help avoid burnout and dropout by supporting athletes’ sense...

ParticipACTION’s new app is designed to help Canadians reach the national physical activity guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) each week. Learn more about how the app integrates theories of behavioural change and machine learning, and what makes it different than other physical activity apps, in the Spring SIRCuit.

Researchers in Spain are investigating the link between endurance races and elevated levels of key biomarkers that signal myocardial strain. This is particularly important for “weekend warriors” that participate in marathons without proper training. A high proportion of all exercise-induced cardiac events occur during marathons, especially in men 35 years of age and older.

Dementia is a rapidly growing public health problem affecting around 50 million people globally, and nearly 10 million new cases every year. The disease inflicts a heavy economic burden on societies, with the costs of caring for people with dementia estimated to rise to US$ 2 trillion annually by 2030. According to new guidelines from...