Knowledge Nuggets

Sport organizations can benefit from including volunteers in program evaluation. For instance, volunteers are likely to have an intimate knowledge of how the organization functions. Given their diverse backgrounds and experiences, volunteers can also aid in bridging the gap between communities and universities for the benefit of the sport sector.

There is uncontested evidence that physical activity boosts mental health. But how? According to University of Toronto professor Catherine Sabiston, body temperature, a break from routine, and a sense of connectedness are just a few of the ways that exercise can lift your mood.

The Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games are inspiring cross-disciplinary research at Brock University. Projects range from an examination of the incidence of injury and illness experienced by Games athletes, to an immersive visual and aural project exploring the links between watersports and regional ecosystems, to a storytelling repository and archive of 2022 Games materials. Read...

June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples Day. Strategies to reduce barriers to physical activity and build capacity in the Canadian sport system are just one part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. Common barriers to physical activity in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities include limited access to recreational facilities, wildlife and...

Do you ever wonder how astronauts stay fit in space? To counteract the effects of weightlessness on the heart muscle, which will atrophy over time in a gravity-free environment, short bursts of repeated high-intensity activity are recommended during longer space missions.

“The Sustainable Development Goals, and the global movement to use them to measure the impacts of sport, can help governments and sport organizations better understand the impacts of their current work, as well as guiding future investments and initiatives.”– Vicki Walker, Director General at Sport Canada. For more information about how the SDGs are informing...

Exercise can help children excel in the classroom. Preschoolers (4-6 years old) with higher levels of cardiorespiratory health showed improved performance on cognitive tests and other measures of brain function.

“This is just one huge exercise in risk management… the health risks, financial risk, reputation risk, and compliance risk. It’s sort of risk management on steroids.” In the SIRCuit, Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson shares learnings and insight on hosting key national and international events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Less than three months after helping the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory, Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff returned to Canada to assist with a coronavirus outbreak at a long-term care facility in Montreal, Quebec. Laurent shows us how sport can provide athletes with valuable skills that can be taken beyond the field, pitch, and court,...

In a survey of national team athletes led by Game Plan in 2020, 34% of respondents said the postponement of the Tokyo Games changed their retirement plan from sport. Some said they would have to retire earlier than planned, while others chose to push their retirement for another year.