All aboard: How to successfully onboard incoming athletes

From the sports field to the boardroom, groups are everywhere! Think back to a time when you were joining a new group. Did you feel uncertain or nervous? Did you know what was expected of you in your new role? These feelings are quite common and completely normal for athletes as they transition into new…

Coach development programming for athletes with disabilities

Coaches’ understandings of disability are crucial, not only to athlete development, but also to athletes’ experiences of inclusion and community. When athletes perceive coaches to be unaccommodating or uninformed, they may feel excluded. Leadership programs like the Steadward Centre’s Athletes2Coaches show how supporting athletes with disabilities in undertaking coaching development helps to fill a gap…

Effective sport governance

To govern effectively, a board must become more knowledgeable about its members and stakeholders and understand their values and priorities. Only after focusing on this primary relationship can the board lead. A steward-leadership approach can help sport organization boards to provide vision and direction for the organization while enabling staff to apply their expertise, exercise…

Investing in women sport leadership opportunities

The importance of investing in women and gender-diverse leaders, and prioritizing gender equity has never been more evident for organizations. In the 2022 Rally Report, 80% of girls surveyed said they would stay in sport if there were more sport leaders and role models. However, 52% of women sport leaders said they feel there are…

Digital future-proofing for sport organizations

“Organizations need to be dealing not just with the ‘now’ but to start to think about future-proofing themselves. Asking, what are you doing now? Not for next week, but to prepare for the next 3-5 years?” says Michael Naraine, an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock University. To him, future-proofing is dependent on good…

Sport Information Resource Centre announces it has joined Abuse-Free Sport

Canada’s most trusted partner in advancing sport knowledge will continue to provide resources to help prevent maltreatment in sport Dec. 23, 2022 Ottawa – The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to join Abuse-Free Sport, the new independent program to prevent and address maltreatment in sport….

SIRC’s 2022 year in review

As the year comes to a close, the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) is reflecting on some of its key projects, publications and events over the course of 2022. Here are some of the key highlights: SIRC played a key role in the Canadian Sport Policy (CSP) renewal process throughout 2022. The CSP sets the…

Gender equitable boards

Effective and innovative leadership takes advantage of best practices and emerging opportunities, including gender-equitable boards of directors. A gender diverse and balanced board can help ensure that multiple perspectives are considered, addressing issues of fairness and creating opportunities for optimized performance.

Accessible communications and technologies in sport for people with disabilities

In the pre-Internet world, accessibility focused primarily on addressing physical barriers, such as by installing ramps or adding Braille buttons in elevators.   Over time, an evolution has happened in what’s considered a disability. Changes have also happened in the types of barriers and environments that people face as they live, play and compete. So, it’s…

Teamwork in board leadership

Boards in sport organizations can improve their effectiveness by functioning as a team of equals. The importance of teamwork is easily appreciated in sport. For effective teamwork, individual board members need to recognize that their authority exists only as a group, with the board chair serving as the steward-leader to the board.