Unprecedented times call for unprecedented sport events: Competition During COVID-19
Highlights Sport leaders from Hockey Canada, Curling Canada, Gymnastics Canada, Equestrian Canada, Swimming Canada, and Sail Canada share their learnings from hosting a sport event during the COVID-19 pandemic. When planning a pandemic sport event, collaboration with key stakeholders, including federal, provincial, and local health authorities, is critical. For in-person competitions, minimize the amount of…
Redefining legacy: How Brock University is maximizing impact from the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games
Highlights Brock University partnered with Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games to invest in research, build curricular connections, and enhance community engagement. Brock University’s interest in the Games draws upon their commitment to the Niagara community, a key part of the institution’s mandate since it was formed in 1964. The Brock-Canada Games Academic Committee was formed…
Next Steps in the Safe Sport Journey: From Prevention of Harm to Optimizing Experiences
Highlights At its core, the Safe Sport movement is about optimizing the sport experience for all—athletes, coaches, sport administrators, officials, support staff, and others in the sport environment. Broader societal changes have influenced the Safe Sport movement: Changing approaches to child and youth development The #MeToo/Time’s Up movements Increased attention to equity, diversity, and inclusion …
Sports at risk: Addressing climate change in the Canadian sport sector
Highlights Both indoor and outdoor sports are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, from heat waves and diminishing amounts of snow to disruptions in supply chains. As a first step to prepare for and adapt to the effects of climate change, engage board members and staff in intentional discussions about the climate hazards that…
Can you hear me now? The emergence of the athlete voice in Canadian Sport
This article is the third and final piece in a special series that explores how Canadian sport leaders are adapting and innovating to safeguard the well-being of athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major games during a global pandemic. Don’t miss the first and second articles in the series! Highlights…
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport: What Coaches Need to Know
Mary Cain, a former record-breaking phenom, made a different type of headline when she spoke up about the pressure she faced to lose weight that caused her to disappear from the running scene (Cain, 2019). Cain’s willingness to speak up started a social media movement that brought to the public’s attention the cost of under-fuelling…
Maximizing Social Learning Spaces in Sport Organizations: A Story about Creating Value
The global knowledge society is one in which we can never know everything we will need to know to be successful – something the pandemic has brought into sharp focus. Sport leaders need an agile method capable of gathering knowledge from many sources and that encourages reformulations and innovations to address ever new challenges. With…
Giving Due Deliberation to Masters Athletes: The Time has Come
Paradoxically, Masters sport is equally celebrated and ignored. Masters athletes are celebrated because they are motivated, goal-oriented, and determined to thrive at ages when sport participation has traditionally waned – they defeat stereotypes and allow us to rethink possibilities. Yet Masters athletes (MAs) can also be an “after-thought” in sport organizations, receiving scarce attention. Our…
Self-Compassion in Sport 101
If you have been involved in the coaching or administrative side of competitive sport, chances are you have seen athletes experience emotionally difficult setbacks. These setbacks can range from devastating performance failures (e.g., “choking” during an important competition), to facing harsh, negative evaluations by others (e.g., spectators, teammates, competitors, parents) and/or themselves (the self-critic is…
Supporting Podium Dreams – Paralympian Search and RBC Training Ground
To support the identification and development of future Olympians and Paralympians, two Canadian programs have been developed to fuel the Canadian pipeline of future hopefuls. RBC Training Ground and the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Paralympian Search are athlete identification programs designed to assess participant aptitudes in various sports, and connect athletes with sport opportunities and development…