Beyond the scoreboard: Sport’s role in climate action
In recent years public awareness and concern about climate change have significantly increased. Organizations are increasingly acknowledging and addressing the direct link between their operations and climate change, embracing initiatives from paper straws to carbon offsets. However, as climate impacts intensify globally, and with both governments and corporations falling short of making sufficient progress on…
Partnering in the pursuit of putting people first
The objectives haven’t changed. The pathway in endeavouring to reach them, though, most certainly has. The aim is in the name. Pursuit. Pursuit in providing improved, impactful coaching and technical assistance to Canadian high-performance athletes. In increasing investment, both financial and in on-the-ground ways, into those individuals entrusted with shaping sport in this country. In…
Sport integrity: Why is it worth protecting?
Sports fans are all intimately familiar with the rules of their favourite sports: what’s allowed, and what will get you penalized. Many are less familiar with the behind-the-scenes rules that protect athletes and the integrity of sport itself. Why protect the integrity of sport? When the outcome of an event is predetermined by competition manipulation…
Mentorship in Para sport: The value of experiential coach learning
Coach mentoring in Para sport In many ways, coaching athletes with and without disabilities is comparable as their training, dedication, and motivation to succeed are the same. However, there are contextual differences that make coaching in the Para sport setting unique. For example, it is important for coaches to have a strong understanding of specialized…
Understanding the capacity of national sport organizations (NSOs) for gender equity: Recommendations for NSO Leaders and Policy Directors
As leaders of amateur sport in Canada, national sport organizations (NSOs) are tasked with addressing gender equity and increased engagement of women and girls. NSO leaders may focus their efforts through new policies, initiatives or programs, but their ability to successfully develop and implement these new ideas is dependent on their organization’s capacity to do…
Shifting the narrative: Empowering parents and fostering understanding of their roles in the youth sport system
Parents as promoters of positive youth sport experiences One of the key social agents within the youth sport environment is the parent. They are commonly called upon to facilitate critical components of youth sport participation, such as providing material (registration and travel fees, equipment purchases, volunteerism) and emotional support like encouragement and feedback for athletes…
Ski like a girl: Researchers reveal hidden histories of women in Nordic sport
From a U of A varsity ski club to the Canadian Birkebeiner and the Olympics, women have always been part of the landscape of winter sport. When Lyndsay Conrad dove into her archival research on early 20th-century ski history in Alberta, she found women were missing in the standard narratives, yet leap out in old…
Looking back to go forward: 50 years of Canadian women’s sport
U SPORTS 2020 Swimming Championships at Saanich Commonwealth Place, Victoria, BC, February 2020 (Photo: U SPORTS) Looking back over the last 50 years of women’s sport in Canada, it’s amazing how we have progressed to bring equity, stability, and opportunity, not necessarily in all aspects of sport, but certainly in many. For example, 50 years…
50 years of Indigenous sport in Canada: An overview of 2 key advancements and challenges
‘Girls’ Pole Push Competition at the Dene Games Competitions’, Arctic Winter Games 2010, Grande Prairie Alberta, March 2010 (Photo: Michael Heine) Imagine what sport in Canada might look like had Indigenous peoples and their cultures not been colonized? Imagine how Canadians might understand who they are and their relationship to each other if Indigenous sports…
The history of Para sport in Canada
Canada has long been a leader in sport and recreation for persons with disability, and it is astounding to consider the contributions made in the last century. This is found in every aspect of disability sport including those for persons with intellectual impairment, mobility disabilities, and deafness. But for the purposes of this article, the…