Elevating athlete voices: The path to safe sport in Canada
Centralizing the voice of the athlete is a critical step in ensuring Safe Sport is realized. This was the primary theme of our talks on the panel “The future of safe sport: Hooked on hope not fishing for problems” at the 2023 Sport Canada Research Initiative (SCRI) conference. An athlete-centered view of sport, while not a…
Rink Rage: Spectator Violence in Minor Hockey in Canada
Project Summary This study examines the prevalence, causes, and responses to parental violence, aggression, and abuse in minor hockey in Canada. It draws on 122 semi-structured, qualitative interviews with minor hockey stakeholders across Canada, and the textual analysis of media and legal reports of 65 cases of parental violence in minor hockey, and 58 minor…
Saving sport collectively from poor air quality: Lessons learned from South Korea
“City of Ottawa, recreational outdoor programs & leagues are cancelled today, June 7 due to poor air quality in the Ottawa region.” Canada is in the midst of a record-breaking year for wildfires, which directly impacts air quality. Accordingly, multiple cities closely monitored the air quality and announced the cancellation of outdoor recreation activities. The…
The challenges of shifting to a safer sport culture: High performance coach and administrator perspectives
Highlights The calls for culture change across sports in Canada are persistent and louder than ever. Through our program of systematic research, we have listened to and shared high performance athletes’ perspectives about what appear to be accepted (or at least tolerated) unsafe behaviours and practices in sport. Tolerance of unsafe behaviours and practices reflects…
Safe sport jobs increase as Canadian sport sector responds to community
Safe sport and safeguarding in sport have become top priorities for the Canadian sport sector. Prevalence studies have revealed that athletes across different levels of sport frequently experience maltreatment (Alexander et coll., 2011; Vertommen et coll., 2016; US Center for SafeSport, 2021; Willson et coll., 2022). Equity deserving athletes experience more harm in sport (Burdsey,…
Safe, quality and values-based: 3 approaches to optimize sport experience
Highlights There are several evidence-informed approaches to sport delivery that researchers and sport organizations encourage, and that you can engage with, to promote positive experiences and combat harmful cultures in sport and society Quality sport, values-based sport and safe sport are 3 approaches to sport program delivery that are gaining traction and popularity at all…
Clearing the air around air quality and outdoor sport safety
Highlights In 2022, Health Canada and the Sport Information Resource Centre partnered to create educational resources to raise awareness about air quality and the safety of outdoor sport participation Air pollution can impact the health of all Canadians, but some groups, including people engaged in outdoor sport and exercise, are at an increased risk Monitoring…
“They’re not yelling at you. They’re yelling at your shirt”: Canadian sport system faces officiating crisis
Highlights “They’re not yelling at you. They’re yelling at your shirt,” is the refrain that Nicole Pagliaro, a Harassment Officer for the Huronia District Soccer Association, repeats to her young referees, so that they’re armed with mental defenses for dealing with abuse. But fewer officials young and old are feeling like the positives of the…
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….
“I feel (un)safe when…”: What athletes have to say about high performance culture
Highlights In this article, researchers present their findings about Canadian high performance athletes’ perspectives on safe and unsafe sport environments, as well as recommendations for changes Athletes identified coach behaviour, teammate or fellow athlete behaviour, lack of resources and an inattentive sport system as key factors contributing to unsafe sporting environments Implementing initiatives to target…