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…

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented sport events: Competition During COVID-19

Highlights Teddy Katz, a former award-winning sports journalist and the founder of communications company, Think Redefined Inc., sat down with Canadian sport leaders for SIRC to hear some of the valuable lessons they learned hosting safe events during the pandemic. The crisis led to some of the biggest challenges in their history for these sport leaders, but it also led to some innovative new ways of thinking that…

Spring 2021 SIRCuit

The Spring 2021 SIRCuit is now available! Spring is in the air and summer is on the horizon—and while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on in many parts of the world (including here in Canada), sports enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Looking ahead, this edition of the SIRCuit tells compelling stories about how athletes and sport organizations have adapted and thrived in the…

Esports as an equalizer

The growth of competitive virtual cycling could be a great equalizer. Gone are the days when North American athletes are required to head to Europe for the highest levels of competition. Virtual cycling also reduces the complexities of event hosting relating to local officiating capacity, road closures, and inclement weather.

Ultramarathons

Ultramarathons – 50 miles, 100 miles, or longer – test an athlete’s body and mind. These races offer extreme challenges, from pain in muscles and joints, to gastrointestinal distress, to blisters, chafing, mental fatigue and dehydration. Learn how an athlete must learn to navigate these challenges in this video.

The relocation experiences of aboriginal athletes pursuing sport in Euro-Canadian contexts

View the summary of this research here. Project summary Researchers have documented the importance of sport in the lives of Aboriginal people, emphasizing how it can improve health and wellness. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the cultural issues that affect Aboriginal peoples’ sport participation. This project explored the relocation experiences of Aboriginal…

Predictiveness of NFL Combine

Can standardized drills designed to measure strength, speed and explosiveness predict success in complex sports such as football? Analysis from sport scientists at the University of Rhode Island found the NFL Scouting Combine can predict only 20-25 percent of a player’s future success, and fails to capture intangible traits such as leadership, drive and “mental…

Sodium supplementation beliefs

Many ultramarathon runners believe the consumption of sodium supplements during competition will prevent the symptoms of exercise-associated hyponatremia, including dehydration, muscle cramping, and nausea. However, accumulating evidence suggests supplementing sodium intake above what is consumed in food and drink is generally not necessary, and could be dangerous.

A level playing field? Bias in Canadian high performance sport 

Project summary Sport is often extolled as a key activity for the development of healthy and productive youth as well as for the optimization of health and functioning across the lifespan. However, there is evidence that the delivery of sport and opportunities for participation in high performance (HP) sport is not uniform. For example, research indicates those…

Understanding deselection in competitive female youth sport

View the summary of this research here. Project summary Deselection (or being “cut”) is the elimination of an athlete from a competitive sport team based on the decisions of a coach. Given the competitive sport structure in Canada, it is inevitable that many athletes will be deselected every year. However, little is known about how…