Insight to inform program delivery
“Senior decision-makers in community sport organizations need to create opportunities for program leaders to share their experiences and knowledge. Staff know the barriers and challenges experienced by participants, but those barriers and challenges can persist if insights aren’t filtered up the organizational hierarchy.” – Amina Haggar, a University of Ottawa graduate student, shares insights from…
Effective intersectional work
A common concern to starting effective intersectional work is not knowing leaders in the community(ies) affected. When this happens, organizers scramble to find a representational speaker, programmer, or athlete to diversify a particular project. In the SIRC blog, learn about three simple ways for sport administrators to put intersectionality into practice using the E-Alliance Operationalizing…
Tokyo, Beijing and a global pandemic: How 4 sports are advancing Safe Sport

Highlights Perhaps not surprisingly, the unofficial theme of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been ‘safety first.’ Postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games are scheduled to take place respectively from July 23 to August 8 and from August 24 to September 5. Even before the…
Gender-neutral language
Using gender-neutral language throughout policies, procedures, and communications is one way for sport organizations to be more inclusive of LGBTQI2S people and communities. Phrases like, “he or she” or “both genders,” can easily be updated to “they/them/their” and “all genders” to become more inclusive.
The Operationalizing Intersectionality Framework
The Operationalizing Intersectionality (OI) Framework provides guidance for putting intersectional approaches into practice. Visualized as a wheel, the OI Framework identifies four points of traction: (1) Learning, (2) Harm Reduction, (3) Accountability & Transparency, and (4) Transformation. Learn about how you can apply these concepts to improve programs, policies, and spaces in the SIRC blog.
LGBTQI2S inclusion
The effects of COVID-19 are significantly impacting the physical and mental health of the LGBTQI2S community. For sport organizations, participating in LGBTQI2S inclusive training opportunities, using gender-neutral language in policies and communications, and creating sanctions for anti-LGBTQI2S behaviour are just a few ways to be more inclusive of LGBTQI2S people and communities both now and when we return…
Egale’s 2021 Guide to International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia for Sports Organizations

Sport communities across Canada and the world have experienced a year like no other. Lockdown and isolation have left all of us eager to begin playing and training again. Now, more than ever, we understand how sport serves as a tool to bring communities together to support physical and mental health outcomes (Eime et al.,…
The Operationalizing Intersectionality Framework: A Tool for Sport Administrators

Equity work often “lets some others join” but still centers on the needs of the most privileged members in a group. To better integrate the experiences and perspectives of diverse individuals, intersectional approaches to policies, programs, and practices—which account for the multiple, overlapping systems of oppression some individuals face—are vital. E-Alliance, the national gender+ equity…
Newcomer experiences
For community sport organizations, newcomers to Canada are an important source of future participants/members, staff, and volunteers. Taking the time to consider the experiences of newcomers when they walk through your doors or onto your fields – and taking action to make those experiences better – can help build authentic and long-lasting relationships.
Multiculturalism and physical culture: The case of the GTA

There are two parts to this project: First, we have established an open-access on-line archive to collect every form of physical culture that people participate in in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Second, use the on-line archive to engage in follow-up research – interviews and secondary data analysis – to answer an initial set of…