Powered by the People: the Magic of Crowdfunding in Sport
Funding for sport is changing and government support is increasingly more difficult to obtain, but the money is out there – it just needs to be found. A relatively new fund development tool is crowdfunding. Think about it, a crowdfunding campaign is similar to sport – it’s time sensitive, there’s a very clear goal, it’s…
Issues in Athlete Identification and Selection: Are We Compromising Talent?
Despite some important ethical and developmental concerns, early identification and selection is the modus operandi of high performance sport. Most sport systems internationally have limited resources for high performance athlete development and, as a result, have to make predictions about who has the greatest likelihood of future success. Notions of talent also play critical roles…
Mission Impossible? Not for these 2018 Chefs de Mission
2018 has already been an exciting year, with four major international games – the Arctic Winter Games hosted in the South Slave region of the Northwest Territories, Canada (March 18-24, 2018); the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games hosted in PyeongChang, South Korea (February 9-25 and March 9-18, 2018); and Commonwealth Games hosted in Gold Coast,…
Marginal Gains Reconsidered: How Sport Organizations Hold the Key to Boosting Sport Performance
The “aggregation of marginal gains” has become such a catchphrase that people have stopped questioning what it means. Science is meant to question, not to follow, and to look for the truth where it otherwise might be missed. What are “marginal gains”, really? Why have we been trained to look for them? How do they…
There is no “I” in IST – An insider look at providing health and performance support to the 2018 Men’s Olympic Hockey Team
To the average fan watching international competitions, the finished product delivered to your television or computer screen does not always reveal the enormity of action that happens behind the scenes. Stepping off the ice at the Gangneung Hockey Centre, the venue for the men’s hockey tournament at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games, and walking…
Regulating Pre-performance Psychobiosocial States with Music
SIRC Highlights from the Study Study background: For athletes at high levels, the ability to control one’s mind in the moments leading up to performance is a key element of pre-performance preparation. Music has been used by many athletes as a way of addressing pre-performance states in a variety of ways. Some use it as…
Canadian Paralympic Committee Pathway Research Strategy
In today’s rapidly changing sport landscape, it’s critical to make every decision count – and make sure every dollar has impact. Many organizations are seeking ways to use data to inform decisions and assess outcomes. But how exactly do you to move from the concept of “evidence-informed” to tangible, deliberate application of research to your…
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARALYMPIC ATHLETES IN CANADA
SIRC is pleased to be working together with Sport Canada to share current research on topics informing policy and promoting quality sport programming. This week we are sharing highlights of a recent article examining THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARALYMPIC ATHLETES IN CANADA. How Countries Identify, Recruit, and Prepare Future Athletes for the Paralympics: Case Study –…
THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF FIVE SPORT SYSTEMS IN ATHLETICS
SIRC is pleased to be working together with Sport Canada to share current research on topics informing policy and promoting quality sport programming. This week we are sharing highlights of a recent article reviewing a research study evaluating THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF FIVE SPORT SYSTEMS IN ATHLETICS (Belgium: Flanders and Wallonia; Canada, Finland, and the…
Preventing infection and maintaining immune function using nutritional strategies
It is well documented that moderate exercise prevents many infections and greatly improves immune system function. In contrast, among elite athletes who train at a faster pace and at a higher intensity, the risk of illness increases significantly and the effectiveness of the immune system to fight infections is reduced. Other factors, including exposure to…