A culture change is coming in youth sport: How sport organizations can incorporate Sport for Development strategies
Highlights: This article draws on recent insights from the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Foundation’s Change the Culture, Change the Game report, offering practical recommendations for sport organizations and administrations looking to advance a more positive culture for youth in sport The authors make the case for all sport environments to incorporate a Sport For…
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…
A theory of change for Canadian sport: Dorothy Paul on culture change
Highlights: 2 Loops Theory of Change seeks to describe and model organizations as living beings with life cycles Indigenous sport leader, Dorothy Paul, advocates for 2 Loops Theory as a lens to consider cultural shift within the Canadian sport sector In this SIRCuit article, SIRC interviews Paul to gain her perspective on cultural change, pressing…
“They’re not yelling at you. They’re yelling at your shirt”: Canadian sport system faces officiating crisis
Highlights The Canadian sport system is experiencing a steep decline in number of match officials due to a combination of factors including abuse, lack of support from organizations, and lack of compensation In this article, officials from various sports across the country share their perspectives on the officiating crisis, including potential solutions such as education…
What parents and guardians need to know to create positive youth sport experiences
Highlights Parental behaviour has the potential to either positively or negatively impact youth athletes Current sporting contexts that frequently foster negative parental behaviour include parents “living vicariously” through their kids, the rise of youth sport professionalization and the high financial cost of youth sport This SIRCuit article offers practical tips for both parents and youth…
Creating welcoming, equitable spaces for new Canadians in sport
Highlights: Sport can help to promote physical and mental health, build social connections and support integration into Canadian communities among newcomers to Canada Research shows that newcomers face unique barriers to sport participation, including cost, transportation, language, access to information, racism and religious or cultural considerations In this article, newcomers in participant, parent, and coaching…
How the sport system can best support lifelong participation in sport
Highlights The engagement and retention of adult sport participants is often overlooked within sport systems and organizations that focus predominantly on youth Despite coaches playing a key role in Masters sport, there are no clearly identified pathways into Masters coaching Masters athletes are often relegated to the worst practice times and facility resources This SIRCuit…
Taking a person-first approach to high performance sport in Canada
Highlights Over the course of 2022, athletes and supporters have consistently raised concerns about maltreatment and lack of transparency in the Canadian sport sector In this SIRCuit article, Teddy Katz explores athlete concerns, as well as changes being made within Canadian sport to move towards a “person-first” system Katz spoke to Olympians, mental health experts…
From scarcity to abundance: How Para athlete transfer can broaden development pathways
Highlights The Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium identified the creation of an “Athlete Transfer System” as a way to broaden Para athlete development pathways Athlete transfer is when an athlete switches sports or takes on an additional sport Currently, athlete transfer happens fairly frequently, but is predominantly athlete-directed Many stakeholders believe a “scarcity…
Sport after Moneyball: Exploring sports analytics and the digital economy
Highlights The rising importance of data and technology in sport over the last two decades reflects the arrival of a wider digital economy There are “twin revolutions” occurring in sport: a change in how we understand the world around us, and a change in the hardware and software available for training and learning The product…