Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"

Introduction and context 

The leading preventable causes of death worldwide (chronic diseases) are usually brought on by a lack of regular physical activity, which can lead to significant health and financial challenges for the individuals and communities. Many municipalities are dedicated to establishing and maintaining healthy environments for all, which requires collaboration and coordination with various organizations.  

The doctoral research project ‘Bougez-vous?’ aims to better understand how public recreational and sports infrastructures are planned, designed, and managed in the province of Quebec. A specific focus is on the coordination agreements between the City of Montreal and 7 organizations, exploring ways to inspire sports administrators, public organizations, and municipal government departments to encourage physical activity.  

Methods 

This research focuses on 7 inter-organizational partnerships between the City of Montreal, its boroughs, and a civil, community, or educational authority concerning the management and use of recreational sports infrastructures. Thirteen interviews with managers in charge of each partnership agreement (from the City of Montreal and the partners) were done, followed by a content analysis to identify the factors influencing partnership success and limitations.  

The findings allow us to identify multiple factors determining the success of the management and use of partnerships studied, as well as the limits observed and other elements to consider.  

Driving factors 

Limiting factors 

Complementary factors  

These results bring interesting avenues of thinking and action to researchers who study partnerships between organizations and practitioners who are developing partnerships between organizations. By considering the previous factors, sport managers can maximize the way they establish their partnership with other organizations. Therefore, they can integrate the principles that lead to a winning application of the partnership and especially to promote health by physical activity. As a result, the planning and management of public recreational and sport infrastructures can be more effective and lead to the creation of active and healthy communities which provide access to physical activity for all, regardless of economic, physical, social, and cultural conditions. 

Strengths and limitations 

The strength of this research include: 

The limitations of this research include: 

Conclusions and next steps 

Improving health by promoting physical activity needs interested parties engaged to help make Canadians more physically active. Partnerships focused on building and using sports facilities play a crucial role, extending beyond official documents to focus on relationships and coordination between organizations and their human managers. This holistic approach is essential for long-term success in promoting health through physical activity.  

Funding acknowledgement: This blog draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Sport Canada as part of the Sport Participation Research Initiative.  

From a U of A varsity ski club to the Canadian Birkebeiner and the Olympics, women have always been part of the landscape of winter sport.

When Lyndsay Conrad dove into her archival research on early 20th-century ski history in Alberta, she found women were missing in the standard narratives, yet leap out in old University of Alberta yearbooks from the 1930s.  

“We were finding that you need to dig a little bit deeper to find evidence about women,” says Conrad, a first-year graduate student in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. 

Now, Conrad and her colleagues on the Ski Like a Girl research team at the U of A are working to ensure the history of women and girls in Nordic skiing is remembered and heard. 

“Women were skiers; they were also leaders and builders of the ski clubs, ski industry and tourism,” says PearlAnn Reichwein, professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation and research team lead.

“We are bringing women and girls to the forefront of these projects,” says Reichwein. “In that way, we’re working to reshape the history of skiing and Western Canada.” 

Lyndsay Conrad magnifying rare ski images at the archives of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff. Photo credit: PearlAnn Reichwein.

In a recent paper, Reichwein analyzes the Canadian Birkebeiner’s origins, dating back to a frigid winter day for the first loppet in 1985. Women made up half of the grassroots organizing committee, and women and girls participated in the loppet. 

The full 55 km course represents the tale of legendary Norwegian Birkebeiners transporting the infant Prince Haakon Haakonson. Outdoor educator Glenda Hanna, formerly with the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the U of A, was the first person to carry her own baby while skiing the event. 

Reichwein argues that the Canadian Birkebeiner was crucial in negotiating terrain for the winter sport and conservation stewardship, creating broader impacts for sustainable heritage tourism within the area now included in the Beaver Hills Biosphere east of Edmonton. 

“It began with a ski instructor’s love and passion for getting everybody involved in cross-country skiing,” she says. 

“Ski instructors from the Riverside cross-country ski school, friends, families and many others volunteered their time to make the Canadian Birkebeiner idea come to life.” 

The loppet — a mass participation cross-country ski event with food and celebration — was a vessel that carried the founding organizers’ sport-for-all philosophy, according to Reichwein. Its 40th anniversary is next year. 

With a focus on Nordic skiing, the Ski Like a Girl research team hopes to fill a gap in the history of Canadian skiing and inspire equity, inclusion and diversity in sport and active living. 

Ski Like a Girl research team historians Lyndsay Conrad, Dr. PearlAnn Reichwein, and Charlotte Mitchell at Lake Louise, October 2023

An unequal jump 

Ski jumping is at the centre of PhD student Charlotte Mitchell’s research and 12-year athletic career with the Altius Nordic Ski Club in Calgary. 

Through her research, Mitchell discovered the rich history of women’s ski jumping dating back to the late 1800s, when the sport was a popular spectator event that included women despite barriers to competition. 

“Women were encouraged not to ski jump,” says Mitchell. “Their bodies were used against them, to not allow women to compete or train in sport in general, and in ski jumping.” 

Despite those limits, women’s ski jumping grew as a sport over more than a century of advocacy, including efforts by Mitchell as a teenager who joined a lawsuit against the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee by elite women ski jumpers in protest of a men’s-only Olympic event. 

Using autoethnographic research methods including creative nonfiction writing, photography and videography, Mitchell shares her plaintiff and ski jumping history to connect with broader exclusion experiences in sport for women and girls in Nordic skiing. 

“Canada is under the assumption that things are more equal here,” says Mitchell. “Having the Olympic Winter Games held here with no women’s event in ski jumping was really a shock.” 

Mitchell hopes her work will inspire sport communities to push policy boundaries and prioritize coming together to generate change in sport and society. 

“This fight is definitely not over.” 

Sport for all 

Photo evidence found in the University of Alberta archives and original Evergreen and Gold yearbooks from the U of A Library helped Conrad’s research efforts to share the history of the university’s Varsity Ski Club. 

“Nordic skiing in the 1930s was a very lively scene for outdoor winter recreation, and it took place in the river valley,” says Conrad. “Clubs built their own cabins and ski jumps and had competitions as well as recreational Sunday tours starting right from campus.” 

A key tenet of the club was the “sport for all” ethic, which emphasized getting as many students out skiing as possible, Conrad explains. 

Archival work led Conrad to point out that the Varsity Ski Club also served as an incubator for early female leaders on campus, helping women gain skills and leadership experience. 

Alumni include Peggy O’Meara, a former ski club secretary treasurer who became the first female physician in the Canadian Armed Forces, and Marjorie Bowker, the first female family court judge in Alberta. 

“They were leaders in sport at the university and then became leaders in their field,” says Conrad. 

“I thought that was pretty amazing.” 

In the snow-covered landscapes of Canada, where winter sports reign supreme, a quiet change is trying to take root; one that seeks to empower Indigenous youth through the world of snowboarding. Spearheaded by Canada Snowboard’s Indigenous Program, this initiative aims not only to introduce more Indigenous athletes to the sport but also foster a sense of community, cultural pride, and opportunity for growth. 

“My goal is to have more Indigenous athletes, more Indigenous representation, especially within Canada because at Canada Snowboard we strive to be the world’s leading snowboard nation,” says Canada Snowboard Sport Program Coordinator Quinn Thomas, a driving force behind the program’s revitalization efforts.   

The Indigenous program’s journey began in 2015 with the establishment of the First Nation Snowboard Team, which later evolved into the Indigenous Life Sport Academy (ILSA). Since then, the program has undergone a revamp, driven by a passionate commitment to increase Indigenous representation within the snowboarding community. As Canada Snowboard strives to be a global leader in snowboarding, it recognizes that achieving this goal requires embracing and celebrating the diversity of Indigenous cultures. 

At the heart of the Indigenous Program’s mission is the belief in Indigenous leadership guiding Indigenous youth. 

 
Participants in the “Liam & Friends” event (Alexa Pepper/COC)

“We want to have Indigenous leaders leading Indigenous youth. We want to honour and preserve their way of doing things. That coupled with information from Canada Snowboard on how to deliver content, how to build athletes, how to get more people snowboarding,” says Thomas. “Essentially developing Indigenous coaches so that they can also develop Indigenous athletes.” 

Thomas, who is Métis on his paternal side, believes this collaborative approach emphasizes mutual respect and partnership, allowing Indigenous communities to shape the program according to their unique needs and values. 

The program’s structure mirrors Canada Snowboard’s general coaching program, with a focus on building community coaching. Thomas developed a community coach program that’s currently in the trial stages through the Coaching Association of Canada’s (CAC) locker, and its aim is to show that snowboarding “isn’t just for competition, it’s recreational too.” Its goal is to make it easier for people in rural communities to have access to resources and coaching knowledge, and to continue to develop without having to travel. 

The community coach program is part of Thomas’ 5-year roadmap. The ultimate goal? From community coach workshops to Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors (CASI) instructor courses, the program aims to equip Indigenous coaches with the skills and knowledge to instruct and mentor youth in their communities.  

By starting with instruction and community coaching, the program aims to create a solid foundation for aspiring athletes to explore the sport at their own pace, whether for recreation or competition. Essentially breaking down barriers and fostering inclusivity in winter sports.  

Collaboration with organizations such as the Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta has been instrumental in furthering these initiatives. By forging partnerships with entities like the Edmonton Ski Club, efforts have been made to increase access to snowboarding, allowing more families to experience the joy of the sport. While still in its early stages, the partnership with the Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta shows a promising beginning.  

However, the journey is not without its challenges. Thomas says accessibility remains a significant barrier, particularly in regions where access to snowboarding facilities is limited or cost prohibitive.  

“Like anything past the lesson stage of things, it gets more difficult to go to a ski hill,” notes Thomas. “And I think the industry really pushes people towards the resorts, but all you really need to go snowboard is a hill and the will to walk up and down and do a couple of turns.” 

Native Youth Outdoors snowboard clinic, 2023 (Emily Sullivan via Liam Gill Instagram)

To address this, Thomas is exploring innovative solutions such as the creation of hike parks in urban centers and gear libraries to provide affordable access to equipment. Thomas is also looking at building strong partnerships with provincial and territorial Aboriginal sport bodies and snowboard associations as another key strategy for expanding the program’s reach. By collaborating with existing organizations and community leaders, the program can leverage local expertise and resources to support Indigenous participation in snowboarding. 

“We want to keep letting them know that the sport is here, and we want you to come and snowboard,” Thomas says. “And with this coaching program, we want to give the communities the tools to run it on their own.” 

Also instrumental in bringing snowboarding to Indigenous communities is the only Indigenous male athlete on Canada’s national snowboard team, Liam Gill.  

“He [Liam] does a lot for the community, but he does it on his own,” notes Thomas. “He and his family are amazing.” 

Gill, a 20-year-old halfpipe athlete, is a member of the Dene First nation Liidlii Kue in the Northwest Territories. After competing in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, he drew the attention and support of Indigenous communities across the nation.  

Following the 2022 Games, Gill has been ‘paying it forward’ by helping Indigenous youth try snowboarding. First on his own in the N.W.T, then near Banff at the Sunshine Ski Resort. In May 2023 with the help of a legacy grant from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Gill was able to bring kids to a private ‘Liam and Friends’ event. Along with having fun, Gill’s goal was to help make snowboarding accessible to Indigenous youth, regardless of financial barriers.  

“By travelling to the Northwest Territories, Liam brought snowboarding up there and he’s shown the community some of the things we’ve been talking about,” Thomas explains. “Like how you can find a hill and do a few turns… they showed you could use a snowmobile with a bucket on the back to tow people up the hill, or hike or walk up and then you can just slide around. That’s the magic of snowboarding.” 

Thomas knows firsthand the impact of seeing someone with a similar background achieving success. Reflecting on a time when he was at an event called the Gathering and was approached by a young athlete after giving the land acknowledgement.  

“They thought it was awesome to see someone like me, who is also like them, leading something. It was probably one of the most inspiring things for me and it’s what also helps me to drive this program and keeping figuring it out how we make it even better.” 

Not an easy feat but Canada Snowboard is solid on their commitment. And as this roadmap unfolds over the next 5 years, its impact is poised to extend far beyond the slopes, leaving an indelible mark of empowerment and accessibility within Indigenous communities across Canada. 

Strength and conditioning are key in all areas of sport. One method of strength training is plyometric training, which is a series of explosive body weight resistance exercises. A recent study finds that sport performance consisting of throwing capacity, jumping ability, and sprint performance significantly improved due to plyometric training interventions.

To combat escalating abuse from parents and coaches, a minor soccer association plans to equip referees with body cameras aiming to protect young referees and deter aggressive behaviour. In Ontario, a pilot project with referee-worn cameras has shown promise, acting as a visual deterrent against abuse and providing referees with a tool to record incidents.

Amidst the cost of living crisis, women and girls encounter barriers to sports participation. Research from Women in Sport shows a widening gender activity gap, with 35% reducing activity due to financial constraints. Urgent action is needed to address economic, societal, and facility challenges for equitable access to the lifelong benefits of sport.

Did you know that the effects of pressure on sports performance are more complex than commonly assumed? A new study examined various pressure conditions in golf putting and found that while some conditions impaired performance, others actually improved it! Considering individual pressure factors and tailoring conditions accordingly may optimize performance and highlights the need for personalized approaches in sports psychology.

Parkinson’s disease is a serious medical condition that still does not have any known cure. Parkinson’s is a disease of the brain that causes individuals with it to slowly lose control of their muscles, often leading to tremors, or shaking. A recent study done on Parkinson’s disease patients who engaged in exercise, found that aerobic exercise has the ability to stabilize disease progression and enhance cognitive performance.

Falls and fall-related injuries pose significant threats not only to older adults but also to younger age groups, including working-age adults. A recent study, which investigated the effects of Judo exercise programs on 142 working-age adults over a period of 10 weeks, suggests that such programs may offer benefits in reducing the risk of falls and fall-related injuries.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million individuals worldwide. Although various pharmacological treatments exist, recent research suggests that there could be additional benefits with lifestyle changes, particularly with increased physical activity.