Reconciliation as a Social Legacy of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games

This is the second blog in a series leading up to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games that will be hosted by Whitehorse, YT March 15-21, 2020. Check out the first blog , about the development of the Games. Watch for the next blog, focused on volunteer recruitment and retention, in October. The Yukon leads the way as the only jurisdiction in Canada with 11 self-governing First Nations, so it was...Read more
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Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique
autochtone
jeux major

Addressing Under-reporting of Concussion in Para Sport

Given the high-impact nature of many Para sports, concussions may seem like an inevitability. According to Dr. Andy Marshall, Chief Medical Officer of the Canadian Parapan Am and Paralympic Team, stronger data has elevated the national dialogue around this fact – and the Para sport community itself has made leaps and bounds in a short time period. “Injury data for Para athletes is something that’...Read more

Balancing Athlete Performance and Satisfaction at Major Games

Competing at a major international multi-sport games, like the Pan and Parapan American Games, should provide lasting and positive memories for athletes, regardless of where they place at the end of their competition. While much attention is paid to athlete training and preparation leading into the major games, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are many controllable event-related...Read more
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Major Games
pan American Games

If you build it, those with vouchers will come

In 2015, the Town of Milton, Ontario, constructed the $56 million Mattamy National Cycling Centre , which hosted the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games’ track cycling competitions. The Mattamy National Cycling Centre is the only indoor 250m cycling track velodrome in Canada. Milton hoped that staging the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games would enhance the visibility of track cycling and improve access to...Read more
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Major Games
Pan Am Games
event leveraging
cycling

Supporting the Transfer and Application of Life Skills beyond Sport

This is the third and final blog in a series on positive youth development in sport. If this is your first visit to this series, considering taking a few minutes to read the other two posts – Tips on how to deliver a quality youth sport program and Teaching life skills through sport . Life skills transfer is defined as an ongoing process where an individual applies a skill learned in one context...Read more
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Athlete Development
life skills
positive youth development

Is accessibility enough? How to create quality experiences in parasport

In 2006, the United Nations endorsed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) — a landmark convention that protects the right to participation in variety of social domains, including sport activities, venues, and services . T he CRPD has been ratified by Canada and 176 other countries around the world. Nonetheless, rates of sport participation among persons with a...Read more
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inclusion
Parasports
policy
adapted sport

Innovative Research is Reducing Concussion Risks for Artistic Swimmers

Most Canadians would not consider artistic swimming (formerly synchronized swimming) a contact sport. But ask an athlete or coach, and they will tell you it can get pretty intense. “Especially in the team events, there are athletes in very close proximity, performing fast, explosive choreography,” explains Jackie Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer of Canada Artistic Swimming. “Spectators don’t...Read more
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Concussion

Women’s World Cup 2019 – About More than Just Soccer

Since June 7, 2019, televisions, radios and mobile phones around the world have been tuned in to the Women’s World Cup. And while the play on the field has amazed, inspired and delighted us, the Women’s World Cup has also provided an opportunity for social transformation. Players are speaking out against gender discrimination in soccer, using the tournament as a platform to draw attention to the...Read more
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#Social change
women's world cup
transformation

2020 Arctic Winter Games: How Uneven Competition Led to Significant Change in Northern Sport Development

This is the first blog in a series leading up to the 2020 Arctic Winter Games that will be hosted by Whitehorse, YT March 15-21, 2020. Subsequent blogs will focus on the logistical challenges of hosting in a smaller centre, engaging remote northern and First Nations communities, and the incorporation of Circumpolar culture. Living in the North certainly brings unique challenges, and for athletes...Read more
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Arctic Winter Games
Multi-sport Event
Athlete Development
Indigenous Sport Program

Concussions, Rugby and the Bigger Picture

Concussion is a pressing issue in sport. And few sports have been affected as acutely or as deeply as rugby. The issue has touched people in profoundly personal ways at all levels of the sport. The tragic 2013 death of teenager Rowan Stringer, who died after sustaining multiple head injuries playing high school rugby, caused ripple effects that went well beyond sport. For the national body...Read more
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Concussion