“Through his work with the Ottawa Sports Pages, Dan is an unwavering supporter of community sport across Ottawa. The Ottawa Sports Pages provides community sport organizations in Ottawa with the opportunity to tell their stories from high school, university, community club and elite amateur sport. Dan showcases the best of sport in our community – the positive experiences happening at all levels.” – Nominator
Since 2011, the Ottawa Sports Pages has been dedicated to sharing the great sport stories happening in the Ottawa community, all led by Dan Plouffe. This non-profit local sports news publication covers high school, university, community, junior and elite amateur sport – the levels that legacy media outlets have largely overlooked for many years. The stories of positive sport experiences in our community are shared on OttawaSportsPages.ca, and shared in a free email newsletter.
When asked, the organization’s founder, Dan Plouffe was quick to share his passion for fueling community sport through the power of storytelling.
“The motivation for us has always been to fill the void left by the ever-shrinking Canadian media landscape. Yes, it’s nice that sports organizations can now share that photo of the team smiling with the trophy on social media, but it means a lot more when you can really dig into the story of how they got there,” said Plouffe. “There are a lot of sports groups who run excellent programs and produce exceptional athletes, but they don’t always have the time or the expertise to spread the word and share their stories. We’ve been told that our storytelling fuels the athletes we feature. It builds their confidence and can help them attract sponsorship and funding, and it also inspires younger athletes to believe they can excel too.”
Ottawa has a vibrant sport community that has made significant strides to becoming more inclusive to all participants. Dan and his team at the Ottawa Sports Pages have only furthered these efforts by telling the stories of historically underrepresented groups who are now having positive experiences in sport. Among the compelling stories of 2024, the Ottawa Sports Pages featured this article – where mom of 3, Gen Morrison, was chasing the dream of competing at the highest level of wrestling.
For Dan and the Ottawa Sports Pages, telling these inspiring stories wasn’t enough – they needed to find a way to provide access to sport for those who hadn’t yet felt the power of a positive sport environment. As such, the organization also works with the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation’s recLINK program to deliver free sports opportunities to children and youth in collaboration with our partner local sports groups.
“For the CAMPS Project, there are of course many negative influences and outcomes possible for kids growing up in social housing neighbourhoods. We feel it’s important to help them overcome the many barriers they may face to participate in quality organized sport programming so that they can enjoy the physical and mental health benefits offered by sport, while building relationships and community connections, and acquiring skills transferable to life beyond sport,” shared Plouffe when asked about their work to provide access to sport opportunities in Ottawa.
The Ottawa Sport Council has been a longtime partner with the Ottawa Sports Pages, and we are grateful for Dan’s commitment to amplifying positive sport experiences in our community.
“It means an awful lot to be recognized by the program, and it’s especially humbling when I look at the other dedicated leaders who have been honoured and everything they’ve contributed. Celebrating local sports figures is a big part of what we want to do, so it’s very special to have our team’s efforts highlighted too,” said Dan in response to the nomination to be the first of our Community Sport Heroes in 2025.
As we celebrate the work of the Ottawa Sports Pages and Dan Plouffe’s commitment to telling the inspiring stories happening at fields, rinks, pools, and gyms in our backyards, we invite you to subscribe to the Ottawa Sports Pages’ free newsletter. If you believe you have the next great sport story in Ottawa, be sure to chat with Dan about sharing the news far and wide.