Inclusion for participants with a disability

Do you know the impacts that children and adolescents with disabilities face because of lack of access to quality sport programming? These impacts can include basic physical literacy, sedentary behaviours, sleep, social engagement, and more (see here). Without access to quality sport experiences, individuals with a disability experience lifelong negative impacts.

On the contrary, individuals with disabilities who are sport participants see lifelong positive impacts. According to the True Sport Report 2022, participation in sport has been shown to have physical, mental, and social benefits for participants with disabilities. Individuals reported that participation in sport is an opportunity to build their self-confidence and become more motivated and independent.

This year, the Ottawa Sport Council is continuing our journey to make community sport more welcoming and inclusive in Ottawa. As we heard at the Ottawa Sport Summit (watch the highlights here), last November, accessibility for participants with a disability is a core component of striving for equity. Through the Ottawa Sport Summit, two core themes of accessibility emerged:

  1. Accessible by design – When we heard from Camille Bérubé, three-time Paralympian, at the Sport Summit she spoke to the importance of planning for accessibility. It is much easier to plan for accessibility in the program design stage, than to have to retrofit during program delivery to become accessible to participants with disabilities.
  2. Having accessible facilities is not enough – While ensuring that facilities are accessible for participants with physical disabilities is very important, that alone will not create accessible sport programming. Truly accessible programs provide accommodations in all program elements and integrate participants with a disability into sport organizations through mixed abilities programs.

The RA Curling Club (RACC) is an excellent example of sport programs  that are both accessible by design and offer full integration of participants in wheelchairs. The RACC strives to offer quality sport programs to wheelchair curlers.

  • The RACC programs are accessible by design as they offer try-it events, instructional programs, and league play for standing and wheelchair curlers. The RACC programs offer skills-based progression and a variety of options for wheelchair curlers, similar to those offered to standing curlers.
  • Through mixed abilities programs and opportunities to play competitively, RACC wheelchair curlers are fully integrated into the clubs’ programs and participant development pathways.

Being accessible by design and having program integration does not happen by accident, it takes intentional planning. So, what else goes into offering a quality sport experience for participants with disabilities? According to the Canadian Disability Participation Project (CCDP), there are six building blocks of quality sport participation for athletes with a disability (see here):

  1. Autonomy – Having independence, choice, control
  2. Belongingness – Feeling included, accepted, respected, part of the group
  3. Challenge – Feeling appropriately tested
  4. Engagement – Being in the moment, focus, absorbed, fascinated
  5. Mastery – Feeling a sense of achievement, accomplishment, competence
  6. Meaning – Contributing toward obtaining a personal or social meaningful goal; feeling a sense of responsibility to others

Within the CCDP’s Quick Guide (see here), there are key questions to ask yourself about the quality of the sport experience related to the physical, program, and social environments. Community sport organizations often face the challenge of having limited resources, be they financial, volunteer time, equipment, etc. The CCDP’s Quick Guide also speaks to the prioritization of strategies to build a quality sport program and building a plan for additional strategies that could be implemented should the need arise. The development of more accessible and inclusive sport programs is a continuous evolution, not a light switch.

Ottawa is also fortunate to have several expert organizations that can offer expertise in creating more welcoming and inclusive programs for athletes with a disability. These include:

  • Abilities Centre Ottawa – Offers parasport education/awareness programs to schools and community sport organizations for participant and sport leaders to gain a better understanding of parasport.
  • Ausome Ottawa – Offers a variety of sport programs in partnership with community sport organizations for athletes on the autism spectrum, as well as community training for sport leaders to better understand autism spectrum disorders in the context of sport.
  • Special Olympics Ontario – Greater Ottawa – Offers a variety of sport programs in partnership with community sport organizations for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Alongside the participant experience, it is also important to consider how your organization may be welcoming to sport leaders with a disability. This can include coaches, officials, administrators, and Board members.

The Ottawa Sport Council is dedicated to making community sport more inclusive and welcoming for participants with a disability. As a continuation of the Ottawa Sport Summit hosted in November 2022, we are facilitating the development of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Toolkit to provide practical resources to community sport organizations that make sport experiences more welcoming and inclusive. This will include resources and information on accessibility and welcoming participants with disabilities.

For more information on making your sport organization more inclusive and welcoming to participants with a disability or on the forthcoming EDI Toolkit, please contact us.

Elaine Brimicombe of the Ottawa Valley Curling Association

“Not only has Elaine has been contributing to the sport of curling for many years by giving her time and expertise to clubs and curling organizations, but she has also encouraged me and many others into leadership roles that continue to grow the sport of Curling in our community.” – Stephanie Britwistle, nominator 

As we know, the success of community sport depends on the dedication and time of volunteer sport leaders. Elaine Brimicombe has been a leader within the local and provincial curling community, dedicating her time and expertise to creating an inclusive environment to welcome more participants to the sport of curling.

Elaine has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Ottawa Valley Curling Association as well as the Ontario Curling Association (CurlON) since 2015. In addition to her roles with OVCA and CurlON, Elaine has been instrumental in events like the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa as well as developing community programs like wheelchair curling at the RA Centre.

When asked about her participation in the wheelchair curling program at the RA Centre, she shared “The energy and excitement of this program is infectious.”

At the end of Elaine’s executive term with CurlON in 2022, she was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. During her time as Chair, Elaine expanded the governance model, revamped the organization’s strategic plan, and launched their equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategy where she believes that for curling in Ontario, #EveryonePlays.

“I truly believe in ‘Moments Build Momentum’. When someone tells me they enjoyed their curling experience as either a volunteer or a participant I want to share those moments with others to continue to build momentum.”

Elaine has also been spending her time volunteering to make the 2023 World Men’s Curling Championship a success at TD Place. The event is running from April 1st to the 9th. For more than 35 years, Elaine has been participating in curling events, both as a curler and a volunteer, from the local level to the international level.

For Elaine, hosting a national or international curling event in Ottawa is about supporting community curling. For events that she has been involved in, a portion of ticket revenue from major events has been reinvested into community programs and facilities.

“This revenue is then used by the associations and members clubs to provide programs such as Learn to Curl, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, funding to support youth programs and low-interest loans to curling facilities to purchase capital equipment or undertake renovations and repairs,” said Brimicombe about the countless major events with which she has been involved.

Major events can not only provide a boost in participation for communities but can provide an influx of resources for community organizations in support of programs, equipment, and facilities. These benefits can be felt by participants for years to come. Our recent blog in partnership with Ottawa Tourism about how sport tourism can help community sport organizations can be found here.

Elaine’s volunteer career in curling has had a substantial impact on community programs and the people around her. While she is honoured to be nominated as a Community Sport Hero, she is also grateful to work alongside so many great volunteers and believes that this is truly a shared nomination with all the curling community.

“Curling is a very social and supportive community. Through curling, I have met so many wonderful people, from all walks of life and many have become my closest friends. Not only have we shared hours on the ice (and summertime walks and golf) or in boardrooms — we have shared many life milestones, including laughter and tears,” shared Elaine. “When we work together on an event, large or small, we make connections with people that can last a lifetime.”

For many sports in our community, dedicated volunteers, like Elaine, are pivotal to the success of sport programs. As the True Sport Report 2022 stated, volunteer involvement in community organizations is not only key to building successful sport programs, but also to building social capital in our communities. The impact of the work of Elaine, and countless other sport volunteers, goes beyond the field of play and helps to build thriving communities.

How sport tourism can help community sport organizations

Did you know that hosting a major sport event has multiple benefits for community sport organizations? Community sport organizations can work with key partners throughout the city as the host organizing committee to bring a major event in their sport to Ottawa. By working with key partners throughout the city, such organizations can raise their profile, improve local infrastructure, and more.

Ottawa has been a proven destination for major sport events for many years, and 2022 was no exception. Last year, major events hosted in Ottawa were successful in large part due to the support of community sport organizations.

For example, the 2022 Canadian Cross Country Championships was hosted with the support of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, as well as Run Ottawa (see more). The fun didn’t stop there, Ottawa was also host to the 2022 Bingham Cup with the support of the Ottawa Wolves and the women’s team came home champions (see more)! Other events hosted included Little League Championships, Ontario Basketball Championships, FIVB Volleyball Nations League, and more!

Why did community sport organizations rally around these marquee events? They get to experience the long-term benefits of hosting a major sport event! These benefits include:

  • Sport profile and awareness building – By hosting a major sport event, community sport organizations are opening the door to new participants and volunteers. Attending a major event is a great introduction to a new sport!
  • Community and legacy building – Community sport organizations have the opportunity to unlock new capacities at all levels when hosting a major sport event. This includes development of administrators, coaches, officials, and participants by learning from others coming from across Canada or internationally.
  • Direct economic impact – Drawing economic benefits from major events is common at the national sport level, but this can also be achieved through partnerships at the community sport level.
  • Infrastructure development – Major sport events rights holders look for ways in which they can leave a lasting impact on the community. This can include sport facility upgrades that are used for the event but remain intact for community use when the event is finished.

As community sport organizations reflect on their organizational goals, it is important to consider how hosting a major sport event could be a part of realizing those goals. These goals could include participant recruitment – particularly to reach more diverse participants, volunteer training, infrastructure improvements, and more!

If your community sport organization is considering hosting a major sport event, you don’t have to do it alone! Ottawa Tourism can provide support in several different areas as a “one-stop support service” for event bidding/hosting groups. These services may include:

  • Bid development – When a community sport organization is interested in hosting a major sport event, they will need to develop a bid to submit to the event rights holders. Ottawa Tourism can support the development of the bid based on their past experiences and connections.
  • Event logistics – Ottawa Tourism has supported countless events hosted in the city, and they have connections to local sport facilities, hotel accommodations/housing options, transportation options, and additional vendors/supplies. Community sport organizations can seek referrals to the necessary supplies and services through Ottawa Tourism.
  • Marketing your event – When a sport event has been confirmed, Ottawa Tourism can support the promotion of the event for a community sport organization or host committee. This includes marketing/creative services, public relations, social media, and more!
  • Financial support – Ottawa Tourism is offering financial support starting at $25,000 to host your next qualifying major event! This support reduces a financial barrier for community sport organizations who are interested in hosting a major event in Ottawa (see more).

Learn more about the services offered by Ottawa Tourism here.

The Ottawa Sport Council can also offer additional information and support on sport event hosting for community sport organizations. The Ottawa Sport Council hosted a webinar on Bidding and Hosting Sport Events to help you get started and an additional blog post on Sport Event Tourism.

Looking to get inspired to host a major sport event? In 2023, Ottawa will be host to several major sport events including the World Men’s Curling Championship hosted with the support of the Ottawa Valley Curling Association, and the Masters Indigenous Games with the support of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. The fun continues all year long with Ontario Basketball Championships, the Canadian Cross Country Championships, FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League, and so much more!

Follow Ottawa Tourism’s Major Events on Twitter and LinkedIn now!
Follow the Ottawa Sport Council on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram now!

Community Impact Over the Last 10 Years

In 2023, the Ottawa Sport Council is celebrating its 10th anniversary! First and foremost, we’d like to thank community sport participants and our partners for collaborating with us to create positive experiences in sport and reduce barriers to participation. The Ottawa Sport Council is recognized by the City of Ottawa as the leading voice for amateur sport across the city. OSC serves 300,000+ sport participants from more than 750 community sport organizations.

Over the last decade, the Ottawa Sport Council has proud to lead a number of lasting initiatives, all with the goal to create positive experiences in sport, where everyone has the opportunity to participate. We continue to work closely with community sport participants to drive the most impact from our work, and we strive to work with partner organizations that share our vision for sport as a tool for social inclusion and a community builder.

In celebrating 10 years of the Ottawa Sport Council, we’d like to highlight our milestone resources and events. As we look back on the last 10 years, we are excited and honoured to continue this work in our community.

The Ottawa Sport Summit

Since 2014, the Ottawa Sport Council has hosted the Ottawa Sport Summit for community sport participants to learn and create new connections in the sector. Each year, this free event aims to provide educational opportunities as well as networking opportunities. Educational topics for the Ottawa Sport Summit are selected each year based on the needs of our community.

In 2022, the Ottawa Sport Summit focused on creating diverse and inclusive sport environments for community sport participants. More than 70 individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds gathered to identify the barriers to participation by mapping the participant experience (watch here). Last year, the Ottawa Sport Council was fortunate to receive funding from Canadian Tire Jumpstart to host the Ottawa Sport Summit in partnership with INclusion INcorporated.

The Concussion Education Video

In partnership with Parachute Canada and SIRC (Sport Information Resource Centre), this video is designed to equip coaches, players, parents, board members, staff, and volunteers alike with the knowledge of how to apply the 4 R’s of concussion management (Recognize, Remove, Refer, Return) in a sport setting. The information provided in this video is complaint with Rowan’s Law legislation. After shifting to a virtual delivery format in 2020, the video has been viewed more than 850 times. We were appreciative to receive funding for this initiative from the  Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Learn more.

 The Ottawa Return to Play Roadmap

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ottawa Sport Council stewarded a community-wide return to play roadmap aimed at inspiring confidence, reassuring participants and supporting Ottawa’s active return to sport.  Based on guidelines from public health officials at the community, provincial and federal levels, the roadmap provides a selection of practical tools and resources to ensure that sport rolls out consistently and carefully, based on the best available information.

For this project, the Ottawa Sport Council worked with sport participants from 70+ local sport organizations and the City of Ottawa. The Ottawa Return to Play Roadmap has been viewed more than 3,200 times since its rollout.

Learn more.

 The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit

Under the leadership of the Ottawa Sport Council, the Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit was developed in collaboration with 12 local sport organizations to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all participants including coaches, athletes, official, administrators and volunteers. 

The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit contains more than 30 custom resources designed for community sport, including a Safe Sport Policy 101 Video (watch here) and an Athlete and Coach Expectations Webinar (watch here). To date, the toolkit has been viewed more than 3,000 times. The toolkit was developed with funding from Ontario Trillium Foundation in partnership with subject matter experts from Sport Law.

Learn more.

 Ottawa Sport Council Foundation Endowment Fund

The Ottawa Sport Council Foundation Endowment fund aims to award grant funding to two community sport programs in Ottawa that embrace the seven True Sport Principles and aim to reduce barriers to participate. Since 2014, the Ottawa Sport Council has been working with the True Sport Foundation and the Ottawa Community Foundation to deliver funds that support the elimination of barriers to sport participation for equity deserving groups.

This funding has created numerous sport participation opportunities, including the City of Ottawa’s Ringette for All Program and Active Newcomer Youth Ottawa’s Coping with Mental Health through Soccer Program.

Learn more.

 The Ottawa Sport Council would like to thank the Ottawa sport community, partner organizations, and our funders for their collaboration over the last 10 years. With your support, we are thrilled to have been able to create more positive experiences in sport in our community.

Strategic Planning Fundamentals

As we begin a new year, community sport organizations may choose to launch a new strategic plan, or perhaps to revisit last year’s plan. According to BDC, strategic planning defines who you are as an organization and lists concrete actions to achieve your goals (see more here). This kind of planning activity can help to unify your team and provide a shared vision for decision makers.

Each organization’s strategic plan may look a little different, based on its size and operating model. For smaller organizations, the strategic plan may only be one page; if your organization has many programs and/or members, the strategic plan may be several pages long.

In 2021, the Ottawa Sport Council worked with local business leader Julien Leblanc, co-founder of blueprint North America, to kick off the Rebound program with a series of strategic planning workshops. These virtual workshops had participants walk away with a plan on a page at the end of the day. The distilled version of the workshop can be found here.

Many organizations elect to have a working session, or retreat, (in person or virtually) to develop the strategic plan with key decision makers. If your organization chooses to plan a strategic working session, check out this article from blueprint NA. You may choose to begin by asking yourself and other key decision makers in your organizations some big questions including:

  • What is our winning aspiration?
  • Where will we play?
  • How will we win?
  • What capabilities must be in place?
  • What management systems are required?

(Questions from former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin’s book “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works” (see here).)

Important to the strategic planning process is the 70/20/10 rule. This rule divides the work of an organization in three categories:

  • 70% of the organization’s work should be in its core business
  • 20% of the organization’s work should be in new developments (adjacent innovation)
  • 10% of the organization’s work should be in bold new ideas (transformative innovation)

During the Rebound Workshop in 2021, we walked through a four-step process to strategic planning.

  1. Stand in the future – the vision matters!
  2. Analysis – what could be?
  3. Prioritization – what are you saying yes to?
  4. Communication & Accountability – rallying the troops!

Stand in the Future – The vision matters!

A vision statement is typically defined as the organization’s “why” – a statement declaring your organization’s meaning and core purpose. Your vision statement serves as a rally cry for your organization and provides a common goal.

In the Rebound workshop, participants completed an exercise where they had to first draw pictures to represent what they wanted the organization to be in five years. After taking a step back to look at the pictures, they selected key words and to develop their vision statement. This process allowed for lots of visualization among participants.

Analysis – Going from the “what is” to the “what could be”.

This part of the process is where you define your highest-level goals for the organization for the duration of the strategic planning cycle (this could be 2 years or up to 5 years). Here are some considerations for assessing “what is” and “what could be”:

  • Consider your user experience – By working to understand your organization through the eyes of your participants, volunteers, staff, etc., you may realize your intentions are different than the outcomes. You may ask yourselves if your user experience fits within your vision, if it is welcoming to all, and if it meets the needs of participants.
  • A SWOT analysis – Traditional strategic planning involves completing a SWOT analysis to look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis should always lead to action. If you list a weakness, ask yourselves “which means I must…”.

Prioritization – What are you saying yes to?

No organization has the capacity to say “yes” to everything it may want to do. It is important that when you say “yes” to something, you realize you are saying “no” to something else. This exercise is influenced by your vision statement, as well as how you apply the 70/20/10 rule.

Julien introduced workshop participants to the Boston Matrix. The Boston Matrix is based on two dimensions, the first being whether the goal is easy/inexpensive or hard/requires significant resources, and the second being whether the goal is big or small. This matrix can help your organization decide which activities have big impacts and which are time wasters (see more here).

Communication and Accountability – Rally the troops!

The final step in the process is to ensure participants understand the plan and their responsibilities to ensure the goals are achieved.  Julien recommends the OKR Method (see more here)  which has three layers:

  • Objectives: Where do we need to go? What is the goal?
  • Key Results: How will we know we are getting there?
  • Initiatives: What tasks will we do to get there? How do we spend our time?

The OKR Method was an inspiration to many including the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club who used the OKR Method to make meaningful progress on its organizational objectives.

Strategic planning is a critical step for all community sport organizations of all sizes. Strategic planning is not about creating the perfect plan in one day, but rather setting the right intentions to build a common vision and goal for your team.

If you have any questions, please contact the Ottawa Sport Council.

 

 

 

 

 

Ottawa Pride Hockey

“Ottawa Pride Hockey is led by gender-diverse people and promotes a safer space for everyone. I have been out to play with them several times and have always felt welcome and part of the team. The community needs Ottawa Pride Hockey. And more of it.” – Dawn Kelly, Local Hockey Player

Ottawa Pride Hockey (OPH) is a 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive group that offers pick-up hockey scrimmages and league-play hockey teams. Currently in their second season, OPH has grown exponentially in a short period of time. Ottawa Pride Hockey demonstrates the need for community sport to offer safe spaces for equity-deserving groups.

To grow the game among gender diverse participants, Ottawa Pride Hockey has also taken the lead on offering some beginner lessons to provide a safe space to try out the sport. They have also partnered with other community organizations to provide opportunities to try out sledge hockey.

As stated in the 2022 True Sport Report, it is important that there are opportunities for gender diverse participation at all levels as sport can reinforce misinformed gender norms and stereotypes (see more). Positive sport experiences have been shown to subvert negative gender stereotyping, especially among children and youth (see more).

The Canadian sport sector must be committed to improving policies and practices for gender inclusion in sport, such that participants feel safe and welcome in all environments. The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport offers several resources that support gender inclusion in sport here. The resources include a policy template, webinars, and reports demonstrating the need for gender inclusion in sport. These resources are designed to help sport organizations at all levels offer sport participation opportunities that are safe and welcoming, regardless of the gender of participants.

Ottawa Pride Hockey is an example of how to offer sport participation opportunities in a safe and welcoming space without gender-related concerns. Ottawa Pride Hockey was born out of the experience of Kat Ferguson, who played for Team Trans in Boston in the Friendship Series in 2019. Kat felt especially welcome and safe in this environment and wanted to replicate that in Ottawa.

Ottawa Pride Hockey began as a monthly pick-up scrimmage opportunity and has grown significantly since its inception. Now OPH has alternating pick-up scrimmages that vary based on skill level, as well as two league-play teams. In October, the Ottawa Pride Team competed in the 2022 Canada Cup in Toronto, hosted by the Toronto Gay Hockey Association. The team came home with a divisional gold medal and deep sense of community felt among all participants.

At the end of January, Ottawa Pride Hockey will host its first annual Winter Classic game at the Icelynd Winter Trails. The afternoon is also an opportunity for the community to connect and will feature use of the onsite skating trails, fire pits, and canteen.

Ottawa Pride Hockey also understand the value of partnerships in community sport- these partnerships  can amplify the reach and impact of community sport organizations and create more positive sport experiences (read more). In 2022, OPH partnered with the Ottawa Senators to participate in the Capital Pride Festival which included walking in the parade with the Sens. OPH also worked with the Ten Oaks Project at the Capital Pride Family Picnic to offer games and prizes.

The Ottawa Sport Council connected with members of Ottawa Pride Hockey ahead of the 2022 Ottawa Sport Summit. During the Sport Summit, we were fortunate enough to hear from storyteller Kat Ferguson, who shared their own experiences in hockey as well as the story of Ottawa Pride Hockey. To see highlights from the 2022 Ottawa Sport Summit, watch our video here.

To learn more about Ottawa Pride Hockey, visit their website or check them out on social media.

2022 Year in Review

We began 2022 with the looming uncertainty of what was to come as we approached the 2-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the year has gone on, we’re happy to have reclaimed some sense of normalcy in community sport.

To start, the Ottawa Sport Council would like to recognize the commitment of the many sport leaders throughout the community who support our initiatives, including the OSC Board of Directors. Volunteers are central to community sport everywhere and very important to the success of the Ottawa Sport Council.

We would especially like to thank Laurie Cairns, a long-time member of the Ottawa Sport Council Board of Directors for her leadership and expertise as she moves on from her role on the Board. We are also happy to welcome Aaron Lee to the Board of Directors as Secretary.

The 2022 Ottawa Sport Council Foundation True Sport Community Grant

For the Ottawa Sport Council, the year began with the launch of the 2022 Ottawa Sport Council Foundation True Sport Community Grant program in partnership with the Ottawa Community Foundation and True Sport. By early April, we were thrilled to announce the two grant recipients: Active Newcomer Youth Ottawa and the Ottawa River Canoe Club.

  • Active Newcomer Youth Ottawa’s Coping Mental Health through Soccer program provides a safe space where lower and middle-income black and racialized newcomers, refugees, and immigrant children and youth (8 to 29 years old) in Ottawa’s lower-income neighbourhoods participate in free community soccer tournaments to promote positive mental well-being, physical health, social and emotional health. 
  • The Ottawa River Canoe Club’s I CAN Paddle program brings together youth between the ages of 15 and 30 who have recently arrived in Canada whether that be as an immigrant or refugee. Over the course of six weeks, this free program not only provides participants the opportunity to develop their paddling skills (kayak, canoe, dragon boat, sprint boats, SUP) in a safe and fun environment, but also the chance to enjoy the beautiful summers we are so lucky to have out on the Ottawa River.

The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit

At the same time, the Ottawa Sport Council and 12 pilot organizations were also busy finalizing the contents of the Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit, which was launched in mid-April. This free online toolkit with more than 30 custom resources would not have been possible without the generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit includes information and tools in 4 key areas:

  • Policies – How to protect community sport organizations and their members
  • Training Requirements – How to ensure everyone understands their role
  • Engagement & Communication – How to ensure the safe sport culture exists and anchor the policies and training in behaviours
  • Resources – Complimentary information and resources to promote awareness

If your sport organization is just beginning its Safe Sport journey, we recommend starting with the Safe Sport Essentials. These foundational policy and culture pieces are good first steps in your Safe Sport journey.

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Journey

Not only is the Ottawa Sport Council committed to supporting community sport organizations in creating safe sport environments, but we are also committed to supporting diverse, equitable, and inclusive sport spaces. We have embarked on an evolving DEI journey this year in the hopes of creating accessible resources for community sport organizations to become more welcoming and inclusive.

This journey began in June when the Ottawa Sport Council partnered with INclusion INcorporated and launched a community survey – the intention of which was to learn more about how the OSC can support community sport organizations to create inclusive and accessible sport environments, including the identification of tools and training.   

Next, on November 26, the Ottawa Sport Council convened 40+ community sport organizations to map the participant experience in sport. Community leaders from a variety of equity-deserving groups shared their experiences which provided valuable input for the group to identify barriers to access, participation, and retention in sport.

The combined results of the DEI survey and the 2022 Ottawa Sport Summit will help to inform the development of resources to support community sport organizations, work which will be led by INclusion Incorporated in 2023. We are very appreciative of the generous support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart for this work.

Welcoming New Community Sport Heroes

In 2022, the Ottawa Sport Council welcomed six new community sport heroes. Community sport relies heavily on the contributions of staff and volunteers and the continued involvement of many different sport organizations. We have celebrated many significant achievements in our community sport sector over the last year, including:

  • Tennis Centre West Ottawa who received grant funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to provide sustainable programming in partnership with schools, special needs organizations, and equity-deserving communities.
  • City of Ottawa Public Health who worked tirelessly with the Ottawa Sport Council and the community sport sector to build a trusting relationship to keep community sport safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Boxing Without Barriers who offers boxing programs in non-contact environments for children, youth, and young adults with disabilities.
  • Cumberland Panthers Girls Tackle Football who attracted more than 60 players in Ontario’s first ever community tackle football program exclusively for young women between the ages of 10 and 18.
  • Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball – a basketball club that seeks to increase access and inclusion for marginalized communities in older inner-city neighborhoods in Ottawa.
  • Sarah Kennedy of Petrie Island Canoe Club who is committed to introducing the sport of canoe through the learn-to-paddle program and as the club’s Head Coach.

As we look back on 2022, the Ottawa Sport Council is fortunate to have made meaningful connections with leaders in community sport who share our vision to create positive sport experiences for all. We look forward to continuing this work in 2023 in the Ottawa community sport sector.

 

Sarah Kennedy & Petrie Island Canoe Club

“Sarah volunteered again as Head Coach of the Petrie Island Canoe Club in 2022, as she has done since 2013, 10 years that she has devoted to the kids. Sarah is a real sport hero. The amount of time and effort she devotes to the club is incredible. She is always thinking about the next thing that needs to be done to make the life of her athletes and their families better.” – Hector Carranco, Petrie Island Canoe Club

Petrie Island Canoe Club (PICC) is a community and volunteer-run paddling club in Orleans. Their goal is to foster a sense of community where everyone can have the opportunity to paddle, from beginners to high performance training. The club was born out of learn-to-kayak programs, directed by Sarah Kennedy in 2013, under the leadership of Rideau Canoe Club and Friends of Petrie Island. Since then, Sarah been the volunteer Head Coach, and has worked to build the PICC to camps and programs that run year-round!

After a paddling life in the East Coast, in which Sarah went from the “kiddie canoe” program to compete for Canada in the 1995 Junior World Championships, Sarah completed her science degree and started a family. In the summer of 2011, they moved to Orléans and found Petrie Island, known as a little pocket of paradise by Sarah and PICC members. It was obvious for her from the moment she visited for it for the first time that what the island desperately lacked was a canoe club!

As Sarah worked with Rideau Canoe Club from 2013 to 2015 to build the camps and program at Petrie Island, the endeavour grew larger than Rideau Canoe Club wished to manage. In 2016, Sarah collaborated with others to form the Petrie Island Canoe Club. To date, Petrie Island Canoe Club has won several provincial titles and many athletes from the club have competed at the Canadian National Championships, some of whom are training to make the Junior Worlds Team just like Sarah did almost 30 years ago. 

In addition to their work in shaping excellent athletes, the Petrie Island Canoe Club has maintained a close partnership with Friends of Petrie Island since 2013. This partnership provides PICC campers with regular opportunities for ecological learning and stewardship. Within the core mission of the club, PICC aims to be good stewards of the environment, through educational programs and volunteerism to protect clear waterways and natural ecosystems on and around Petrie Island.

Sarah and the Petrie Island Canoe Club are also commitedt to long-term growth of the club to continue to offer a variety of paddling opportunities for all levels, ages, and abilities. In 2021, the club was awarded a grant from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund and received contributions from the Innes, Orleans, and Cumberland City Councillors to initiate the first phase of a permanent boat house as part of the clubhouse plans on Petrie Island. Additionally, PICC was awarded funding from Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Community Building Grant to support the club’s goals after three challenging years in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those involved with the Petrie Island Canoe Club recognize Sarah’s dedication to the club. Sarah was nominated by PICC employee and long-time friend, Hector Carranco. He shared with us that her energy and enthusiasm for what the club can do for the community are endless. She motivates the board members, the coaching staff, the participants, from the kiddie canoers to the masters paddlers.  The amount of time and effort she devotes to the club is incredible. She is always thinking about the next thing that needs to be done to make the life of her athletes and their families better.

Learn more about the great work of Sarah Kennedy and the Petrie Island Canoe Club on their website: https://petriecanoe.ca/

Volunteer Challenges in Sport

As the 2022 True Sport Report articulates, community sport is heavily reliant on volunteers from several perspectives. Volunteers in community sport include the Board of Directors, administrators, committee members, coaches, officials, and more. The Ottawa Sport Council relies on volunteerism for its Board of Directors, working committees and events on an ongoing basis. Without the support of dedicated volunteers, the Ottawa Sport Council is unable to deliver on our mandate and programming. This is the same for many community sport organizations.

Not only does the community sport sector rely on volunteers to operate, but 65% lifelong volunteers in Canada start by volunteering with sport organizations (True Sport Report, 2022). This year’s True Sport Report also articulates the social capital and community benefits of increasing volunteerism.

The Power of Volunteerism

The benefits of volunteering are at the individual, organizational, and community level. Some of these benefits include:

  • Individual benefit: Opportunities to volunteer can increase individual feelings of belonging within their community and provides human connection.
  • Organizational benefit: Volunteers offer a wide variety of knowledge, skills, and lived experiences. This offers organizations access to subject matter experts.
  • Community benefit: Volunteerism boosts social capital and inclusion of equity-deserving groups to strengthen communities.

Current State of Volunteerism in Sport

The Ottawa Sport Council has been faced with many volunteer-capacity challenges and opportunities over the course of the pandemic. The experiences of the Ottawa Sport Council have enabled us to identify the following trends in community sport:

  • Volunteers were over-taxed during the pandemic. Key volunteers experienced high levels of stress and volatility during the pandemic. With ever-changing restrictions and recommendations from Public Health and the government, volunteers were faced with added workload and unprecedented levels of stress. New risks and considerations created stress for volunteer decision-makers, like the Board of Directors.
  • Long-time volunteers are burnt out and stepping away. Life-long volunteers who were overwhelmed during the pandemic have reached their limits, and many are choosing to take a step back in their volunteer responsibilities. Not only is this leaving fewer volunteers at the table, but it is also creating knowledge gaps within organizations.
  • Volunteer roles are increasingly complex. In addition to the public health complexities of managing sport over the last two years, there have also been other complexities at play. Rowan’s Law, Safe Sport, and a push for more equitable and inclusive practices have been added to the already many responsibilities of volunteer community sport leaders.

 Example: The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit

The Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit is an online toolkit to help Ottawa sport organizations foster safe, welcoming, and inclusive sport environments. This toolkit was designed in partnership with volunteers from 12 different sport organizations throughout Ottawa.

The intention of the pilot process was for these organizations to fully implement the toolkit and provide the necessary feedback to the Ottawa Sport Council to make the resources accessible and user-friendly.  The complexity of Safe Sport implementation and constraints faced by the volunteers translated into limited implementation and feedback which meant the early impacts of the Ottawa Safe Sport Toolkit were not as significant.

This example is a familiar scenario for many community sport organizations throughout the city, where programming delivery is limited because of volunteer capacity.

Where do we go from here?

The Ottawa Sport Council and community sport organizations throughout the city will need to get creative to meet the needs of community sport participants. This may include a variety of strategies to recruit, train, manage, and retain key volunteers. We are committed to finding new strategies to increase our own volunteer capacity and will share the lessons we learn to ensure we can provide positive sport experiences for everyone in our community.

Mental Health in Sport

Much like our physical health, lifelong activity in sport can be a contributor to positive mental health. Sport teaches many traits that promote positive mental health such as resilience, goal setting, creating social connections, and more. According to the Power of Sport: The True Sport Report 2022, 70.3% of sport participants reported perceiving themselves to have excellent or good mental health, compared to only 59.9% of non-participants in sport. The intentional promotion of positive mental health by community sport organizations can enhance the positive impact in our community.

Mental health is a continuum that can be impacted by mental illness, but these two things are not the same. Everyone has mental health. Mental health can range from optimal to poor and is constantly changing based on several factors in an individual’s life. Good mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their own community (World Health Organization).

Mental illness is estimated to affect 1 in 5 Canadians in their lifetime (Mental Health Commission of Canada). Mental illness can create additional challenges for individuals in maintaining positive mental health. There are also social determinants in mental health. Canadians who identify are members of equity-deserving groups such as 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, Indigenous peoples, people of colour, and individuals from low-income households are at an even higher risk of experiencing mental illness (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health).

So, what can you do to support mental health in sport?

  • Encourage your coaches to complete the online learning module Mental Health in Sport from the Coaching Association of Coach. This 60-minute online eLearning workshop is available free of charge and can be done at any time. The course is intended to teach the foundations of mental health, recognizing and understanding your role in promoting well-being, and understanding the importance of self-care. Learn more.
  • Check in with your volunteers and staff. By regularly checking in on your volunteers and staff, you can foster more trusting relationships and look for signs of burnout or poor mental health. We know the volunteer system in community sport is burning out, and early recognition of burn-out is key. Here are some ways to check-in:
    • Take 5 minutes at your next meeting to ask folks to check-in and share with the group. This can be done using a red/yellow/green activity or something funny like “which cat are you today?”.
    • Send out an anonymous volunteer engagement survey. This method will give you a snapshot of how your group is feeling rather than individuals, but the anonymity may result in greater honesty. Survey results could indicate a change needed in the overall sport environment or atmosphere. Here a volunteer/staff morale survey template.
    • Check-in informally with individuals. While it can be time consuming, having leaders create informal conversations with volunteers is a good opportunity to check in on mental health. This may be more feasible for smaller organizations with fewer volunteers.
  • Creating an inclusive and welcome sport environment. Because members of equity-deserving groups experience a higher risk for mental illness, it is important that everyone have access to the positive benefits of sport. Read more about making community sport more diverse, equitable and inclusive here.
  • Promote positive mental health regularly. Intentionally sharing positive mental health practices for individuals and promoting positive mental health among your staff, volunteers, and participants is one way to provide support. This can include:
    • Creating safe spaces for everyone to be included.
    • Promoting good physical health, including staying active and eating well.
    • Being accepting of change and encouraging adaptability.
    • Encouraging individual to identify and realize their goals.
    • Sharing access to supportive resources, such a counselling.

The Ottawa Sport Council believes in positive sport experiences for everyone. Supporting good mental health is one way to increase positive sport experiences. If you’d like more information about mental health in sport, contact us today.