“OSS uses basketball to build-up people and our community. OSS collaborates with a broad range of like-minded organizations to leverage the power of basketball for social inclusion. It does so in ways that bring together a cross-section of community members so that everyone gets to play, learn and grow from basketball experiences that build community.” – Leo Doyle, Vice President of Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball Club
Established in 1991, the Ottawa Shooting Stars (OSS) Basketball club offers introductory, recreational, and competitive basketball programs that serve over 700 youth, mostly from older inner-city neighbourhoods within the Greenbelt. The club seeks to increase access and inclusive for marginalized communities in a variety of ways. The Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club identifies core values such as “developing players as people”, “financially accessible sport”, and “communication”. The club offers a variety of programs at both recreational and competitive levels for all skill levels, there are financial assistance options for families to pay registration fees, and they use centrally located gymnasiums for easy access.
OSS leverages its central location to make basketball accessible, especially to low-income youth in central Ottawa who face transportation barriers if organized club sport only takes place in outlying suburbs. A community grant from Ottawa Sport Council Foundation: True Sport Community Grant, along with support from Canadian Women in Sport, enabled “Leadership in Basketball and Life for Girls”, a pilot program that introduced a diverse group of children to basketball as well as the True Sport Principles.
The True Sport Principles are universal – The principles can be brought to life in any sport at any level, from playground to podium. They are the solid foundation required to establish “good” sport where all participants feel welcomed and included. For sport to be truly good and have the opportunity to make the greatest difference, all seven of these principles need to be in play at all times, working in perfect balance with one another.
The Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club operates in the oldest downtown neighborhoods, where school gymnasiums tend to be aging, smaller in size and number. Moreover, there are no standard-sized gymnasiums in central Ottawa community centers. OSS uses collaboration and innovative thinking to demonstrate the value of shared resources and information through advocacy for accessible recreational facilities for all. The club believes that fair access to sport improves the physical and mental health, and the social inclusion of youth in our community.
Club President, Derek Firth, stepped in during the COVID-19 pandemic to take on a leadership role to help get kids back into gymnasiums safely. The leadership of the Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club on return-to-play during the COVID-19 pandemic led them to be involved in additional conversations in the community about the need for a stronger Ottawa Recreation Infrastructure Master Plan that supports fair access to sporting facilities. The efforts of both Leo Doyle and Derek Firth were felt throughout the community as several sport organizations worked with the City of Ottawa to improve the Master Plan for the next ten years.
The Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club is known to bring together groups and individuals across the city to collaborate to maximize opportunities to play, learn and grow from basketball experiences. Not only does the Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club bring together basketball clubs from across the city, but they also collaborate with Christie Lake Kids, Ausome Ottawa, Odawa Native Friendship Centre, Boys and Girls Club, Ottawa Black Vendors Market (V2V), Rwandan-Burundi Community, Junior Achievement, and Prezdential Basketball. Supporting individuals and organizations to run tournaments and events is one way that OSS uses basketball to teach transferable skills to youth that go beyond basketball.
The Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club is very grateful to have been nominated to the Community Sport Hero program, and they feel grateful to be recognized for what is largely volunteer work that is intended to make Ottawa a better place for all of us to live, thrive and play.
To learn more about the Ottawa Shooting Stars Basketball club, visit their website.