The Ottawa Sport Council (OSC) has successfully completed the pilot year of the Rideau-Vanier Multi-Sport After School Program!
The initiative was spearheaded by the OSC and was funded by an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. In partnership with the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA) and the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club (OISC) the program provided 80 youth in grades 4-6 from three schools in the Rideau-Vanier Ward the opportunity to learn and play soccer and ultimate frisbee after school.
The main goal of the initiative was for the children to increase their activity level and benefit from skill development through quality instruction. “It was a success due to the excellent partners with whom we were working,” says OSC Executive Director Marcia Morris.
The program was run using a developmental approach which helped organizers learn in real time what was and was not working well. Using that information, they were able to make necessary program delivery adjustments over the pilot project’s duration.
Although the goal of the program was to introduce kids to an active lifestyle and measure how their fitness improved over 10 weeks, OSC learned a lot more about how much programs like the pilot project are needed in priority neighbourhoods. If children don’t have organized sport or a safe space to play in underserved neighbourhoods, they are unlikely to spend time outside being active. “It may not be the safest of things,” Morris says.
When participants were asked what would stop them from doing something like this again most of them said the lack of a program. “So, while our goal was to make them more active, what I think we achieved was building up a demand for a program,” Morris says.
Based on the original goal of the program it was a success, with positive behavioural changes for many children, while others learned what it was like to be part of a team for the first time.
City Councillor for Rideau-Vanier Mathieu Fleury was a supporter of the project and said another benefit of the program was that it maximized the use of some of the city’s public infrastructure. He was adamant that it was an important program for the city to participate in. “We want our youth to have opportunities no matter their incomes levels,” he said. “Sports can be expensive and that’s a barrier to access.”
The next steps for the OSC is to use the evidence of the benefits of the program to apply for another grant in the fall. The goal is to run the program for a three-year timeframe and expand its reach to other underserved areas of Ottawa.