Sport: More than just a hockey game...

Another day – another interesting connection made.

I spent of couple of enjoyable hours today with Christina Parsons of the True Sport Foundation  - learning about their efforts to work with asset based approaches in four communities across Canada.

True Sport is not just about sport. It is a national social movement and enabler for sport AND for community. Its core mission is;

“to be a catalyst to help sport live up to its full potential as a public asset for Canada and Canadian society – making a significant contribution to the development of youth, the well-being of individuals, and quality of life in our communities.”

As Christina says, "sport is an asset  where people come together to integrate, to communicate and to make new connections", and sport can also be, "a tool to help build more resilient communities".

So – it’s not just about playing hockey (though I understand - for many Canadians - that’s very important too….).

As their information leaflet states; at the heart of True Sport is the simple idea that “good sport can make a great difference.” True Sport believe that sport embodies a range of principles which are applicable way beyond the playing field - and  are neatly summed up in this short film.

·         Go for it – Always rise to the challenge.

·         Play fair – Play honestly and obey the rules.

·         Respect others - respect teammates, competitors and officials both on and off the field

·         Keep it fun – Have a good time.

·         Stay healthy – respect your body, stay in shape.

·         Give back – do something that helps your community

Through working with communities via Community Foundations in the four pilot areas, True Sport has funded a range of activities aimed at increasing accessibility and inclusivity in ‘sport’ – in its broadest sense (from increased recreation and use of parks and green spaces to more structured, traditional  ‘sporting activities’).

The criteria for funding applications states that all projects should involve sport (obviously) but should also:

• Enhance a sense of belonging to the community
• Allow neighborhood residents to give back to the community (e.g. through volunteering)
• Build skills, knowledge and ability to continue to strengthen the community in the future

So the programmes are not just about sport – they are about identifying and mobilizing community assets, about embedding and promoting the principles of good community engagement – and about building social capital.

Read more about True Sport and ABCD approaches here