Strengthening the Sport and
Recreation Connection
ARPA Conference
Lake Louise, 2011
The Sport Systems
• Amateur Sport System
– Local sport organizations
– Prov.-Terr. sport orgs. (P-TSOs) and govts.
– National sport orgs. (NSOs) and Sport
Canada
• Educational Sport System
– Gymnasium, field sports & track oriented
– Grade schools and post-secondary
– Secondary and post-secondary orgs.
The Recreation System
• 1987 National Recreation Statement
– Primacy of Provinces-Territories and defined roles in
supporting delivery
– Federal role to support coordination and
communication – national orgs. as partners
– Communities as the primary delivery agency
• Municipalities no longer “children of the
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provinces” and are highly autonomous
Lacks the “jurisdictional” vertical integration
seen in sport
Shifts in the Two Systems
• Recreation
– Federal role in recreation/physical activity has greatly
diminished – along with national partnerships
– Provincial roles have shifted emphasis to physical
activity promotion
– Prov./Terr. Parks & Rec. Associations have increased
their capacity and influence, including the delivery of
P-T government initiatives
• Sport
– 2002 Canadian Sport Policy and its four pillars
– LTAD and CS4L
– Sport now extolling the health benefits
CS4L LTAD Model – Working to
Shift Amateur Sport
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6.
7.
Active Start
FUNdamentals
Learning to Train
Training to Train
Training to Compete
Training to Win
Active for Life
Some CS4L Principles
• Emphasis on physical literacy as starting
point
• Exposure to multiple sports rather than
early specialization
• Developmental rather than chronological
age, especially in early sport participation
• Continuing participation rather than
progressive elimination with age
Breadth of Municipal Recreation
(and Parks and Culture) Roles
• Open space system
• Indoor facilities
• Broad range of leisure opportunities, including
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active lifestyles – directly and indirectly
Supporting local community organizations
Ensuring affordable and accessible services
Addressing community needs and issues through
partnerships with other sectors
Contribute to the overall Quality of Life within
the Benefits Approach
Municipal Roles in Sport
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Facility Provision for training and competition
Early Skill Development
Ongoing Sport Play
Coordination and Support
Allocation Policies and Subsidies
Joint-use Agreements with School Dists.
Sport Hosting / Sport Tourism
Other Supports
Defining the Partnership – Two
Recent Papers
1. 2010 “Partnering Recreation with Sport
2.
through Canadian Sport for Life”, the Version 1
paper prepared by CS4L
2011 “Toward a CPRA Position Paper on
Building Enhanced Collaboration between
Recreation and Sport”
The intent is to develop a collaborative Version 2
paper by 2012
Partnership Principles
• Neither sport or recreation a sub-set of the other
• Focus on opportunities for collaboration
• Sport is far more vertically integrated than
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recreation
Municipalities are autonomous, but P&R Depts.
relate most directly with their P/T Assoc.
Partnerships between Recreation and Sport also
need to extend to Education and Health
Potential Strategies for Enhanced
Collaboration
1. Increasing mutual awareness at all levels
2. Supporting Physical Literacy program
3.
4.
5.
6.
development and education
Municipal planning includes CS4L principles &
Sport Strategy Development
Facility planning and provision as a dual
responsibility
Sport Council/Alliances development
Access and allocation policies that are fair
1. Increasing Mutual Awareness
• Develop and share the Version 2 Paper
with Sport Canada, NSOs, Canadian Sport
Centers, and other nat. sport orgs.
• Contribute to the 2012 National Sport
Policy and other national dailogues
• Provincial-Terr. dialogues (build on ARPA,
BCRPA and RANS experiences)
• Communicate at the local level through
sport forums, sport strategy, sport
alliances
2. Supporting Physical Literacy
Program Development & Education
• Integrate within pre-school and day-care
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recreational programs
Provide more focused “physical literacy”
programs in recreation centres
HIGH FIVE and CS4L training for leaders
Parent education about physical literacy
Introductory skill exposure opportunities
Enhance local coaches exposure to PL and CS4L
Recreation and Sport work with and support
elementary school programs
3. Municipal Planning and Sport
Strategy Development
• Include strategies for sport development
and advancement of CS4L principles in
annual municipal strategic plans
• Fully engage sport community in master
planning processes
• Develop a community Sport Strategy (e.g.
Vancouver) as municipal policy
4. Sport Councils/Alliances
• Municipalities can encourage development of
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sport councils and provide ongoing supports
Serve as key vehicles for greater collaboration
by sport groups and with municipality
Provides a collective voice and actions for sport
in the community
5. Facility Planning and Provision as
a Dual Responsibility
• Involve fully in facility planning
• Community level facilities need to consider a
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range of needs while others are more sport
focused
Provide clarity on what types of supports you
can provide
Sport groups need to consider making capital
and equipment contributions
Senior governments need to contribute capital
and operating legacies for elite level facilities
6. Access and Allocation Policies
• Base allocation practices on “Standards of
Play” principles – not tradition
• Make sure policies and subsidies are
transparent to sports groups
• Needs of emerging sports are included
• Seasonal allocation meetings with
common user groups
• Flexibility of re-allocation during season
Fill the Participation Gaps
• After-school opportunities for participation
• Youth drop-in sport
• Skill and participation programs for girls
and young women
• Co-program with P/TSO’s and host multisport exposure events
• Late-entry skill and participation programs
for adults
Questions and Comments