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Report points out that local “support” is needed for community sports to thrive

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Whether it’s a children’s soccer league run by parent volunteers or an adult hockey team where players spend as much time socializing as they do shooting pucks, amateur sports are important for improving community engagement and public health. It plays a role.

A new report by Brock University researchers highlights the importance of local sports groups and what can be done at the state level to support them.

Published last month, Ontario’s Sports Policy: Trends, Issues and Future Directions draws from a three-year study that included discussions with sports sector organizers and the provincial sports organization that governs amateur sports in Ontario. The insights gained are summarized. The report addresses the need for leadership and support for local sports organizations as more responsibilities are placed on them by state and federal governments and sports governing bodies.

Associate Professor of Sport Management Kyle Rich, one of the report’s three authors and principal investigator on the project, said these organizations continue to face challenges around sport policy and, as a result, are changing their organization’s mission. states that they are unable to accomplish their goals and objectives.

“Ontario’s sports club system is fragmented, fragmented and unstable. We have no direction and the support within the system is increasing for the amount of work and expectations placed on these organizations. ” he said. Say.

Rich gave the example of local sports organizations being asked to prioritize “safe sport,” which includes creating an athletic environment that is respectful, fair, and free from harassment and abuse.

“A commitment to safe sport is obviously very important and it takes extra time, effort and understanding to get it right,” he says.

“This is a whole new way of thinking about how we build policy and what expectations we place on sports organizations, coaches and managers. Some are led by parents and grandparents because they want to give. They don’t necessarily have the resources, skills and capacity to deal with these new policies, rules and regulations.”

Since 2021, Ricci and his research team have been investigating the role of provincial policies related to sports in Ontario. Their research culminated in a series of discussions about policy development and implementation in the state. A recently published report synthesizes insights from these discussions into four key findings and outlines three key recommendations with detailed actions for both state governments and state sports bodies. Masu.

Recommendations include creating a state amateur sports plan or framework; Building a collective voice for amateur sports. Leverage the state’s sporting expertise, resources and capabilities.

Ricci said the publication of the report comes at a particularly important time, as the Ontario government just established a ministry of sport dedicated to building a strong sports system in Ontario in June of this year. .

“There is an urgent need for sport policy reform in Ontario, and there are mechanisms and processes in place to strengthen sport policy and development in Ontario,” he says. “If community sports groups want to operate as professional organizations, implement important policies such as safe sport and equity in sport, and continue to be a development system for elite athletes, we need them to make these changes. “We need to support them.” ”

More information: Ontario sports policy: trends, issues and future directions: www.krichsportandrec.com/_file … 9c6c63bb6fd832dc.pdf

Provided by Brock University

Citation: Community sports need state ‘support’ to thrive, report (October 3, 2024), https://phys.org/news/2024-10-community-sports-provincial. Retrieved October 3, 2024 from html

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