Strengthening the Sport and Recreation Connection

1. Strengthening the Sport and Recreation Connection ARPA Conference Lake Louise, 2011

2. 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.

3. 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 provinces” and are highly autonomous • Lacks the “jurisdictional” vertical integration seen in sport

4. 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

5. CS4L LTAD Model – Working to Shift Amateur Sport • Active Start • FUNdamentals • Learning to Train • Training to Train • Training to Compete • Training to Win • Active for Life

6. 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

7. Breadth of Municipal Recreation (and Parks and Culture) Roles • Open space system • Indoor facilities • Broad range of leisure opportunities, including 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

8. Municipal Roles in Sport • 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

9. Defining the Partnership – Two Recent Papers • 2010 “Partnering Recreation with Sport 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

10. Partnership Principles • Neither sport or recreation a sub-set of the other • Focus on opportunities for collaboration • Sport is far more vertically integrated than 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

11. Potential Strategies for Enhanced Collaboration • Increasing mutual awareness at all levels • Supporting Physical Literacy program 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

12. 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

13. 2. Supporting Physical Literacy Program Development & Education • Integrate within pre-school and day-care 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

14. 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

15. 4. Sport Councils/Alliances • Municipalities can encourage development of 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

16. 5. Facility Planning and Provision as a Dual Responsibility • Involve fully in facility planning • Community level facilities need to consider a 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

17. 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

18. 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 multi-sport exposure events • Late-entry skill and participation programs for adults

19. Questions and Comments