Strengthenng the Connection

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 •

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 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 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 • • • •

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 • • • • • • • •

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 •

•

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 •

• • • • •

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 • •

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 • •

•

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