Winning Well, Not at all Costs: Why Canada Urgently Needs a New Vision for Sport

Athletes from almost every national sport organization in Canada are rising up in hurt and anger to denounce toxic cultures of abuse, negligence and discrimination. Athletics, artistic swimming, gymnastics, rugby, bobsled, hockey, soccer and rowing are banding together to demand a respectful, healthy and inclusive sport system for all. Athletes from all over the country are calling on sport leaders to make a systemic change. While I am encouraged that Canada’s sport minister, Pascale St-Onge, is mandating that sporting organizations follow the new independent third-party auditing process and explore better oversight frameworks, it’s not enough. As an athlete and sport researcher, I…

Blog Post: Safer Sport is not Boring Sport: Challenging The Myth of Machismo in Sport

rugby straight arm

There is nothing better than a great tackle! The intensity, power, and aggression is thrilling! The Safesport movement, on the surface, seems to threaten this intensity. Some interpret a safer sport environment as boring, more careful, less intense, a sanitized version of sport that focuses on ‘participation ribbons’ for all. What the Safesport movement also seems to reveal is our infatuation with violence and our assumption that violence is a necessary element of sport. Some sport leaders argue that violence is an acceptable norm in…

Copyright 2024 integratedfocus.ca · Log in