Sport for Life director champions inclusion
Andrea Carey was already a champion for sport when she joined Sport for Life five years ago. She’d served on the Canadian Paralympic Committee board of directors, and had successfully introduced a culture of inclusion, physical literacy development and Long-Term Development (LTD) to the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE). Her passion is ensuring every person, regardless of gender identity, culture, race, ability, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status or any other background, is included in all types of physical activity.
That has led her to pursue and successfully complete her Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) designation, making her one of the leading voices on inclusion in the physical literacy movement.
“I can’t overstate the importance of inclusion to the physical literacy movement. Inclusion has become something of a buzzword these days, but Andrea has been championing inclusion long before that was the case,” said Sport for Life CEO Richard Way.
“With her on the team, Sport for Life has been pushing the envelope on what inclusion means across the sport and physical activity system. Andrea has been a tireless advocate for topics that sport and physical activity haven’t even thought of yet. She helps to shine a light on those gaps and then it becomes of topic of consideration.”
Andrea will be a keynote this fall at the International Physical Literacy Conference in Umea, Sweden and she is going to connect physical literacy and inclusion and the reciprocal relationship that occurs when inclusion is planned for and an intentional outcome of programming.
The Special Projects division at Sport for Life, led by Andrea, has been the co-creator of five Indigenous resources, a Newcomers resource, the Active for Life: Durability by Design resource, three e-learning modules, and four workshops. She has led inclusion projects across Canada, sharing her knowledge with a variety of different sectors.
Andrea continues to serve on the board of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and is the Chair of their Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also on the Board of KidSport Victoria and contributes to many local, provincial and national committees and working groups to support inclusion across sport and physical activity.
“When it comes to inclusion, most people are still just scratching the surface of what’s possible. While completing this certification I was able to delve way deeper into the nuances of both diversity and inclusion, all while connecting with other professionals working in the space. The next step will be to continue mobilizing this knowledge within the physical literacy movement,” Andrea said.
“Because at Sport for Life we believe that we can’t move forward together if we leave anyone behind.”
