This resource explores the fact that physical literacy, increased activity and recreational sport – being “fit for life” - can be the gateway to a healthier Canada. The benefits of regular physical activity are well documented: sustained long-term health, increased social connectedness, improved general mental and physical well-being and better quality of life. Yet in spite of the clear evidence demonstrating numerous benefits associated with regular exercise, particularly for mature adults, only 15% of Canadian adults meet national physical activity recommendations (Colley et al., 2011) and rates of sport participation have declined in the past several decades among Canada’s growing population of older adults.
Appetite to Play
Physical Literacy
The Physical Literacy Division of Sport for Life creates strategic relationships and directs projects that develop physical literacy within the community, provincial/territorial, national and international organizations. This partnership with Child Health BC covers health eating and physical activity in the early years. Appetite to Play is an initiative designed to support early years providers in the promotion and encouragement of physical activity and healthy eating. Appetite to Play provides healthy eating and physical activity recommended practices and practice support resources for early years providers to use in a variety of settings including: daycare centres, family based childcare, preschool and parent participation programs. It involves an interactive website for early years providers and training opportunities including workshops.
Building Social Legacies
Quality Sport
This resource provides the background and process for host committees, social agencies and governments to plan and deliver initiatives that leave social legacies. The resource defines social legacies, provides examples and introduces an eight-step framework for event hosts to use in planning and delivering social legacies. Hosting sport events can bring many positive benefits to the community. Traditionally, many of the benefits that motivate event hosts, governments and sponsors have focused predominantly on creating economic or sport impacts. More recently, mega, major and signature sport event organizers are being asked to help communities address long-standing social issues and to leave the community better than before. The case can be made that social legacies such as greater community cohesion, improved accessibility, additional community programming, enhanced volunteerism, greater overall sport participation, increased physical activity and improved health of citizens are just as relevant as and perhaps even more important than other event legacies. These social legacies have been difficult for event hosts to understand, let alone deliver or measure. In addition, the resources and expertise of host organizations are too often focused and consumed with executing the logistical demands of a competition. Hosts need the expertise, partnerships, funding and organizational capacity to specifically target social legacies.
Developing Physical Literacy: Building A New Normal for All Canadians
Physical Literacy
This document describes the essential components of physical literacy, outlines how to support the development of physical literacy in all stages of life, and discusses strategies for delivering coordinated physical literacy programs for Canadians of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and abilities. This resource is not a programming guide but rather a rationale and road map for all citizens to enjoy greater health, well-being and inclusion by choosing an active lifestyle founded on physical literacy.
Get in the Game Project
Quality Sport
“Get in the Game” is a five-year project funded by Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. It supports a partnership between the Boys and Girls Club of Canada (BGCC) and Sport for Life to build and enhance inclusive out-of-school physical activity and sport programs for children with disabilities at Boys and Girls Clubs. Through training and mentorship, the objectives are to: develop a common understanding and practice of inclusion at Boys and Girls Clubs, with a strong focus on supporting children with disabilities; build the capacity of Club staff to deliver quality, inclusive sport and physical activity programs; enable BGCC to provide grants to Clubs to run inclusive sport and recreation programs for all children; and provide BGCC staff with access to PLAYBuilder to support activity selection and delivery.
Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity
Physical Literacy and Quality Sport
This resource provides a framework for the development of every child, youth and adult to enable optimal participation in sport and physical activity. The objective of the framework is to promote both sporting excellence at the highest international level and life-long engagement in health-enhancing physical activity. This third edition brings a number of important updates and enhancements.
Newcomer Sport Program in Victoria
Physical Literacy
Linking into community sport and accessing the resources available is often complex, yet sport can play a vital role in newcomers’ sense of belonging. The Newcomer Sport Program in Victoria, BC has helped get newcomer (refugee and immigrant) children and youth into existing quality sport and physical activity programs as soon as basic needs such as housing and health are addressed. The goal has been to help connect them to their new community, develop physical literacy, and have positive and successful sport experiences resulting in lifelong participation. In collaboration with the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria and a local Sport Coordinator, and with financial support from the Victoria Foundation and KidSport Greater Victoria, this program has helped newcomer children and youth find the right fit for sport in their community, access registration and equipment funding, and receive ongoing culturally tailored support throughout the program. It has also provided local sport and recreation leaders with cultural sensitivity training to assist them in welcoming newcomers in their programs.
Physical Literacy for Life Female FUNdamentals
Physical Literacy
Consistent evidence exists of a gender imbalance between level of involvement in sport and physical activity by girls as compared to boys, and of a more substantial drop in participation rate by girls than boys as children approach adolescence. Through a more thorough investigation into why this drop-off was occurring and the strategies that could be employed to change the outcome, an intervention was developed. The intervention included a focus on training leaders of girls programs (primarily men) to consider the social and emotional needs of girls and the creation of supportive environments for girls.
This project will involve the training of community coaches and leaders on the specific needs of girls (ages 8-12 years) in order to better engage and retain female participants in sport and physical activity, within inclusive, quality sport and physical activity environments. This project will take place over an eight month period and will target 4 clubs/locations in the Greater Victoria region. The goal is to improve the experience of girls in sport and physical activity programming, to lead to more sustained participation throughout their lifespan.
Physical Literacy for Communities – Ontario
Physical Literacy
Sport for Life has developed a world-leading approach called Physical Literacy for Communities (PL4C), a proven process that meets communities where they are at in supporting and empowering local leaders to shift social norms and attitudes, and create active societies. The mission is to increase physical activity through the collective development of physical literacy, resulting in a more active and healthy society. To create change, PL4C builds a coalition of people passionate to lead physical literacy forward within their communities. These leadership groups are typically comprised of representatives in the sport, health and education sectors. Other participants engaged at the table include community leaders, religious and faith-based groups, NGOs, interested businesses, early childhood educators and the media. This coalition creates a strategic vision specific to their community. They build out a mission which is based on educating the community, then training the community program leaders so that they’re self-sufficient and can work with the coalition to sustain the change.
Physical Literacy with Indigenous Communities
Physical Literacy
Physical Literacy with Indigenous Communities (PLIC) is a five-year project funded by a private foundation - through Physical Literacy for Life - to provide mentorship, training and education opportunities to three remote northern communities. The communities of Kinngait, NU, Arviat, NU and Kuujjuarapik, Nunavik (QC) receive support for 3 years, with each community starting their journey in a different year. The goal is to increase and enhance physical activity and quality sport programs and services in a culturally appropriate way, meeting the individual needs and strengths of each community.
Sport for Life for all Newcomers to Canada
Quality Sport
By 2030, immigration will account for all of Canada's net population growth. Cities across Canada are being transformed by immigration, and these demographic trends will undoubtedly impact the Canadian sport and physical activity system. Grassroots and professional organizations need to find ways to appeal to this diverse new audience, and it is the responsibility of all sport and physical activity leaders to ensure that the system is accessible to all Canadians. The resource outlines the barriers that newcomers may face in their participation of sport and physical activity, and then provides examples of solutions and opportunities that exist, as well as promising practices of work being done across Canada.
Quality Sport for Communities and Clubs Checklist
Quality Sport
The Quality Sport for Communities and Clubs checklist is composed of a number of elements that lead to quality sport experiences in any sport program. It has been designed with everyone in mind, including women and girls, Indigenous populations, participants with a physical or cognitive disability, and newcomers to Canada. This checklist can be used as a tool by community and club leaders to assess and improve the quality of sport programming in a club or community setting.
Quality Sport for Communities and Clubs Tour
Quality Sport
The Makadiff project supported Sport for Life developing a Quality Sport for Communities and Clubs workshop that was delivered to five communities — Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and two in Calgary. This involved detailed project design, the development of a resource, and communications with each community. This was followed by a mentorship and workshop design process, which included facilitation guides, surveys and equipment, and expert consultation from Sport for Life. Each of the five communities created an action plan, and a webinar was held to share results with PLAY groups and other provincial partners.
Indigenous Communities: Active for Life
8 hours
The Indigenous Communities: Active for Life resource and accompanying full-day workshop were created with guidance from Indigenous leaders throughout the country, with the purpose of inspiring community leaders looking for culturally tailored resources that act as a vehicle toward individual and community holistic development.
The resource and workshop supports these individual champions as they embark on a journey to develop sustainable quality sport and physical activity programs, build collaborative relationships, and re-engage their community members into active and healthy lifestyles.
This culturally tailored resource and accompanying full-day workshop has been developed by Sport for Life and the Aboriginal Sport Circle, with input from many Indigenous sport and physical activity leaders across the country.
The Indigenous Long-Term Participant Development Pathway resource and Supporting Indigenous Participation workshop is designed to help sport and physical activity leaders and organizations across Canada enhance their understanding about how to support Indigenous participants and athletes in their programming.
The workshop will spend time developing an appreciation of Indigenous culture, and how that culture plays out in terms of engagement and sustained participation through the sport system. It will outline the key elements that need to be considered when planning, developing, and implementing programs for and with Indigenous peoples and communities, including a focus on supporting the physical, mental, spiritual, and cultural needs of the individual to maximize their experience in sport and physical activity. The workshop will focus on how we can adjust the competition pathway and some of the policies within the system to ensure that we create a clearer pathway for Indigenous participants and athletes.
Physical Literacy 101: An Introduction to Physical Literacy
4 hours
Physical activity is a lot more fun when you are physically literate. Now more than ever, physical literacy is being recognized as an important component of best practices in the sport, recreation, health and education sectors within Canada. Unfortunately, not everyone knows or understands what exactly physical literacy is.
The goal of the Physical Literacy 101 workshop is to cover a broad introduction to the concept of physical literacy. During this half-day workshop, you will take part in an interactive session that will help you to define what exactly physical literacy means, and how you can integrate its concepts to improve your programs. We will touch on the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) Tools and show you how these can be used to track development of physical literacy skills to help participants improve where needed. You will leave with a solid understanding of what physical literacy is and knowledge of how you can encourage continual improvement and development of physical literacy skills across the lifespan
Physical Literacy 101: An Introduction to Physical Literacy
3 hours
Physical activity is a lot more fun when you are physically literate. Now more than ever, physical literacy is being recognized as an important component of best practices in the sport, recreation, health and education sectors within Canada. Unfortunately, not everyone knows or understands what exactly physical literacy is.
The goal of the Physical Literacy 101 workshop is to cover a broad introduction to the concept of physical literacy. During this half-day workshop, you will take part in an interactive session that will help you to define what exactly physical literacy means, and how you can integrate its concepts to improve your programs. We will touch on the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) Tools and show you how these can be used to track development of physical literacy skills to help participants improve where needed. You will leave with a solid understanding of what physical literacy is and knowledge of how you can encourage continual improvement and development of physical literacy skills across the lifespan
Physical Literacy 201: Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth
4 hours
This workshop will provide participants with the ability to execute, score and interpret the physical literacy assessment for youth (PLAY) tools in a sport specific setting. The session includes an update on physical literacy trends, which highlight potential roles for sport associations. Participants will leave this session with a renewed sense of urgency to address physical literacy through your strong working knowledge of the PLAY tools and their application. There are numerous opportunities and applications for these tools, including physical literacy awareness for parents and coaches, global and individual tracking of physical literacy, assessing the impact of your programs on physical literacy development and research applications.
The Physical Literacy 501 workshop will help participants to understand the importance of physical literacy development for participants with disabilities. This workshop will take participants through what universally accessible programs are and how to plan and create them. It will also help participants to develop their adaptations to fundamental movement skills to allow for different disability types to participate and have a quality first involvement experience.
Physical Literacy Movement Preparation is an enhanced training program performed as a warm up before practices and games to enhance performance and durability. Movement preparation not only prepares the body for movement, it also improves the way you move, reducing the risk of injury during physical activity and teaches skills necessary for performance often neglected during regular training.
Participants complete two eLearning modules in preparation for a mentor lead practical in person peer teaching session supported by instructional materials. This training will better prepare the participant to assist in the development of better movement skills in their athletes through a developing physical literacy approach.
The Physical Literacy for Older Adults workshop is specifically designed to provide leaders who work with older adults (55+) with an increased understanding of physical literacy development. During this half-day workshop, you will take part in an interactive session that will help you to define physical literacy, the key barriers to participation for older adults and how to address them, and how to use the 5 + 5 program characteristics to design quality programs for older adults. By the end of the workshop you will know how to make modifications or create new physical literacy enhanced programs in your own organization.
By the end of the workshop participants will be able to integrate concepts from the previous three courses to create a physical literacy enriched environment for program participants. Upon completion of the workshop, and with proof of completing the pre-requisites, participants will be provided with an activation key to take the final summative assessment to complete the Physical Literacy Instructor Program.
Community sport is where most sport happens. Limited capacity can make Quality Sport based on Long-Term Development challenging to implement. This workshop provides sport leaders a forum to share their challenges and successes related to quality sport delivery.
Participant will be provided with information, resources and the opportunity to share collaborative strategies in the following areas:
Community sport is where most sport happens. Limited capacity can make Quality Sport based on Long-Term Development challenging to implement. This workshop provides sport leaders a forum to share their challenges and successes related to quality sport delivery.
Participant will be provided with information, resources and the opportunity to share collaborative strategies in the following areas:
Adam holds a PhD in Applied Health Sciences and has worked at all levels of sport from grassroots to Olympic and professional levels. Adam has also worked in the performing arts, serving as a performance scientist at Cirque du Soleil's international headquarters in Montreal. He is a proud member of the Metis nation and currently works as a health and wellness researcher for the Metis Federation. Adam is an expert in performance science, strength & conditioning, and periodization.
André Lachance
André Lachance is the current Director of Business and Sport Development with Baseball Canada. He has also served as the Women's National Team Head Coach for 15 years bringing the team to the 2nd place in the WBSC World Ranking. In 2019, he became the French National Team Head Coach guiding them to a first ever European Title and a qualification for the World Cup. He also teaches advanced coaching courses at the University of Ottawa. Over the years, André has worked with several international and national organizations on the subject of Athlete Development and Competition Review and Restructuring. He has presented or worked to/with Iceland OC, Denmark OC, Bermuda OC, USA OC, Sweden, NHL, MLB, Baseball Hall of Fame and countless provincial and national sports organizations. He is based in Gatineau, Québec, Canada.
Christian Hrab
Christian is a member of the Sport for Life Quality Sport Advisor Team and was responsible for introducing a new coaching education program to Canada Snowboard, which incorporated the Long-Term Athlete Development model. From 1994 to 2010, he was an athlete, coach, and director of the Canadian National Snowboard team. As a coach, he has lead numerous athletes, both able bodied and para, to World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic gold medal performances. As a performance advisor, Christian has worked with numerous summer sports at Taekwondo Canada and at the National Sport Institute in Montreal. He is also the Executive Director of CADS: Canadian ADaptive Snowsports.
Dr. Colin Higgs
Colin has been with Sport for Life since its beginning. Originally brought in to ensure that athletes with a disability were fully included in Long-Term Development (LTD) he now works in all aspects of LTD, with a special emphasis on the Athlete Development Matrix (ADM) and ensuring that ADMs align with sports' Gold Medal Profiles. Colin holds advanced degrees in sport science and organizational effectiveness and since retiring from a long career at Memorial University now makes his home lakeside in the area between Kingston and Ottawa.
Dorothy Paul
Dorothy J Paul born Alert Bay, BC is from the Eagle Clan, Old Massett Village and Scottish lineage. She is currently living, working and playing in Tsartlip First Nation.
Dorothy has been working within the sport systems in Canada for over 30 years in various roles and organizations. Dorothy has been working with Sport for Life the past few years as an ILTPD mentor to five provincial sport organizations, Indigenous Communities: Active for Life Master Facilitator and as a Facilitator, and as a Physical Literacy for Communities – BC Project Mentor. Outside of Sport for Life Dorothy has been a Master Facilitator for the Aboriginal Sport Circle’s Aboriginal Coaching Modules and has facilitated over 100 workshops throughout the country. Her experience in multi-sport games includes being Chef de Mission for the 2002 NAIG Games, Aboriginal Team BC Operations Manager, NAIG Games, and Team BC Mission staff at the 1999 Canada Winter Games. Dorothy has been facilitating the Holistic Model, Kairos Blanket Exercise and Decolonization workshops with I•SPARC, Sport for Life and various other organizations for the past five years.
Dorothy played soccer for 35+ years with 30 of them at the Premiere level and when deemed too old to play at the premiere level, she tried to play over 30s. She found she was still too competitive and decided to move to Box Lacrosse which she has been playing for the past 12 years with the Victoria Wolves Women’s team. Outside of sports, Dorothy likes to create Pow Wow regalia with her own Northwest Coast designs, sewing clothing made with custom fabric, and quilting.
Greg Henhawk
Greg Henhawk is Mohawk of the Bear Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Southern Ontario. He recently retired as a Secondary School teacher on Six Nations and joined Sport for Life as the Indigenous Ambassador and team member for Physical Literacy with Indigenous Communities project. He is also a facilitator developer and consultant for Indigenous programs. Greg is a graduate of the National Coaching Institute-Ontario (Basketball) and is a Master Learning Facilitator for the Aboriginal Coaching Modules, Aboriginal Long-Term Participant Development Pathway, Aboriginal Communities: Active for Life, Basketball Canada, and Multisport NCCP programming. He was a member of the Project Advisory Group for the Aboriginal Coaching Modules and was a founding (and present) Board Member for the Coaches Association of Ontario.
Heather Ross McManus
As a Long-term Development Advisor, Heather has worked on Sport for Life projects related to physical literacy, athlete development, meaningful competition, and quality sport in the high performance context.
Influenced by her background as a teacher and outdoor educator, Heather is passionate about leadership development, quality learning environments, lifelong learning and personal development through sport.
Heather is an Olympian and a 15-year veteran of the Canadian National Team for Trampoline Gymnastics. She is currently a Coach and a Master Coach Developer for both Gymnastics and Freestyle Skiing and is continually striving to implement the ideals of quality sport as the full-time High Performance Director at Freestyle Ontario.
Meredith Gardner
A 2 time World Champion Freestyle Skier and award winning television producer,. 2007 through 2017 Meredith led the design and development of the successful Long Term Athlete, Officials and Coach systems for Freestyle Canada. Currently she is an advocate and facilitator for inclusive quality sport programs, a flower farmer, and is leading long term officials development for Sport For Life.
Dr. Paul Jurbala
Dr. Paul Jurbala is a Long-Term Development Advisor with Sport for Life. He has over 35 years’ experience in Canadian sport and since 2005 has worked as a consultant with over 40 national, provincial and community sport and recreation organizations on planning, program evaluation, and athlete and coach development projects. Paul holds a Ph.D. in Sport Management from Brock University with a research focus on innovation in community sport organizations. Paul lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Richard Sylvester
Richard Sylvester is a strength and conditioning coach from Winnipeg, Manitoba specializing in youth athletes. Richard has spent his entire 14-year career working with youth athletes age 5-18. This experience also includes 5 years experience working athletes at the University of Manitoba and the Grande Prairie Regional College. Furthermore, Richard recently spent 4 years living in New Zealand. During this time in New Zealand, Richard worked as a youth physical literacy coach, as well as a speed and power coach for an International Rugby Academy and a Netball Academy.
Additionally, Richard is currently pursuing his PhD at The Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), with a Thesis titled Sprint characteristics in youth female athletes across maturation. His mission is to take his life experience as an athlete and his career experience in strength and conditioning, in order to teach youth athletes how to move and be prepared for long term sport and physical activity.
Sylvie Béliveau
Sylvie Béliveau is an important female figure in soccer at the Canadian and International levels and in the sport world in general. She has coached teams at all levels including the Canadian Senior Women’s National Soccer Team. For several years, Sylvie has given her technical expertise and time to many different sport organizations, including the Quebec Soccer Federation, Canada Soccer, FIFA, CAAWS and others.
Sylvie’s knowledge of developmental principles especially LTD (Long Term Development), coach development and training, and sport administration, has contributed towards her in-depth knowledge of the Canadian Sport System.
Sylvie has played a significant role as a Board Member of CAAWS. She is also a founding member and presently Vice President of Egale Action, an organization that promotes the participation, retention and advancement of women in sport in the province of Quebec. Sylvie is now the Senior Advisor, Varsity Program, at McGill University for The Women in Sport Initiative.
Veronica Allan
Veronica Allan completed her Ph.D. in Sport Psychology at Queen’s University in 2018. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at York University, and spends her spare time as an independent consultant providing research, evaluation, and content support to sport-related organizations in Canada. Trained as a both a researcher and journalist, Dr. Allan is heavily invested in knowledge creation and mobilization within the sport system. Her program of research is broadly focused on factors influencing athlete development, quality experiences, and coaching in youth and disability sport settings.
