Sport For Life

Check out the latest SIRC Newsletter on Sport For Life!

Being healthy and active for life is something that Canadians truly care about and this is why we support the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) movement. We embrace terms such as physical literacy with its focus on learning fundamental movement and sport skills which build confidence and in turn encourage physical activity later in life. We must remember to keep sports and physical activity fun. Competing to win should come second to learning the skills of the game. Children should also be exposed to a variety of sports to keep their sporting experience enjoyable and to continue being active into adulthood. What Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is showing us is that a well planned practice, training, competition and recovery regime will ensure optimum development and promote a positive sport experience.

http://www.sirc.ca/newsletters/mid-jan11/index.html

The Power and Peril of Social Media

It is no longer a question of why should an organization use social media, but how should they use it. With social media the possibilities are endless. Social media allows for a sense of community and increases the speed for feedback and results. Organizations can have direct communication with their customers or members, coaches can send out training schedules and tips to their athletes, athletes can instantly inform their fans of their achievements and the list goes on.

With so many choices out there (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogger, Flickr, YouTube, …) you need to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve from social media before you even start. And as with any form of communication you want to ensure you do not get caught up in the instantaneousness of the medium and are still portraying the right message that represents you and your organization.

To help with this, today at the Canadian Sport for Life Pre-Summit Workshops SIRC presents “The Power and Peril of Social Media”.

Learn from experts how social media can help your sport organization achieve its objectives. This will be an interactive session that will be presented by SIRC and Janice Arnoldi.

Janice Arnoldi of Arnoldi:McPherson (Niagara's leading social media strategy company) will provide an overview of uses and applications of social media. Janice has been a partner in a successful web design and social media strategy firm for 13 years, with major business, non-profit and sport clients. Janice is a former radio journalist and worked in media relations/corporate communications for Ontario Hydro and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She has taught New Media at the International Academy of Design in Toronto and at Niagara College.

SIRC at the CS4L National Summit

In support of the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) movement SIRC is hosting an interactive Resource Centre at the National Summit (Wed & Thursday, Feb 1 & 2, 2012) and the World LTAD Symposium (Friday, February 3, 2012) in Gatineau, QC.

Among the resources we are making available:
In print:

• Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) from over 30 National Sport Organizations
• SIRC Newsletters on CS4L & LTAD

Online:
SIRC's Sport Governance Resource Centre

• Guidelines, templates and resources on governance related topics
• Board Models, Board Orientation, Strategic Planning, Legal Issues, Roles & Responsibilities
• Governance Expert Directory
• Free Webinars

SIRC's LTAD Online Resources

• Links to over 45 National Sport Organization LTAD documents
• LTAD & CS4L Newsletters

What's being talked about at the CS4L National Summit, Day 1?

• Big ideas for moving organizations and CS4L forward
• Provision of family programs to promote active lifestyles modelled from one generation to the next
• Educating parents on CS4L
• Injury prevention for aesthetic and flexibility sport
• Change from a focus on competing with each other to working together to achieve better results
• Addressing governance challenges and changes at all levels of sport
• Changing business behaviour to ensure sustainability

SIRC at the CS4L National Summit: Governance!

SIRC hosted the "Governance and CS4L" session at the CS4L Summit today. Good governance is critical to the success of a sport organization. This session talked about how CS4L‐LTAD can be integrated into the Governance of a sport organization and where to find practical governance templates and resources that can be downloaded and modified for use. Panelists shared insights, including lessons learned at both the community and National level, that can help with incorporating CS4L principles and LTAD programs into governance and strategic planning. Hosted by Debra Gassewitz (SIRC), panelists included Marg Jones (JUEL Basketball), Paul Jurbala (CS4L), and JD Miller (B2ten).

Highlights of the session included:

• How to integrate LTAD programs into your governance
• What the Board needs to do to implement the strategic plan
• Who should be on the Board and How do we recruit them
• Where the resources can be found: SIRC Sport Governance Online Resource Centre

Contact SIRC for more information on sport governance

InBody Body Composition Analyzer

At the Canadian Sport for Life National Summit in Gatineau-Ottawa, Canada, the staff at SIRC got to meet some very friendly and knowledgeable people and we learned a few new things as well. One of the interesting experiences we had was trying out InBody's body composition analyzer.

This machine measures body composition using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to give you a fast, non-invasive and accurate reading of your lean body mass, body fat and body water. The machine passes a low level electrical current through a person's body at touch points in the hands and feet.  The current passes through the muscle, fat and water at different rates making it possible to get an accurate reading of a participants body composition. The whole process takes about a minute and the machine gives you a detailed printout of each measurement and the recommendations for areas of improvement. 

The InBody machine will also measure your Basal Metabolic Rate to help you gauge the amount of calories you should be consuming on a daily basis for optimal health.  Based on your results, the InBody will make its suggestions for how much muscle and fat you should gain or lose in order for you to achieve your ideal body composition.

This type of read out can be a useful tool in knowing what your body is comprised of, whereas stepping on the scale or measuring your body mass index (BMI) gives you somewhat limited data to work with. Having a permanent record of where you started and measuring it periodically over time, every three months for example, a person can easily track the progress they've made in their health and fitness levels.

Paul McDonald, a representative for Jedco Marketing, was very helpful in explaining the printout and how the machine worked.  It was explained that the results could be very useful in forming a guide for creating a personalized plan for those new to exercise, as well as a great option for athletes looking for an accurate reading in order to target specific areas for improvement. 

References from the SIRC Collection:

1.Company J, Ball S. Body Composition Comparison: Bioelectric Impedance Analysis with Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in Adult Athletes. Measurement In Physical Education & Exercise Science. July 2010;14(3):186-201.
2. Ji-Guang W, Yi Z, Biao L, et al. COMPARISON OF TWO BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS DEVICES WITH DUAL ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN THE ESTIMATION OF BODY COMPOSITION. Journal Of Strength & Conditioning Research (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). January 2013;27(1):236-243.
3. Malisova O, Bountziouka V, Panagiotakos D, Zampelas A, Kapsokefalou M. The water balance questionnaire: design, reliability and validity of a questionnaire to evaluate water balance in the general population. International Journal Of Food Sciences & Nutrition. March 2012;63(2):138-144.
4. Ryder J, Ball S. Three-Dimensional Body Scanning as a Novel Technique for Body Composition Assessment: A Preliminary Investigation. Journal Of Exercise Physiology Online. February 2012;15(1):1-14.
5. Separately Assess Body Weight, Body Fat, and BMI. Running & Fitnews. March 2011;29(2):3-8.
6. Stahn A, Terblanche E, Strobel G. Modeling upper and lower limb muscle volume by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Journal Of Applied Physiology. October 2007;103(4):1428-1435.

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year is a great time to look forward to upcoming events, conferences and to explore new ways SIRC can continue to engage the sport community. We will be presenting great webinars such as the Canadian Olympic Team Marketing Vision by Derek Kent on January 14, 2014 that will deal with marketing vision and strategies as used by the Canadian Olympic Committee for the London And Sochi Olympic teams. On March 25, 2014, Marg McGregor will present Leadership in the Eye of the Storm a webinar on crisis management in sport. The SIRCuit Series will carry on informing on a variety of sports related topics shared by experts in their field to enhance the learning experience of our members. We are also looking forward to the Canadian Sports For Life Summit, which brings leaders together to enhance the quality of sports and physical activity in Canada, taking place on January 28-30, 2014 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel in Gatineau-Ottawa.

We are excited to watch Canada showcase it’s best athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.

May your New Year be filled with health, happiness and energy to chase your dreams!

Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) National Summit

The Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) National Summit brings together leaders to enhance the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. Having healthy and active for life Canadians is a movement that SIRC is proud to support.

Make sure you drop by and visit the SIRC onsite resource centre at the Summit where we will be displaying various CS4L and Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) materials both in print and online. The SIRC newsletter, the Canadian Sport Policy 2012 and additional publications will also be available.

Some key topics being covered at the Summit:

• Best practices for Implementing the LTAD Model 
• Personal Best Programs – Physical Literacy Assessment in the Community
• Quality Sports Program 
• Facilitating System Wide LTAD Implementation- One Sport’s Story of Culture Changed 
• Developing Physical Literacy through a Progressive Development Model for Young Participants
• Train to train and the Teenage Brain 

The Canadian Sport for Life National Summit will be taking place from January 28-30, 2014 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy hotel in Gatineau-Ottawa.

What is Physical Literacy?

by Leigh Cove
Algonquin College Sport Business Management Intern

Muscle memory is a well-known term in active living and sport. The idea that once you have learned something and practiced it, your muscles will begin to move with the pattern of the motions each time you use them until those patterns become natural. Physical literacy takes this idea and applies it to the learning and development of a whole range of body movements, and subsequent combinations of motions. Teaching this ‘body language’ is an important corner stone as kids develop into the athletes of tomorrow so they will want to, and can, participate in activity for life.

Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) has made physical literacy a priority for the first three stages (Active Start, FUNdamentals, and Learn to Train) of long term athlete development (LTAD).

• Progression of Physical Literacy 
• Basic Movements
• Movement Combinations 
• Complex Movement Sequences 
• Skilled Movement

To ensure well rounded physical literacy, CS4L recommends children be exposed to a variety of physical activity that encompass all surface types, activity structures, and player positions. This includes coaching young athletes on how to read their environment and react to it. For example, seeing the position of your teammates on the field and being able to move yourself in the play based on what you see.

One of the barriers to quality physical literacy however is proper training and resources for coaching at the community and grassroots level; limited resources combined with volunteer coach turnover has left a gap in the quality and consistency of physical literacy being taught to young athletes. This is where the LTAD model has come in and is evolving. The Canadian sport community looks to design a system that will better support young athletes and their development. And while not everyone can be an Olympic gold medalist, a solid teaching of physical literacy means a more active future for anyone, child or adult, who just wants to get out there and play.

References available from the SIRC collection:

1. Corlett J, Mandigo J. A Day In The Life: Teaching Physical Literacy. Physical & Health Education Journal. Winter2013 2013;78(4):18-24.
2. Gallant P, Vossen D, Weaving C. In the Zone: Physical Literacy and the Quest for Certified Coaches. Physical & Health Education Journal. Summer 2011 2011;77(2):16-21.
3. Harber V, Schleppe S. Promoting Early Physical Literacy in Alberta. Wellspring. August 2010;21(4):1-4.
4. Norris S. Learning to Train: A Key Stage in Developing Physical Literacy. Wellspring. June 2011;22(3):A1-A4.
5.  Sullivan P, Whitaker-Campbell T, MacKay M. Physical Literacy in Coaching Education Materials: A Case Study of Canada Basketball. Physical & Health Education Journal. Spring2010 2010;76(1):32-35. 6. The meaning of Physical Literacy. Active Living: Newsletters. September 2011;:4.