CFN recently hosted the Calgary stop of the nationwide Sport for Life Summit. Sport for Life recognizes that quality sport and physical activity offer rich benefits to Canadian society through improved health, stronger communities, higher sporting achievement, and stronger national identity.
The Sport for Life Summit brings together leaders who work together to enhance the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. The Summit establishes an environment for idea generation through thoughtful and open dialogue across a range of topics. Through knowledge sharing, the Summit can help build and maintain networks while identifying opportunities for innovation.
The Summit’s objective is to foster connection, understanding, creativity and progress among communities across Canada, to build a more collaborative and resilient system where the sport, recreation, health and education sectors are aligned and working together to address barriers, and strive towards quality sports programming and physical literacy development that is equitably available to everyone.
Theme: Thriving through Changing Times
Our means of connecting, engaging, innovating and experiencing quality sport and physical literacy have been re-envisioned to meet the challenges and opportunities of a post-pandemic world. Across sectors, and from the municipal to the national scale, we have all evolved. As we continue to embed Long-Term Development and physical literacy into our communities, there is no better time to share the ways we have learnt, grown and expanded our policies, programs and resources to meet current needs, engage and support diverse communities—and imagine new, exciting ways forward.
Communities and Dates
The majority of the communities will be delivering their Summits on various dates from February to April 2023. We will include the registration links here once they are live. Currently, the Summit will be hosted in:
Montreal, Quebec, hosted by Reseau Accès Participation, Sport'Aide, Réseau des unités régionales de Loisir et de Sport and Champions for Life - March 29-30 (program)
St. Catharines, Ontario, hosted by Quality Sport Niagara / facilitated by Ridley College - March 30-31
Ottawa, Ontario, hosted by Sport for Life and the House of Sport - February 8-9 (program)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, hosted by PHE Saskatchewan - March 29
Winnipeg, Manitoba, hosted by General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres - February 25
Calgary, Alberta, hosted by the Centre for Newcomers - February 24-25 (program)
Prince George, hosted by Engage Sport North - April 14-15
Richmond, British Columbia, hosted by Richmond Oval - April 4
Campbell River, hosted by PLAY Campbell River - April 28-29
Overview
For the 2023 Sport for Life Summit is a simultaneous, multi-community event featuring both live, local content and virtual content that will be shared to, and connect, all of the host communities.
Planned activities will vary from one community to another, but the multi-day event will feature a variety of in-person presentations, pre-recorded keynote addresses, and/or workshops on quality sport, physical activity, and physical literacy topics that relate to the event’s overarching theme “Thriving through Changing Times”. This will include presentations regarding equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, health and well-being in the sport, recreation, health and education sectors.
Value of the Multi-Community Approach
Having completed a multi-community, simultaneous Summit in May 2022, Sport for Life saw tremendous value in this event approach for local communities, including:
connecting local sectors, organizations and individuals;
making the event more accessible and enabling programs to focus on local, community-specific issues to positively impact health and wellness, and strengthening existing community partnerships.
Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast Connections
All host communities will also have opportunities to engage in conversation and knowledge-sharing with other host communities across the country, through:
Facilitated host partner meetings: Sport for Life will host regular meetings for all host community partners to share information and strategies, answer questions, and connect each other.
Keynotes: Sport for Life will secure two prominent and thought-provoking keynote speakers with messages that advance the Summit theme of Thriving through Changing Times. Communities will have the opportunity to align local presentations with the keynote content if they so choose.
Whova: Delegates will be able to connect and share insights, resources and best practices with one another through the Whova app during the Summit.
source: Sport for Life