Sport For All
IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility) in sport.
At Lethbridge Sport Council we strive to be a voice for sport- believing that everyone should experience quality sport. An inclusive sport culture embraces, respects, and values differences in people regardless of their age, gender, or background.
Sport For All: Breaking Barriers - A 6-part series
Join us for the Sport For All: Breaking Barriers, a six-part series of interactive and educational workshops focusing on creating welcoming, inclusive, accessible and safe sport experiences facilitated by individuals with lived experiences and topic experts.
Funded by the Government of Canada and Alberta Ministry of Tourism and Sport.
Sport For All: Breaking Barriers - Session Details and Registration
SESSION 1: Playing Together: Unite Through Sport - November 23rd, 6:00-8:30pm
Conversations with Chad Chief Moon and Jennifer MacPherson from Spirit North on their experiences working with Indigenous athletes. Presentation on sport anti-racism and inclusivity from get REAL movement.
SESSION 2: Connecting Newcomers: Building Community and Inclusion Through Sports - December 7th, 6:00-8:00pm
Question and answer panel with local community members on their own lived sport experiences as a newcomer to Canada and the lessons learned from those new to Canada.
SESSION 3: Para in Sport: Inclusivity and Excellence - January 25th, 6:00-8:30pm
Workshop on Becoming Para Ready from the Steadward Centre for personal and physical achievement. Presentation from Dr. David Legg former President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee on his experiences in adapted physical activity, para sport and the para sport pathway.
SESSION 4: Sports without Boundaries: Panel - February 8th, 6:00-8:00pm
Following last session a question and answer panel from individuals with a range of involvement and experience with adapted physical activity and para sport.
SESSION 5: Keeping Women and Girls in Sport - February 28th, 6:00-8:00pm in the Richardsen’s Oilseed Room (CE 1305) @Lethbridge College (just to the right of security by the main entrance of the college)
Presentation from Dawn Keith on strategies to keep women and girls in sport as a coach. Presentation from Susan Eymann on being a leader within sport as a Woman and the challenges experienced.
***DATE CHANGE*** BONUS SESSION: Dare to Care: Tackling Bullying in Sport - May 16, 2024, 6-8:30 PM
This workshop will equip coaches, management, and volunteers with the awareness and tools needed to make a positive impact in their communities. Coaches set the stage for how kids on a team are treated, and management sets the stage for how coaches, players, parents/guardians, and officials treat one another. Both coaches and management must be very clear in creating an atmosphere of respect, support, and team unity. To do this coaches and management must understand the difference between competitive spirit and true bullying; whether it be from players, parents, management or coaches.
In this workshop participants will establish a common language, become better equipped to identify instances of bullying, learn how to take a “no-nonsense approach” to bullying, and understand the importance of having clear policies and procedures to deal with issues.
SESSION 6: Safe Sport with Allison Forsyth - April 27th, 10:00am-2:00pm
Learn from Allison Forsyth a Safe Sport advocate on ways we can make our sport environments safer for all.
Generation Safe Founder, Allison Forsyth is the leader in ground-breaking education and awareness in the Canadian Safe Sport landscape. Allison’s ‘real-talk’ educational approach has resonated with over 50 sport organizations and 5,000 people nationwide. Recently named ‘Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada in 2023’, Allison’s guiding principles have been instrumental in helping organizations turn their Safe Sport policies into practice. Allison previously co-founded ITP Sport, Canada’s only full-service Safe Sport programming and consulting agency. The 2-time Olympian and 8-time National Champion (alpine skiing) offers a unique and critical perspective, as a survivor of sexual abuse in the sport system. Recently haven taken a role with Canada Soccer as their Safe Sport Officer, Allison will serve to ensure a trauma-informed systemic implementation of Safe Sport practices and procedures from the National to grass roots level. Allison currently lives in Oakville, Ontario with her 3 active children – her inspiration for a future ‘Generation Safe’.
●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～
The first 5 sessions will be hosted at the Lethbridge Sport Council Community Room. The Community Room is located on the second floor of the Nicholas Sheran Ice Centre and is accessible via the arena concourse. The facility has wheelchair parking and a flat entrance into the facility. As well the door partition can be removed to create a double-door entrance if needed. There is an elevator, a lift, and stairs in the concourse to access the community room. The facility has wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
Inclusive and Accessible Sport Programs
Everyone deserves quality sport. For some participants, this requires various degrees of support.
Organizations that offer accessible, adaptable, and/or inclusive programming
These organizations offer adaptable, accessible, and/or inclusive programming. Select the organization you'd like to check out, then click the 'Accessible and Inclusive' button on their profile to learn more.
Sport for All Events
Sport For All Resources
Our resource library has a number of resources for parents, athletes, organizations, and coaches. Here are a few of the 'Sport For All' resources you'll find:
Racism in Sport
Lethbridge Sport Council
Everyone has a role to play in making sport anti-racist. There are many tools, resources, education opportunities and supports to address racism in sport. For example, Anti-racism in Sport is a campaign which seeks to increase, promote, and engage in discussions on anti-racism in sport.
Why is active allyship important in sport?
Lethbridge Sport Council via Coaching Association of Canada
Active allyship is about addressing systemic change and using your voice for positive change. Within sport, active allyship is extremely important for addressing systemic racism within sport. Specifically, in sport informed/active allyship consists of using the privilege associated with being a non-racialized coach to advocate for and work toward supporting all racialized participants and coaches.
Understanding and improving equity, diversity and inclusion in sport
Lethbridge Sport Council via InMotion Network
The majority of EDI policies and practices focus on 'welcoming' those who have historically been excluded instead of attempting to address the structural causes of exclusion that stem from the interrelated factors related to settler colonialism, racism, sexism, ableism and capitalism.
The Community Coordinator, Sport for All position is an extension of the Pathway to Participation initiative which spanned from 2020-2022. Over the course of P2P, we are proud to have held a number of events and programs with the intention of increasing Indigenous access to sport. In 2023 the P2P initiative has expanded to include other groups experiencing barriers to sport. To learn more about the original P2P initiative, we welcome you to check out the webpage.
People in Sport Publication
Why inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility within sport?
A recent 2023 SIRC article focused on the need to reframe sport; highlighting a similar mandate as Lethbridge Sport Council that sport needs to place excellent experiences for all at the center. In this article SIRC highlights that gold standards will return to sport in the shared values of respect, friendship and excellence.
SIRC suggests that six elements contribute to a quality sport experience: belongingness, engagement, achievement, challenge, choice and personal and social meaning. These elements contribute to everyone who’s involved in sport; athletes, coaches, officials, parents, administrators and supporters to having positive sport experiences.
In our efforts to provide quality sport experiences to all there is a need for a mindset shift to see sport for development. This is the intentional use of sport and physical activity to build healthy communities and help all people reach their full potential. As we look to make sport accessible and inclusive to all within our community, there are practical steps that sport organizations and teams can do to assist in achieving this goal. A starting point for organizations is to truly embrace inclusion by fostering a culture of inclusion. Some strategies to achieve this are:
- Use language and imagery that is inclusive and respectful of all cultures and identities.
- Adjust program activities and make them adaptable to cater various skill levels.
- Communicate with participants, families, parents and caregivers.
- Create a culture where participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, feelings and experiences and where they are celebrated for their differences.
- Ensure that policies and procedures are equitable and consistent for all.