 With almost 200 sport organizations and
associations in their database, Sportlink, Greater Sudbury’s Sport
Council, and a declared member of the True Sport Movement, has been
providing solid leadership in the area for almost five years.
Robert Kirwan, True Sport Community Animator for
Northern Ontario, had an opportunity to sit down for a four-part
interview with Mike Ladouceur, Executive Director for Sportlink, to
talk about what Sportlink is doing for the community and also to
look more closely at several of the challenges moving forward if we
are to provide Greater Sudbury residents with the kind of sport that
lives up to their expectations.
Kirwan explains that True Sport is a national
charitable organization that promotes values-driven sport. It is
endorsed by the Federal and Provincial governments and receives
funding from Sport Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and
other sources through the True Sport Foundation.
True Sport is not a specific program. In fact True
Sport is a national
movement for both sport and community.
In other words, the underlying message behind True Sport is
that GOOD sport
can make a GREAT difference, not only in the lives of those
who participate in it, but also to the communities that support it.
In 2002, a public opinion poll commissioned by the
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport revealed that while 92% of
Canadians believe that community sport can contribute to the
development of positive values in the lives of young people, less
than 20% believe that sport is living up to this potential in
Canada. This pointed to a BIG GAP or disconnect between the
public’s expectations of what sport can do and what is currently
happening in communities, schools, and sport organizations across
Canada.
The True Sport Movement has therefore become the
national social movement for sport and community, attempting to
bridge the gap!
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