The merge of the Town of Windsor and the Municipality of West Hants created a fresh start with new possibilities for the area. Community Recreation Coordinator, Kathy Johnston said when the new municipally searched for potential programs, the loudest voices called for more sport opportunities for pre-teens and teenagers (especially those who were not introduced to sport at an early age). That call was answered in January 2021 when the West Hants Multisport Program started up with the help of Sport Fund.  

The goal of the multisport program is to show tweens and teens that it’s never too late to enjoy physical activity. “We wanted to show them you can still love sport without being competitive, so that’s where the idea came from,” says Johnston. “It’s not so much the traditional sports we wanted to provide but the non-traditional.”   

The program provides participants with the opportunity to try a bit of everything. “They spent a month doing broomball, snowboarding, curling and had an absolute blast,” says Johnston. “After curling, they went into rugby. Next on our list is disk golf, orienteering, and archery.”   

Connecting to teens and keeping them engaged is not an easy task and Johnston says that leadership is an important aspect in planning programs like this, “The 11 to the 17-year-old range can be an awkward stage in our lives where conversation can be hard off of social media. I needed a leader that was able to connect and pull those pieces out of each individual to make a cohesive group and that leader is Lakyn Crowell.”  

Crowell created an environment that was fun and opened opportunities to bond. “That was the main takeaway of the program. The sports were awesome and they all really enjoyed trying different things but it was also about having that social time to look forward to,” says Johnston. “It started super quiet, and now everyone is friends.”  

From gear to transportation, the multisport program tackles the obstacles that participants may face. “Transportation is probably the second-largest barrier to participation in our local area because we are so rural. We assisted people who identified that as a barrier and helped out with gas cards. We know that it’s difficult,” said Johnston.  

This year, with the help of Sport Fund, the group was able to provide 10 young Nova Scotians the opportunity to be active in an organized setting and experience the friendships that coincide with sport participation. 

Sport Fund supports community sport organizations in their efforts to increase sport participation. The fund is intended to increase sustainable, quality, and participation-based programs. This may include the expansion of existing programs or the creation of new ones. To learn more about how Sport Fund can help your organization, click here.