Improved mental and physical health, stronger academic performance, and greater job prospects are just a few of the benefits of participating in sport. Much like learning to read and write, physical literacy and staying active for life should be considered necessities. Unfortunately, paybacks of sport and recreation are frequently overlooked, and sport facilities and programming are often expensive. Nova Scotians benefit when sport and recreation is more affordable and easily accessible. Here are some examples of programs that thrived when financial barriers were removed.
During the first year of Amherst’s No Fee Ice Project, the Cumberland Minor Hockey Association saw an 85 percent increase in three-on-three registrations compared to previous year and a surge of more than 6.5 percent in traditional hockey registrations. Not having to pay for ice time meant the hockey association could decrease player fees, ultimately saving over $45 thousand for participants. The Amherst Figures Skating Club saved roughly $19 thousand and recorded a 45 percent membership increase compared to the previous year. The town continues to prioritize a healthy community by reallocating their spending budget to cover facility costs and more people than ever are playing organized ice sports, participating in public skates and utilizing the indoor walking track.
Nova Scotia Multisport programs allow children between the ages of four and 16 to try a variety of sports over several months under one registration. The pilot project that started in Antigonish in 2015 and has since expanded to 14 ongoing programs across the province. Today, more than 1,000kids have participated in multisport. With an average cost of $205 per child, multisport is more cost effective than signing up for numerous sports at a time, and participants benefit from improved physical literacy while avoiding early sport specialization and scheduling conflicts.
Sport Nova Scotia and the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic launched the first ever Nova Scotian Black and Indigenous coach mentorship program in August, 2020. The program is a two-year initiative aimed recruiting and supporting Black and Indigenous coaches and includes face-to-face workshops, virtual sessions, one-on-one guidance, and support from experienced mentors. Participants will also receive National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) training. By removing financial barriers, the program will foster a future for educated role models, from two minority groups who are historically underrepresented in sport positions within Nova Scotia. The program has eight mentors and 21 mentees who will complete the full 24-month curriculum.
In January 2021, Sport Nova Scotia, the North Preston Community Centre and the Zatzman Sportsplex teamed up to start the North Preston Swim Program. The sessions run twice per week for 10-weeks and provide kids the opportunity to participate in swimming lessons with roundtrip transportation to and from the pool. This program is designed to nurture more confident, competent swimmers, while also providing the foundation to participate in water sports and recreation activities in the future. The sessions are chaperoned by recreation staff from the North Preston Community Centre who already had rapport with the kids prior to the program’s inception. The 10-week program welcomed 18 new participants for one more round of lessons at the end of March 2021.
Despite the success and popularity of these programs, for many of them to continue, regular alternate funding will need to be secured or budgets will need to be reconfigured to rank their importance. We’re now over a year into a pandemic that’s drawn world-wide attention to the importance of fitness and sport leaders continue to advocate for the prioritization of affordable physical literacy, equitable opportunities, and accessible programming.
On March 20, 2021, the Province of Nova Scotia announced that they would be investing $5 million to help make the sport system more inclusive and accessible. This is the largest investment in sport in recent years, and it will allow Sport Nova Scotia to broaden funding criteria so more groups can eliminate financial barriers associated with sport.
The need for change: a brief look at the sport system
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines advises adults to participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, yet according to the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey, only four out of 10 Nova Scotians say that they participate in vigorous exercise monthly.
One in four Nova Scotian children live in poverty. That’s 41,370 children. According to the Market Basket Measure, Nova Scotia also has the highest rate of child poverty in the country. The groups most impacted are visible minorities, new immigrants, and Indigenous children living off reserves.
In 2019, KidSport donated over $679.059 to support 2,419 Nova Scotian children with registration and equipment fees so they could participate in organized sports. With more families out of work due to the pandemic, the demand for financial support is expected to increase.
Nova Scotia has more than 1,000 lakes and no matter where you are in the province you’re never more than 60 kilometres from the ocean. Between 2012-2016 there were 120 drowning deaths in the Maritimes; an average of 24 deaths per year. According to the 2019 Drowning Report, 44 percent of drownings took place in the ocean, 26 percent were in rivers, and 22 percent happened in lakes.
Research that focused on 400 sport positions at 56 Canadian universities revealed that less than 10 percent of head coaching jobs were held by people of colour, and only 1 out of those 56 schools had a non-white athletic director.
As of 2019 Canadians spent more money per capita on youth sports than any country in the world with an average cost of $1,000 a year, per child. Researchers expect that part of the high costs are due to the prices associated with hockey rinks.
Still interested? check out our sources to learn more.
CBC- Sidelined: How diversity in Canada’s sports leadership falls short
How free ice made a difference to one small town
Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey
CTV- Canadian youth sports industry worth $8.7 billion, company says
