Creating healthy communities begins with sport. In making sport a way of life, members of the community choose physical activity and recognize sport’s wide-ranging potential to make a difference. Sport is among the most important contributors to countless social benefits, reduction of illness and crime, economic prosperity, community engagement and social inclusion.
1) Understand the value for youth: After family, Canadians rank sport as the most positive influence on youth. Participation in organized sport enables youth to channel energy, competitiveness and aggression in socially beneficial ways. Youth involved in sport are less likely to commit crime, smoke, use drugs or abuse alcohol.
2) Know the impact on employees and customers: For adults, involvement in sport can reduce mortality rates by up to 30%, risk of cancer by up to 40% and negative effects of existing heart disease by up to 60%.
3) Help build a better community: Seventy-two per cent of Canadians believe that sport is a key contributor to quality of life in their communities. Sport encourages social inclusion and community engagement by bringing athletes, spectators, coaches, officials and volunteers together.
4) Know the health benefits: Physical activity is critical in preventing chronic, non-communicable illnesses like cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Increasing physical activity by 10% would save Canadians over $150 million annually in direct health-care costs.
5) Appreciate the social aspects: Ninety-five per cent of participants feel that sport encourages people from different backgrounds to work and play together. Fifty per cent of participants rate sport as very important for meeting new friends and socializing beyond the immediate family.
6) Volunteer: More Canadians – 5.3 million – volunteer their time with sports and recreational organizations than with any other sector. On average, each volunteer dedicates 143 hours per year to sport infrastructure in his or her community.
7) Consider the economics: In 2004, Canadians spent $15.8 billion on sport, representing 2.18% of total household spending. Canadians take part in over 250,000 sporting events each year, and nearly one-third of tourist trips to Canada include participation in sport or outdoor activities.
8) Make an investment: Every kid deserves the opportunity to develop a healthful lifestyle, no matter the financial barriers. Staying physically active encourages children to maintain healthful habits throughout life. The challenges of playing sport teach children valuable life lessons and skills, including leadership, hard work, dedication and self-confidence.
Established in 1993 by Sport BC, KidSport is a community-based sport-funding program that provides grants for children ages six to 18 to participate in sports of their choice. There are more than 35 community chapters in British Columbia and over 175 chapters across Canada. With help from dedicated corporate partners, KidSport works to eliminate the financial barriers to sport participation, so all kids can play.
9) Help remove barriers: Get involved. Without social support, males are 32% and females 47% less likely to participate in sport. Children with parents active in sport are 20% likelier to stay physically active themselves.
10) Get your company in the game: A team reaches its goals when all members work together, each contributing his or her particular expertise. Sport BC and KidSport could not have achieved their position of leadership without the support of their many partners. Sport BC has developed a cohesive approach to provincial and national sport development. It continually expands partnerships to create strategic alliances and search for new opportunities. Sport BC partners with many organizations to increase the availability of sport programs and promote sport in general.
Originally published in BIV’s How~2 magazine – expert advice on essential business products and services.
Sport BC’s targets and goals include:
- bringing the powerful benefits of sport to more than 650,000 participants across the province through 65 provincial sport organizations;
- continuing to drive sport participation by providing programming and infrastructure through programs like KidSport and the First Nations Power of Sport Tour;
- expanding the capacity of sport with the development of a more sustainable sector; and
- recognizing the thousands of volunteers who make sport in B.C. a reality through recognition programs like the Community Sport Hero Awards and the annual Presidents’ Awards.