Skip to content

Central Sport looking for information to make sports more accessible and inclusive

The survey is available until October
30261541_web1_200225-RDA-Kids-under-12-banned-from-heading-soccer-balls-in-practice-soccer_1

Central Sport is turning to the public for input to make sports more accessible and inclusive as well as what resources and opportunities families and children may need in Red Deer.

The survey will be available online at centralsport.ca until October 19 and they encourage the public to provide input through community conversations as well.

Inclusivity and accessibility lead for Central Sport Brandi Heather said the goal is to look at sports programming in Red Deer and understand better what families and children between the ages of six and 12 are experiencing that makes them feel welcome and included in sports.

“And to also answer the question what are the barriers to accessing sports resources, programming for those children and families who may have no sports experiences or want to have sports experience but are having trouble connecting with the system,” Heather said.

This is part of Central Sport’s inclusivity and accessibility project which is meant to open conversations on making sports opportunities, resources, and equipment more accessible and inclusive for children aged six to 12.

The organization is also taking a look at the stories and experiences of the families and children and in terms of the community conversations aspect, Central Sport will be opening talks with not only local organizations that represent underrepresented children but looking at organizations they maybe don’t look at very often such as the food bank.

“Starting to set up meetings with and collaborating with organizations that are providing support and education to this group of children already and reaching out to really understanding the story of the people who are not on the radar,” she explained.

What Central Sport knows from Canadian surveys is that socioeconomic status is one of the greatest reasons children can’t access sports. There is also a financial barrier but also the factor of not feeling welcome once they were in the system and participating in the sport. She said once the children didn’t feel welcome they would choose some other activity outside of the sports world. There is also a physical access barrier, which means can these families access the spaces physically needed to play and also the time sports are organized.

“If there is a lack of financial resources, how can we better provide support for that but also how can we connect people to more resources? Because I don’t know that we even know all of the incredible resources that central Alberta has we could be connecting to,” Heather said. “In the disability and inclusion space, in the Indigenous community, there are so many resources out there. Central Sport is also taking a look at making sure those conversations we’re having that the survey doesn’t end up being just being checkmarks on a page.”

Once the information is gathered and they better understand these barriers the goal would be to understand how Central Sport can create more bridges to programming, equipment, and support for the kids.



Ian Gustafson

About the Author: Ian Gustafson

Ian began his journalism career as a reporter in Prince Albert, Sask. for the last three years, and was born and raised in Saskatchewan.
Read more