Simon Darnell, an associate professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), has been awarded an Abuse-Free Sport Research Grant by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SRDCC).
The grant, valued at close to $90,000 CAD, will fund a project with MLSE Foundation to evaluate collaborative best practices in fostering a positive, safe and brave culture for youth in sport over the next three years.
“This new project extends the scope and impact of the Change the Game research initiative – Canada’s largest youth sport study to date, and an important source of data on youth sport access, engagement and equity,” says Darnell. “The newly funded project will allow the research team to collaborate closely with up to 15 youth sport organizations over three years to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based strategies and tactics to address youth sport culture issues in their community contexts.”
These interventions will address issues of safe sport, access and equity-related concerns, including disparities in engagement related to aspects of identity such as gender, race and (dis)ability. They will also serve as an important addition to the existing study—a census-style project providing detailed intersectional data on the demographics of youth sport engagement and barriers across the province of Ontario.
“The end goal is to help reshape the youth sport programming space to better match what Ontario’s youth have told us they need and want through the Change the Game survey, which has engaged over 25,000 youth since 2021,” says Marika Warner, director of research and evaluation at MLSE Foundation. “These needs and desires include coaches who reflect their identities, organizations that respect their culture, sport programs that intentionally embed life skills development and sport environments that are welcoming, beginner-friendly, safe and pro-social.
“This project will contribute to the achievement of this objective by helping to distill what works on the ground to improve youth experiences in sport.”
In addition to the core research team from U of T and MLSE Foundation, youth sport organizations from the grassroots to the elite level will be engaged – including organizations that focus on programming for youth who experience increased barriers to sport participation.
The grant will enable the hiring of two research assistants for three years, adding capacity to the core research team and enabling deep and sustained engagement with youth sport organizations in Ontario communities. The funds will also support micro-grants providing funds to youth sport organizations to implement evidence-based practice changes expected to improve youth sport culture and safety.
“This project will benefit current and future generations of Ontario youth seeking fun, safe and inclusive opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity in their communities, as well as youth-serving sport organizations seeking to provide programming in ways that better support the evolving needs of youth,” says Darnell.