Sport Calgary is making the final pitch to get more Calgarians, and their opinions, into the decision making process around sport in the city.
The City of Calgary has been running an anti-racism in sport survey since November, and now with just a few days left until the survey’s end on Dec. 15, the city’s sport partner is asking for a few more responses.
Catriona Le May Doan, CEO of Sport Calgary, said the goal was to collect as much data as possible to make better decisions about how to get Calgarians engaged in sport.
“The pitch is, we need your help. We want to make our community better. We are a great community, Calgary is full of people who, like myself, weren’t born and raised here. But we chose to come here, and we chose to raise our family here. So how do we make our community better and healthier and safer?” Le May Doan said.
“I would just ask people to fill out the survey even if it’s only good experiences, that’s great. If it’s bad experiences, that’s OK as well because we want to hear it, and we want to find solutions together. But we can’t do it unless we hear from people.”
The survey comes as part of the City of Calgary’s anti-racism action plan, and responses are anonymous.
Part of the reason for holding the survey was to better identify the experiences of Calgarians as they relate to sport, the city said.
Le May Doan said that Sport Calgary’s pitch comes as being a recognized neutral party for sport in the city, which also has engaged in numerous safe sport activities to improve the sporting experiences of Calgarians.
“We’ve partnered with Allison Forsyth with Generation Safe, and so we actually had a safe sport webinar today at noon for coaches and for parents, and we’ve been doing stuff for coaches and sport admin,” she said.
“When we talk about anti-racism, when we talk about safe sport, when we talk about EDIA it’s all-inclusive, and that’s our goal.”
She said that addressing the reasons why Calgarians might not choose to take part in sports is also an important data point in finding solutions to address that issue.
“Being a civic partner and understanding that our mandate is to help break down the barriers of participation, that’s when we look at what directs us. It’s a sport for life policy,” Le May Doan said.
“So, when we look at how do we break down those barriers, it’s about understanding where we’re at, because we can’t know everything that’s happening. We have a great relationship with our sport members, which are the sport organizations and facilities, but we want to hear from those who are participating or those who don’t want to participate.”
Survey findings will inform the City of Calgary’s infrastructure and recreation plan that is being put in place for the next 50 years.
“Let’s break down those barriers so that you feel included. Because I’ll tell you, there is something for everybody in the world of sport regardless of age, regardless of gender, background or ability. There’s something for everybody,” Le May Doan said.
The survey can be completed at www.calgary.ca/parks-rec-programs/sport-for-life/anti-racism-in-sport.html.
