Calgarians are embracing sports and recreation activities, with numbers from the latest reports from City of Calgary civic partners showing substantial increases in interest for use and for philanthropic donations to create more spaces.

Reports from both Sport Calgary and the Parks Foundation Calgary to the Community Development Committee have shown record amounts of growth for both organizations.

For Sport Calgary, participants in their All Sport One Day and All Sport One City events grew from 4,954 in 2022, to 11,353 in 2024, while the number of events held for equity-deserving communities under the All Sport One Community banner grew from 350 in 2023, to 2,800 in 2024.

For the Parks Foundation, the organization was able to sustain more than 120 projects per year, while increasing donor dollars towards recreation projects to more than $15 million annually, up from $12 million in 2022.

Catriona Le May Doan, CEO of Sport Calgary, said that the All Sport One Community growth represented not just numbers but also real connections made to communities across Calgary.

“When we look at this 700 per cent increase, that’s the All Sport One Community, it is an initiative that we’re able to do because the one-time funding we received, which was a four-year cycle until the end of 2026. What we’ve been able to do is to go into communities,” she said.

“It’s that connection to community that you can’t measure, because it makes our community stronger. As we look at this crisis that we’re in, not just nationwide, but worldwide, that feeling of community is so important. So I’m really proud of the work we’re doing.”

Among those events were an inclusive basketball program, a soccer partnership with Calvary FC for soccer in northeast Calgary, Women in Motion doing yoga, Bollywood dancing classes, and working with youth centres to get more young people involved in sport.

“It’s an opportunity to introduce sport, but not just for one day over a period of time, and we’ve had so many people reach back and say ‘I feel more included, I have confidence,'” said Le May Doan.

She said the importance of putting those numbers in front of Calgary city council was that councillors couldn’t go and talk to every single person impacted by the programming.

“They need to see the numbers. They need to hear the stories. You can’t go and talk to the 11,000 kids that have taken part in the free come try it, but you can see the images. Talk about joy, you see those smiles on their faces,” Le May Doan said.

Excited about the interest in donating

Sheila Taylor, CEO of Parks Foundation Calgary, said that there was an understanding that taxpayer dollars were limited and yet the need for recreational spaces was growing.

She said he increase in the number of donors willing to put money towards projects was indicative of the foundation’s ability to leverage City of Calgary funding towards the common good.

“Oftentimes, the city will give some funds and we’ll go out there and raise more. In that way, it’s a multiplying effect. Everyone benefits, from communities, to donors, to those people who eventually get out on the cart. So, we’re quite proud of our ability to really stretch dollars farther for greater impact.”

One of the metrics presented in the report to council included satisfaction with Parks Foundation programming, which has consistently rated over 90 per cent from participants.

“We’re here to help. So we reach right into communities and help figure out what they need, and then we support them every step of the way. Whether that’s giving advice, breaking down barriers, explaining how you get approvals, and then granting to communities, too,” Taylor said.

“So, we feel like that support that we’re giving is really recognized and appreciated.”

She said that providing this information to council was vital given the number of competing priorities that councillors weigh.

“Oftentimes, I think that parks are maybe forgotten about when there’s more urgent priorities. But at the end of the day, these are the spaces that we all value so much,” Taylor said.

“It’s critical that we all understand how important parks and outdoor spaces are to our communities. We see it every day, from when we’re growing up and making friendships, to in our adult years, and even well into our seniors. We appreciate the opportunity to go in front of council and talk about that.”

Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian said that hearing the annual civic partner reports was important for understanding, and one of the things she was looking for was to see how the partners were working together to achieve civic priorities.

She said that the Calgary Surge announcement on May 21 was a good example of that kind of partnership because of how many organizations it brought together.

“It is a good example of us supporting Parks Foundation, who builds these types of facilities, and then the Calgary Surge, which is a local basketball association, working with the Downtown Strategy Team to not only help kids, but also fulfill the downtown strategy,” Coun. Mian said.

She said that one of the challenges was that the one-time funding provided to partners in 2022 meant that there was pressure to turn around a return on investment in a short time.

“It’s certainly something that the next council coming to the next budget in 2026 should think about. What kind of investments do we want to continue making and maybe don’t want to continue making? Or you know, even, is there some type of civic partner we’re not working with that we should be?” Mian said.

“Those are all the questions that I don’t think we spend enough time thinking about, but we really ought to think about.”

The civic partner reports will be presented to the Community Development Committee on May 22.