Ottawa (Ontario), February 6, 2012 - The True Sport Foundation (TSF) today announced the appointment of Dina Bell-Laroche, a long-time sport leader and Partner with the Sport Law & Strategy Group, as the second True Sport Fellow. The Fellowship was created in 2010 to explore and support sport’s contribution to the well-being of individuals and the resilience of communities.

Following the research on innovation conducted in 2011 by the first True Sport Fellow, Ian Bird, the TSF is pleased to announce the appointment of Dina Bell-Laroche as its second Fellow, effective January 31, 2012. Ms. Bell-Laroche is a highly respected sport leader who has a proven track record in researching and implementing new approaches to complex problems. In particular, she is known for her commitment to values-based processes and the leadership required to supporting sustainable and enduring results. Dina has worked with many sport organizations over the past two decades including Equine Canada, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the True Sport Foundation, and the Canadian Olympic Committee.  She is now a Partner with the Sport Law & Strategy Group, a consulting group specializing in providing strategic insights to the Canadian sport community in the areas of the law, organizational development, change management, governance, planning, and communications.

“We are very pleased that Dina has accepted our invitation to explore the kind of leadership structures and systems required for sport to achieve its full potential,” says Peter Leyser, Executive Director of the Foundation. “We are also looking forward to Dina’s insights on how we can advance the concept behind the Fellowship in a way that helps sport fulfill its potential to contribute to Canadian sport and society.”

“I am delighted to be named a True Sport Fellow and to be provided with a platform to continue to explore some of the concepts I uncovered during my Master’s research on the role of values within National Sport Organizations. I believe that leadership in sport needs to be better understood so that we can more effectively attract and retain the brightest minds within our sector,” said Bell-Laroche. “Given the complexities that we now face as a global community, sport leaders will need to enhance their own capacity to not only survive, but thrive in this very turbulent era. Increasing our understanding of the kinds of leadership traits, systems, and structures we need to support the growth and retention of highly skilled people is one of the most important challenges we have to address. I look forward to spending some time thinking more deeply about how leadership development in sport can help to leverage sport as a public asset over the next year.”

Each True Sport Fellowship offers an opportunity for an accomplished leader within the Canadian sport community to engage other sector leaders, in and out of sport, in exploring how we can better use sport and physical activity to address emerging opportunities and challenges. The Fellowship not only enables focused study, reflection and debate on key themes that are likely to shape sport and society over the long term, but it also offers a platform for testing new modes of communication, partnership and participatory learning. The True Sport Fellowship on Leadership Development in Sport is a one-year appointment and is supported by the Foundation through the organization’s human, financial and material resources as required.

Further information on how to engage and contribute to the True Sport Fellowship on Leadership Development in Sport will soon be released and posted here: www.truesportpur.ca

 

About the True Sport Foundation:

The True Sport Foundation is a national charitable organization committed to ensuring that sport makes a positive contribution to individuals and communities. The Foundation works with its many partners through programs and activities that promote values-driven sport for all Canadians.

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For further information, please contact:

Peter Leyser                                                 Dina Bell- Laroche

Executive Director                                          Partner 

True Sport Foundation                                   Sport Law & Strategy Group                        

613.526-6043                                                613.591-1246

pleyser@truesport.ca                                      dbl@sportlaw.ca