OTTAWA -- Increasingly turned off by aggressive parents, excessive emphasis on competition and increasing costs in community sport, Canadians want a return to the values of respect, integrity and accessibility, according to a new poll released today by the True Sport Foundation (TSF). 

The poll, conducted for the TSF by The Strategic Counsel, shows strong support for community-level sport and a recognition of its importance – especially for young people.  However, Canadians feel that in the areas that are important to them, current programs are not living up to their promise.  For example, while 62% of respondents feel that reinforcing “respect and courtesy for others” is an important goal of sport, only 31% feel that current programs are doing a good job at it.  Similarly, 54% believe that sport should promote the value of fairness, but only 30% believe sport programs are delivering on that goal. 

And Canadians are clear about the reasons for the problems.  They think that sports have become too aggressive, and not just between competitors.  Sixty four percent of Canadians have seen a rise in “inappropriate parental behaviour” over the past two to three years, with majorities citing increasing trends in yelling at coaches, referees and players.  Fifty seven percent also believe that violence between players has increased over the same period. Cost is seen as the major barrier to greater participation in sport:  70% agreed with the statement that “many people can’t participate in sports simply because it costs too much.” 

“These results are a wake-up call that Canadians don’t like the direction that community sport in this country is going,” says Victor Lachance, Chair of the True Sport Foundation. “They’re seeing an uglier, more aggressive sport environment.  They’re seeing a system that is increasingly at odds with the values that are important to them in their community: respect, trust, access and just plain fun.  The sport we have differs markedly from the sport we want.”

“The findings in this poll should provide the basis for a national debate about how we can get our community sport programs back on track, about how to make them work for kids and families, about how we can get more people involved,” says Paul Melia, President and CEO, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “That’s what the whole True Sport Movement is about, with its focus on involvement, fairness and fun.  That’s why we’re seeing more and more communities across Canada adopting True Sport practices in their activities.”

True Sport is a national movement committed to the belief that sport makes a powerful and positive contribution to the development of people and communities. The True Sport Foundation is located in Ottawa. See www.truesport.ca.  

“True Sport is founded on the belief that no-one owns sport,” Mr. Melia explains. “It is a public trust which Canadians view as second only to the family in its role of transferring values to young people, and as an important part of our culture. Canadians win when we experience the joy of community sport and physical activity; when sport contributes to the physical and moral development of youth.”

The survey of 1,012 adult Canadians was conducted between June 9 and 12, 2005.  Results are accurate within a margin of error of +/- 3.085%.

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For information contact:

Cori McPhail
Communications Manager
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
613-521-3340 (x3210)