A sport panel organized by Sport Yukon sees Hope on the Horizon.

After a panel discussion on sport last Friday at The Old Fire Hall, the Star spoke with Sport Yukon President and Tennis Yukon director Stacey Lewis.

“On the tennis side of things, we really struggle with our coaching situation and our year-round programming, cause we have to go into a gym in the winter, which is eight months.”

Lewis said sustaining enthusiasm, volunteers and participation is quite challenging.

“In my Sport Yukon hat, I love Sport Law and have attended and done a lot of work with them in the past, so the fact that they’re here is so valuable to this whole sport community and I’m really, really excited about that.

“It’s really good, not just the perspective, but the expertise and some guidance.”

Lewis said she’d like to see more people, including new people, attend meetings like these.

“She added, “I’m really glad they’re here because we have a ton to gain. We have such an active community.”

Lewis said that Sport Yukon has over 75 member organizations.

“Not everybody knows what they’re doing. There’s a lot involved. So the idea and the opportunity for Sport Law to come to a place like this for us, is amazing.”

Sport Law’s Dina Bell-Laroche explained the concept of the tour.

“Sport Law and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport have collaborated to work in alignment and in collaboration with different provincial and territorial governments – so in this case it’s Sport Yukon – to host legal and leadership workshops … to address some of the risks that affect the delivery of sport but also to leverage the incredible good will and the assets that are here.

“We need to acknowledge that some of the systems, expectations, the rules that are coming down from national sport organizations may not be applicable or realistic in this structure here, so as we’re moving across the country, we’re learning a lot more about what the lived reality is for the different leaders on the provinces and territories and how it’s going to play out in community sport.”

Bell-Laroche pointed out that national organizations are more concerned with elite athletes, which only comprise one per cent of the athletic population, but those athletes started out in the communities.

She said they were there to talk about “what can we do here to elevate the playing field, how doing we make it more accessible, ensure safety issues are met, and we believe that these seven True Sport principles – you give that to a coach, and an athlete, and a parent, and an administrator and they get aligned on that language, we’re gonna see a reduction on all the unnecessary risks.

“We have to focus on the joy of sport, the values in sport and ensure that the leaders are being measured around that, not just the medals. And if we do that, I think we’re gonna see a big shift.”

When asked what she thought of the panel discussion, Bell-Laroche replied, “I loved it.” She pointed to Reid’s participation as an Indigenous representative as key to the discussion.

As for Saturday’s workshops, Bell-Laroche said she was looking forward to “learning, sharing and to creating hopefully more resourced people.”

Bell-Laroche said that learning included, “the knowledge about what’s coming because this threat of lack of volunteers is real. All the research is pointing to a next generation that just doesn’t want to volunteer. They may want to be experiencing sport, but their capacity to sub-divide their time will not be what we did in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

“Now we need to be the stewards. We need to say, ‘Sport needs to be for the people.’ So people in positions of leadership need to reflect the people we serve. Which means more people of colour, more women, younger people and make it inclusive, so that regardless of my orientation, my ability, my gender, my skin colour, I feel welcomed.

“That’s what keeps me hopeful. I think sport can be the difference-maker. I think sport can teach other sectors, and hopefully the world, that we need to get this right.”

Bell-Laroche added, “The islanders and the northerners are resilient. They figure stuff out. They connect to community, so I think the rest of Canada needs to learn how you’ve been able to deliver sport. And if we can be reminded of that and make better use of recreation facilities and resources, I believe that’s the way to go.”

Gordon Reid, president of the Board of the Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle, explained why he attended the discussion.

“I think it’s really important to step up and have that sense of inclusion and representation from our perspective, but not only about our perspective, it’s about being able to make some connections, and I feel like that’s what happened tonight.

“I think it was able to put some food for thought, plant some seeds and broaden the horizon … to be more inclusive.

“By the things that I shared, I think I was helping to illustrate why that’s important and how you can do it in a variety of different ways.”

Reid said the discussion was opening some doors and was “a continuation of what we’ve done in the past.

“I’ve heard tonight that I was also being invited back to speak some more and was recognized for what I was sharing as being helpful, and I’m wanting to provide further connection.

“I was personally invited to be here and that feels good. But it can’t stop here. It needs to carry on.”

Reid added, “I’m happy to make the connections I made tonight. It feels like the right thing. I want to see how that’s gonna pan out later, but it’s definitely steps in the right direction, for sure.”