SPORTSCANADA
SUMMARY
SportsCanada is a welcoming, online platform for parents to learn more about the Canadian youth Sports Community.
THE PROBLEM
In Canada, the decline of youth participation in sport has been occurring for twenty years. Furthermore, immigrant youth are far less likely to take part in organized sport than their Canadian-born peers. There are several different factors that prevent youth from participating in sports, including: the rising cost of sports, limited accessibility to information, and language and cultural barriers. Organized sport has the potential to teach youth transferable life skills while developing a lifelong habit of regular physical activity. The sports system needs to further embrace the multiculturalism of the country and begin to endorse it. Canada has the opportunity to be an innovative leader, especially amongst the other G8 nations. If organized sport becomes more accessible and affordable to the general population, sport participation rates across the nation will likely see a rise.
THE SOLUTION
In order to create awareness about the website, educational postcards will be distributed to every elementary school system in Canada. These post cards will highlight prominent Canadian athletes, and entice children to want to play sports. As as result, parents will go to the website to find more information about enrolling their child in extra-curricular sports.
The content of the website is complex, but it addresses all of the needs of the audience, and presents it in a user-friendly way. It touches on the sports history, trends and key figures, and provides key insights that can be applied to social environments to facilitate relationships. It will also provide information about leagues, fees and cost-saving techniques to encourage them to enrol their child in a sport, so they may form friendships and learn valuable life-skills.In addition to educating the public, this website will also be utilized as a platform for parents to arrange car-pools and trade sports equipment based on the changing needs of the child and league.
The website will facilitate an online community. These members can upload photos and sell or trade lightly used sports equipment that their child has outgrown. SportsCanada has the capability to improve the physical and mental well-being of the Canadian population. By encouraging participation in sports, parents will develop roots in their communities, and expand their local networks. In addition, the friendships formed between teammates will entice youth to continue playing, which will have a positive impact on the youth obesity epidemic.
