ABSTRACT
Sports participation leads to important health, social, and economic benefits for Canadians. The link between sports participation and health benefits has been consistently drawn in the literature. For example, sport and physical activity’s overall contribution to healthy living, decreased incidences of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease have been underscored in the literature (Bloom et al. 2005; Donnelly and Kidd 2003; Katzmarzyk et al. 2000; Plotnikoff et al. 2004). Sport has also been considered an important tool for social and cultural development. For example, sport’s role in national identity, national pride, and national unity has clearly been established in the Canadian context (Bloom et al. 2006; Macintosh 1996; Mills 1998; Sport Matters Group 2006). Sport has also been linked to social cohesion and sound character development (Bloom et al. 2008; Siegenthaler and Leticia Gonzalez 1997; Weiss 2008).
