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The thwack of a pee wee baseball player's bat finally connecting with the ball and the decisive footfall ofthat first perfect cartwheel resonates beyond the baseball diamond and the gym. In a supportive sports environment, children have fun and create memories, friendships and skills that can last a lifetime — and communities are built on these connections. However, when a young athlete is singled out or even ignored by teammates or coaches for a perceived lack of talent, or cultural, or gender differences, it can give rise to an “I can’t” frame of mind causing them to self-select out of sports experiences at a young age. This is a concern, especially as we battle a crisis of physical inactivity.

Apart from supportive teammates and coaches, part of a positive sport experience is to try to learn several different kinds of sports. As the famous quote says, variety is what adds the spice to our lives and the same goes for playing sports. Currently, the term multi-sport is gathering steam and is at the centre of discussions about how to make sure all kids have the opportunity to be physically active by jumping, running, catching, swimming, tumbling or kicking in different activities — this is physical literacy.

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Understand community assets, needs and interest to participate Identify/remove barriersDevelop shared understanding of quality multi-sport activities

Identify opportunities for quality multi-sport activities Deliver quality multi-sport physical activities

Participate in quality multi-sport experiences

Skills, knowledge, networksMake friends and have fun

Build confidence and trust

ACTIVE FOR LIFE

Participate in other sports & active play Active transport Engage in volunteerismAcademic achievement

Sports ExcellenceSocial Well Being Health Economic

Safety Community Connectedness Belonging, Pride

Life Skills: Personal Resilience Perseverance Coping skills, adversity/Loss

THE EAST SCARBOROUGH MULTI-SPORT COLLABORATIVE

WORKING TOGETHER

The East Scarborough Multi-Sport Collaborative has the potential to foster opportunities to provide high-quality academic experiences for students and faculty at the University of Toronto Scarborough and increased access to sports facilities and education of physical literacy and recreation programs for children, youth and community members. The result has been an increased ability to see communities, who historically have not partnered, begin to identify the possibility of partnership across borders using sport/recreation/play to bridge worlds.

Kimberley Tull, Manager, Community Development & Engagement Planning, Partnerships and Strategic Affairs, University of Toronto Scarborough

The beginnings of the East Scarborough Multi-Sport Collaborative (the Collaborative) began when the Toronto Sport Council was unable to find a sport club in Toronto that was willing to go multi-sport. At the same time, there was a group of organizations in East Scarborough which expressed an interest and helped set in motion the formation of the team specifically for Wards 42, 43 and 44 of the City of Toronto.

East Scarborough has a diverse population of 190,000. It was the ideal urban village on which the Collaborative could focus, to plan a recreational environment where all children can become active for life.

INDIVIDUALSparticipants & families

EAST SCARBOROUGH

Comunity Collaborators

BROADER COMMUNITY

The Collaborative welcomes everyone who wants to build healthier communities through sport. To date, there have been representatives from over 100 groups engaged in the process, many participating in research, programming and steering committees. Wanting to ensure that activities strengthen the mandate of participating organizations, the Collaborative has a flexible approach, allowing partners to participate in a manner and frequency that is appropriate for their organization at a given time.

COLLECTIVE IMPACT

Being involved with the Collaborative has allowed my organization to reach out to the community and deliver on our mandate in ways we haven't been able to before. Having this collaborative as a means of connecting with various community groups has been a fantastic resource for the Scarborough Titans. The dialogue and discussions within the Collaborative has fostered growth and development for myself and my organization.

Blair Mackintosh, President, Scarborough Titans Volleyball Club

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A big dream calls for a dream team but this committed group of partners needed more than their diverse and complementary skills, expertise and connections. The Collaborative embraced the Collective Impact process, whereby diverse organizations work together to tackle complex social problems like childhood obesity.

Collective Impact is being used more and more by the not-for-profit sector to build trust, cooperation and action. While this approach requires commitment, time and acceptance that the path forward maybe messy and unclear, it also works! It is based on the following conditions:

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MAKING IT HAPPEN

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

The Collaborative has to date received financial support from the McConnell Family Foundation as part of the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) Community Connections Project. Matching funds from the Royal Bank of Canada and additional support from the Heart & Stroke Foundation and other funding for various individual projects provided the resources for achieving the following:

Like supporters cheering on runners at the finish line, the East Scarborough Multi-Sport Collaborative hopes to be able to continue to shout the loudest — with many voices but one vision — for a healthier future.

Articulating the “I can’t to I CAN” journey Theory of Change and building its common agenda.

Identifying the programming gaps in East Scarborough.

Identifying the barriers to new multi-sport program opportunities for children and youth.

Seeking out grants to turn its common agenda into action.

Developing a community-based, multi-sport Long-Term Youth Leader program to ensure East Scarborough youth have the skills, confidence and connections to be program leaders in the community.

Producing the upbeat YouTube video, “Your Child in Sport” to inform parents about what to look for in a quality sport experience.

Bringing rugby, volleyball, and learn-to-run opportunities to several groups in East Scarborough — more kids already busy having fun!

Hosting a physical literacy mini-summit for East Scarborough organizations and youth in the fall of 2015.

Supporting the organizing of a community run in the fall of 2015 hosted by University of Toronto Scarborough and East Scarborough Storefront.

The East Scarborough Multi-Sport Collaborative has helped bring together various levels of sport and community organizations to share knowledge on how we can have the greatest impact and get more people active. It has allowed the East Scarborough Storefront to share its community development approach with the sports world.

Ewa Cerda-Llanos, Manager of Community University Initiatives, East Scarborough Storefront

To join the conversation please contact:healthysport4all@gmail.com