From far and wide to WinSport

WinSport puts the ‘world’ in world-class in more ways than one.

Widely regarded as one of the finest sport facilities available anywhere, the Olympic legacy venue attracts individuals from a long list of nations.

Oftentimes it is high-performance athletes choosing to come here to train and compete, but its appeal certainly extends to a more underserved population, as well.

Back in 2022, WinSport partnered with Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) to offer an impactful opportunity: Teens relocating from the other side of the globe could become better integrated into a whole new way of life while leveraging sport as the ultimate unifier.

WinSport teamed up with CCIS and Brock University to deliver Immigrant-focused Physical Literacy for Youth—cleverly and concisely referred to as IPLAY.

Participants were provided with transportation to and from Canada Olympic Park for 90-minute weekly sessions across a total of eight weeks. Improving general movement skills and sport-specific competencies were obvious objectives, as were enhanced social connection and increased self-assurance.

“What we do know is that newcomer youth, in general, are less active than their Canadian-born peers,” says Dr. Matthew Kwan, an Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University, who initiated the IPLAY program and conducted research. “So, this an important group to really focus in on.”

The research on the positive impact of the program was published in December, entitled: Investigating the impact of a novel movement behavior program for refugee youths in Canada: the IPLAY program.

The now-Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at WinSport, Jennifer Konopaki, points to the large-scale difference that IPLAY can hopefully still make moving forward.

“WinSport is so honoured to work with community partners like the CCIS to make a difference in the health and well-being of young people’s lives,” she says.

One of CCIS’ Youth Sports Program Facilitators, Farookh Aslam, was thoroughly involved throughout.

“Different physical activities were gaga ball, kin-ball, ice luge, and even wheelchair basketball, all of which most of the youth had never tried before,” says Aslam. “We took the best approach we could to different situations as some of our youth come from cultures that don’t allow certain sports, and some that don’t allow girls to participate.”

CCIS continues to work with multiple youth sport and recreational program hosts in Calgary, highlighting basketball, swimming, badminton, and soccer. Yet in the eyes of the largest non-profit of its kind on the Prairies, WinSport stands out from the rest.

“There was lots of space for the youth to use and lots of different activities for them to try,” says Aslam. “It really helped the youth see that being in Canada and having it be winter almost half the year, it can be difficult to think about what activities you might be able to pursue. Seeing those at WinSport’s facility was great, to know that they could do that.”

From a big-picture perspective, CCIS extends various forms of support to newcomers of all ages by way of short-term housing, employment opportunities, and counselling sessions. Travellers are also officially welcomed at the Calgary International Airport to celebrate their arrivals and foster an immediate sense of belonging.

But the IPLAY program is particularly meaningful to Aslam. Thirty-five of the 38 participants he helped mentor arrived from Afghanistan, the same country of his family origin.

Aslam’s personal connection to this group of WinSport guests only added to the fact that the program was a resounding success.

“A lot of the feedback that we got was that they were happy to have something outside of school that they could participate in and see some of the friends they don’t get to see at school,” says Aslam. “Towards the end of it, a lot of them also reported better confidence when trying something that was new to them, especially when it comes to physical activity or sports in general. They had a healthy and safe competitive environment to participate in.”

Just how transformational, all things considered, is the universal power of sport?

Time after time, the results speak for themselves.