THE FUTURE OF HOCKEY LAB
In the fall of 2019, stories of racism and discrimination in the sport of hockey were surfacing in the media everywhere. The silver lining of these painful stories - and ultimately the motivation behind the bravery from so many coming forward - was that they compelled an examination of the sport’s many blind spots, declining participation, lack of diversity, and culture.
Hockey Nova Scotia wanted to take meaningful action. In December 2019 the organization mobilized a diverse group of well-respected leaders from inside and outside the organized hockey system and committed to a process of listening, learning, and building concrete processes. This group formed the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force. Their mandate was to make recommendations around what can be done to make the game welcoming and inclusive for all. To fulfil this mandate, the Task Force undertook an extensive public engagement process. Eight hundred and forty people - many who have either quit the sport or do not feel welcome - took the time to share important stories and thousands of ideas on how the game can be more safe and welcoming. The effort was shaped by the recognition that it is the lived experiences of those not considered part of hockey’s dominant culture that shed the strongest light on the systemic barriers to access. The full Diversity & Inclusion Task Force report can be found here. Two other core bodies of work generated additional data around current barriers and opportunities in hockey:
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Bottom line: Participation in hockey is reserved for a select few. No-one can argue that the sport of hockey does not represent the full diversity found in our broader society. (See Angus Reid Institute survey). There are many reasons for this and they are consistent across all research. Further, Canadian demographic shifts point to a steady increase in diversity, particularly in terms of countries of origin, race and ethnicity, and especially among Canada’s younger population.
According to a study by Deloitte, by the year 2031...
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Sport leaders everywhere are keen to see change but these issues are wide-ranging and complex – sensibly why they still exist - and progress can be enormously difficult in a system that is designed to resist change.
Our theory of change
WHAT IF… Folks from communities across the country could get all the supports they need to develop and TRY game-changing ideas and innovations. Running experiments around hockey culture and barriers to access, learning what works and what doesn’t—then growing, expanding and scaling everything that works for broader impact.
This is the Future of Hockey Lab.
WHAT IF… Folks from communities across the country could get all the supports they need to develop and TRY game-changing ideas and innovations. Running experiments around hockey culture and barriers to access, learning what works and what doesn’t—then growing, expanding and scaling everything that works for broader impact.
This is the Future of Hockey Lab.
