A collection of initiatives that sends Canadian sport leaders (called SportWORKS Officers) to Commonwealth countries from 1 week to 1-year placements designing and delivering sustainable sport programs and building sport system capacity. Since 2001 over 200 Canadian sport leaders have enriched the lives of over 2 million youth in 26 Commonwealth countries.
CGC SPORTWORKS SPORT FOR NEWCOMERS (S4N) INITIATIVE:
Using the success of the SportWORKS program model, CGC has created an initiative focused on Commonwealth youth in Canada. The Sport for Newcomers (S4N) Initiative is designed to build and enhance the capacity of Newcomer Service Organizations (NSOs) in Canada leading to increased sport frequency rates and retention of Newcomer Youth. The Initiative aims to build NSO organizational capacity through internship placements of SportWORKS Officers, who assist with the transfer of knowledge and capacity building at NSOs for staff and volunteers, by developing resources/materials, building partnerships with local sport organizations, seeking local program funding opportunities and by assisting with the accumulation of data for baseline results of pilot monitoring and evaluation for future programming and longitudinal indicators.
The Sport for Newcomers Initiative includes:
CGC SportWORKS S4N Edmonton – Action for Healthy Communities
CGC SportWORKS S4N Toronto – Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre
CGC SPORTWORKS QESI INITIATIVE:
Queen’s Elizabeth Scholars Initiative (QESI): CGC in partnership with Universities Canada, Brock University, and Mount Royal University prepare, send and monitor 70+ senior sport management students on 4-month internships, supporting sport development and sport for development projects in various Commonwealth countries.
CGC SportsWORKS QESI projects include:
Bahamas – 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games Support
Botswana – Botswana Long-Term Athlete Development Project
Swaziland/Eswatini – Sport Values 4 Life (SV4L) Project
Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) – Rugby Development Project
Samoa – 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games Support
St Vincent and the Grenadines – Community, Multi-sport Club Development Project