Written by: Muhammad Abbasi, SportWORKS Officer, Sport for Newcomers Calgary
Sport for Newcomers in YYC.
Commonwealth Sport Canada’s goal is to promote sports in the Newcomer Community due to recent movement in migrations. The SportWORKS program is set to enhance the lives of youth and adult newcomers and low income families in Canada. Commonwealth Sport Canada has been around for many decades and was established to develop Social, Cultural, Physical well-being of communities.
The SportWORKS 2023 project has been launched to focus on sport for newcomers and meet Commonwealth Sport Canada’s goals. The Sport for Newcomers project in Calgary is led by SportWORKS Officer Muhammad Abbasi. As a SportWORKS Officer, it is my duty and responsibility to provide quality sports activities and understand the diverse cultural needs in sports for newcomers. My main focus would be to prevent barriers and provide the skills to accomplish that sport. Over the next 4 months, I will have newcomer youth and adults from low Income families participate in sports clinics and workshops. As a SportWORKS Officer, I am looking to build a sports directory with available resources around Calgary. Furthermore, increasing understanding of sports and involvement in physical activities will improve physical health in the newcomer community which will limit health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It will also help develop and improve self-confidence, physical education, mental health and discipline. I will engage newcomer participants with local sport organizations to prevent barriers to sport participation while sharing the beauty of cultural diversity in Canada.
-Muhammad