Written by: Becky Kolberg, Canadian SportWORKS Officer, S4N Ottawa
One and a half months in, and it’s hard to believe how quickly the time has gone by. At the same time, it feels like so much has already happened!
Helping build out the Sport for Newcomers (S4N) initiative in my hometown of Ottawa has made this experience feel that much more meaningful right from the start. It’s a city where sport plays such a big role in the community, and I’m looking forward to sharing how it’s all been coming together so far.
A bit about me before I get into it. I’m Becky, and I come from a background in sport management and marketing, where I’ve spent the past several years working on large-scale sporting events. Through that, I’ve seen how powerful sport can be in bringing people together. This role as a SportWORKS Officer has been a chance for me to step into a different side of sport, one that focuses more on community, access, and belonging for newcomer youth. That shift is really what drew me to this work.
The S4N Ottawa program is delivered in partnership with the YMCA of the National Capital Region through their Newcomer Youth Leadership Development (NYLD) program, which supports youth aged 13 to 25. At its core, the goal is to reduce barriers for newcomer youth who are interested in getting involved in sport, especially girls, and to create more opportunities for them to participate and stay involved over time. Our approach centres on “try-it” experiences and youth-informed programming, giving youth the chance to explore different sports in a low-pressure, welcoming environment.
One of the first things I got to be part of was SportWORKS training held here in Ottawa. Over these four months, S4N will be delivered in both Ottawa and St. John’s, Newfoundland, as the newest communities to join the program. It was great to connect early on with others involved in this work. It felt so collaborative right from the beginning. There was a real openness to sharing ideas, asking questions, and learning from each other, which made it feel like we were building something together. It helped put into perspective that what we’re creating with S4N Ottawa is part of something much bigger.
Since the beginning of March, my focus has been on planning and laying the groundwork. While we haven’t launched programming just yet, there’s been a lot happening behind the scenes to set things up for the coming months. A big part of that has been taking the time to listen and observe before jumping into delivery. I’ve had the chance to spend time with the youth in a few different settings, from joining them for a curling outing to being there during open gym, where I saw just how serious the boys are about soccer. I’d been told they just want to play, and it was clear right away that that’s exactly the case. Moments like these have honestly been some of the most valuable so far.
I’ll admit I was pretty excited to go curling after watching so much of it during the Milano Cortina Olympics, and here we were heading to the Ottawa Curling Club, home to Rachel Homan and her team, who had just won the bronze in women’s curling for Canada. It made for a cool setting. That part might not have meant much to the group, but getting out on the ice and trying something new definitely did. For many of the youth, it was their first time curling, and once we slowed things down and focused a bit more on the basics, you could see their confidence start to build. It didn’t take long before they were fully into it. We knew it was a hit when they started asking when they could go again.
Moments like that really stick with you. It’s a good reminder of how quickly interest can build when people are given the chance to experience something in a way that feels engaging and welcoming. It’s definitely got me thinking about what comes next and how we help them keep exploring the sports that spark that attention.
Alongside everything else, I’ve been spending time reaching out and connecting with local sports organizations and partners across the community. It’s been great to see how open and supportive people have been right from the start. There’s a genuine interest in getting involved and supporting the initiative, which has been incredibly encouraging as we start to build things out. It also shows how much this kind of work depends on collaboration.
As I move into the next phase, I’m excited to carry this forward in a way that reflects what I’ve been learning over the past month, not just what I originally expected. There are already so many ideas in motion, and with a four-month timeline, we’ve had to narrow things down a bit, so stay tuned to see what’s coming next!
– Becky