Anna Walker’s Post

The Future of Sport in Canada Commission is dedicated to making recommendations to improve safe sport and the sport system in Canada, particularly in light of recent revelations by victims, survivors, and advocates who have courageously shared their experiences and brought to light systemic maltreatment that occurs at all levels and contexts of sport. Through a trauma-informed approach, the Commission aims to gather insight from victims and survivors of maltreatment in sport, as well as subject-matter experts, academics, advocates, stakeholders, sport participants (including athletes, parents, coaches, administrators, and other support personnel) and the Canadian public about their experience in and with sport. @FutureSportCA wants to hear from athletes, coaches, officials, sports organizations, and a range of sector experts on the best ways to address physical, verbal and emotional abuse in sport. Join the conversation: https://lnkd.in/g6Rs3Ze7

New data from Sport England reveals community sport and physical activity in England generated an annual social value of £107.2 billion in 2022-23, with £96.7 billion attributed to wellbeing benefits and £10.5 billion in healthcare savings 🔉 Key findings highlight that physical activity prevents numerous health conditions and generates significant savings for the NHS, including £540 million from reduced GP visits and £780 million from mental health service use.    We support the calls of the National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) for continued investment in sport and physical activity, urging the Government to protect funding and collaborate on plans to promote physical activity as a key tool in preventative healthcare 🧘♂️ Read more here: https://bit.ly/3NBeTqP Watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/40g3cNU  

Some key insight here further emphasising the wider ripples that participation in sport and physical activity can have on individuals and communities.

Olympics and pandemics - one of the many (but more or less balanced) articles about the Paris Olympics, where many athletes have competed while having COVID-19. Cf: Risk-based management of international sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 102 (‎8)‎, 608 - 614. World Health Organization. (which was submitted in 2023, but in true WHO fashion was published only recently). https://lnkd.in/gJJi7p33 https://lnkd.in/g4NPzqEs

We all know that physical activity is good for us. In fact it’s been cited as a ‘miracle cure’. Sport England's new research shows the huge value that physical activity has on society and the economy, including improving our health, preventing illness and saving the NHS billions. However, in London we’re facing a physical inactivity crisis with those in the poorest communities facing the greatest challenges of inequalities and barriers to leading an active life, which has a detrimental impact on their health and well-being. We need more investment and commitment from local and national Government - as well as corporates, elite sport and others - to create more equitable access to sport and physical activity, and unlock the huge benefits for our economy, health and society.

Is It OK to Be Around People When You Have COVID? Noah Lyles competing in the Olympics with COVID has sparked the question By Rachel Nania and Suzette Lohmeyer Noah Lyles’ name will likely go down in history as the American bronze medal winner of the 200-meter run at the Olympics — who competed with COVID-19. Impressive, absolutely. Controversial, definitely. Though he says he quarantined as soon as he tested positive, he was around trainers and other athletes when he ran. And fans of all ages filled the stands. His decision made headlines: “Should Noah Lyles and Other Olympic Athletes Be Competing With COVID?” wrote Fortune, and “If Noah Lyles Had COVID, Why Was He Allowed to Compete in Paris?” asked The Hill. But why the backlash? Lyles didn’t break any rules. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement that it followed all guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as local authorities and left it up to the individual athletes as to whether they were OK to compete. The question seemed to be more along the lines of whether what Lyles did is socially acceptable considering he might have infected others. Is that … unkind? Dangerous to those especially at risk — older adults and the immunocompromised? What do we call it? And to be clear, he wasn’t the only athlete there with COVID, according to the World Health Organization; 40 others tested positive in the last two weeks. So how does the current culture around COVID match up with best practices? Should an Olympic athlete be expected to throw away four years of training and forgo the competition? The equivalent for us non-Olympic athletes is, say, missing your child’s wedding or a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet your favorite rock star. During the height of the pandemic, the answer from experts would have been a resounding yes. But what about now?  Continued......please click on banner image below to finish reading this opinion piece. Posted by Larry Cole

In sport, not everything is gold medal. More than ever, we are increasingly dealing with athlete health issues, such as burnout, injuries from repetitive actions, and lack of support and monitoring..., unfortunately . All these hot topics in health-sports will be discussed in an excellent panel of Health and Sport UIA Commissions at the 68th Congress of the International Association of Lawyers - UIA. Join us! Registrations are open, and those who register now will benefit from the special rate. UIA Union Internationale des Avocats Colette SURIN Jacqueline Scott Shigeki Takahashi Yoshihisa Hayakawa Janice Mulligan Pierre Lacoin Ettore Botteselli Willi Künzli #SportsHealth #AthleteWellness #BurnoutPrevention #SportsInjuries #AthleteSupport #UIA68Congress #LawAndSports #HealthInSports #SportsLaw #AthleteCare #OlympicHealth #LegalSupportForAthletes

The focus is understandably on athletes in the attached as it came from a consensus statement by the IOC on mitigation measures to safeguard athletes health. There is also the risk from extreme summer temperatures to the wider and larger number of staff and volunteers working outside for long periods of time, not to mention spectators. “Unfortunately, the level of environmental heat stress experienced by elite athletes will continue to rise in the coming years due to a combination of the increased prevalence, intensity and duration of bouts of … heat waves that are occurring due to climate change, and sport globalisation leading to more competitions being organised in extremely hot climates.” In the Guardian piece you can click through to the British Journal of Sports Medicine and authors of the 'IOC consensus statement on recommendations and regulations for sports events in the heat'. An interesting read for both event organisers and athletes, detailing all sorts of risk mitigation measures for major summer events. Not mentioned, but perhaps the time has come for international federations to review their global calendars, reduce the number of events and re-schedule those traditional summer outdoor competitions away from the extreme temperature months? https://lnkd.in/gQVif4xf

*New Blog Post* Sporting excellence and keeping our sports people safe. Paris Olympics 2024 is nearly upon us, and with it we will hear stories of adversity to triumph. We know from past stories that anyone in sport working their hardest to follow their dreams can be at risk of exploitation and abuse. Many feel they have to keep silent, so not to jeopardise their chosen path, but this causes long-term health issues which can last a lifetime. We need to continue the efforts to have safe spaces and practices in sport to keep children and adults safe from harm. We need to have clear oversight of sport governing bodies, to ensure concerns can be brought safely and investigated impartially. Read more from Erica Marks, CEO of Migdal Emunah here: https://lnkd.in/d_beT4pg #migdalemunah #JewishSexualAbuseSupportEdited · 2 m

Introduction by Croakey: Reports of Olympian athletes competing with COVID-19 raise questions about the apparent lack of public health measures in place to better protect the athletes as well as spectators, support teams, staff and volunteers. Elite athletes generally have a lower risk of developing severe illness than general populations – however, they are not immune to impacts from the virus, with some withdrawing from Olympic events due to COVID. “COVID also takes a more serious toll on the body than either colds or the flu,” Dr Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease doctor at University of California, San Fransisco Health, told Scientific American. “While most Olympic athletes are healthy and have access to cutting-edge medications, young people sometimes display mixed responses to infection.” The risk of COVID infection for others at Olympic venues and events also needs to be considered. As we turn to the Paralympics on 28 August, Dr Bronwyn King AO – a public health leader and former elite swimmer and Australian Swimming Team doctor – provides some timely suggestions for how large events can be managed in the future. King, who is also Burnet Institute special advisor on clean air, says that enhanced mitigations “could better protect everyone in the Olympic community”. She also suggests that if it’s good enough for Australian Olympians to be supplied with an antiviral medication for COVID for free, it should be good enough for all Australians. This is the first story in a two-part Croakey series on the COVID Olympics.