Supported by the Makadiff Sports organization and the Government of Alberta, SPARC Alberta is a multi-stakeholder collaborative of partners in sport, physical activity, and recreation from across Alberta focused on supporting children and youth in accessing and participating in high quality, sport-based positive youth development opportunities.

Positive youth development is a strength-based approach to child and adolescent development based on the assumption that all youth have the potential for positive developmental change. It involves intentional efforts to develop interests, skills, and abilities that will enable youth to thrive, and promote positive outcomes through fostering positive relationships and providing opportunities to develop life sills.

In its 2019 survey of Albertans on culture and tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism, and the Status of Women found that more than 82% of Albertans believed that sport contributes to an improved quality of life (Alberta, 2019). However, youth sport is experiencing declining participation across the country and significant participation dropout across most sports. In addition, children and youth from lower-income families participate in fewer sports and less frequently than those of higher-income families.

Grassroots sport that is focused on positive youth development has several broad societal benefits including reduced crime rates, positive educational outcomes & wider health outcomes. Given the current pandemic and economic realities, we believe dropout and low participation trends will continue and possibly result in further significant declines in youth sport participation.

We can do better, and SPARC Alberta believes high-quality youth sport is an area for growth in our province. By teaching life skills, children & youth will not only perform better in SPAR environments but will also have better tools to successfully navigate situations and challenges outside of SPAR environments, thus finding greater success at home, school, and work, as well as in our communities. Together, we can create a culture of sport that embraces positive youth development and welcomes all children and youth to participate.