Get Ready for Sports Day in Canada

Sports Day in Canada, September 18, is to be a national celebration of sport, from grassroots to elite levels, in communities across Canada.  Sports Day in Canada will cap off a week of thousands of local sporting events and activities, open houses and try-it days showcasing sport at all levels, and will include a special television broadcast on CBC Sports.

Sports Day in Canada is presented by CBC Sports, ParticipACTION and True Sport and is an opportunity for all Canadians to celebrate the power of sport to build community, fortify our national spirit and facilitate healthy, active living. It is hoped that other elements of media in communities across the country, will support sport organizations and providers who hold Sports Day in Canada events, festivals, open houses, games, competitions, meet-and-greets, try-it days, tournaments, fun runs, spectator events and pep rallies that celebrate sport at all levels.

A similar initiative but with primary focus on one province, Nova Scotia, was mounted by the CBC’s maritime sports department 45 years ago. Called “Fitness Fortnight” the people of the province were invited to take on personal fitness challenges — setting high targets for number of holes of golf played during the two week period, or miles walked or jogged, or swum. Sets of tennis played and so on and on. All in the name of awakening the populace to the need for and value of striving for a higher level of personal fitness to combat rising physical inertia which was already marked as a future threat to productivity, health and happiness among the citizenry.

This national day of sport celebration will be marked by a well planned television event airing on CBC Sports. The Sports Day in Canada broadcast will profile five to seven standout cities that embody the Sports Day experience, linked by national anchor, Scott Russell. These towns will share the stories, the passion and the power of community sport with fellow Canadians. In the weeks leading up to Sports Day in Canada, CBC Sports is airing a pair of new weekly broadcast vignettes to raise awareness and drive participation of organizations and the general public in Sports Day in Canada, called This Week in Canadian Sport and ParticipACTION True Sport Moments.