Sport Council

Did You Know?

Why Sport Matters

Besides the obvious mental and physical health benefits of sport, there are many ways sport positively impacts the lives of everyone, whether you are playing, officiating, coaching, or spectating.

The benefits of sport are vast, and reach far beyond the gains an athlete will experience. The broader community benefits from sport in a variety of ways, including:

BUILDING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Sport opens up a social network with the community. Participants (and their parents in the case of youth participants) who may not have otherwise crossed paths meet and get to know each other.

Sport can form long-lasting connections between people

LIFE LESSONS

Important life lessons can be learned through sport at a young, developing age. Sport can teach healthy competition, the importance of strategy, critical thinking, and teamwork. Very often we find that leaders in our community were very active in sport as youth, where they learned those valuable life lessons.

A REASON TO RALLY

Whether it is cheering for Team Canada around an Olympic broadcast, cheering for team Alberta at the

Tim Horton's Brier at the ENMAX Centre, or coming out to the stadium on a Friday night to support the local high school football team, sport brings people together to cheer and support our teams and athletes.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Lethbridge hosts numerous sporting events every year. Some are small and some are large. They always bring people to town, often to stay for a few days. While they are here, they spend their money on hotels, at restaurants, shopping, at attractions, and they fuel up to go home. Every event hosted has a positive economic impact for our city. It was recently released that the Brier generated and estimated $16.8 million in economic activity for Lethbridge. It isn't just the big events though, a local skating club hosts a competition that brings nearly 700 athletes to town each year. When you factor in their families and coaches, it adds up. Recently Tier 2 soccer provincials were hosted in Lethbridge, and 42 of the 47 teams competing were from out-of-town. If you do the math, that is a LOT of people contributing to the economic activity in Lethbridge..

HELPS ACHIEVE BALANCE

In a world where the pressures and stress of life are never-ending, sport is a great way to change your pace and distract yourself, even if just temporarily. Sport doesn't have to mean organized, and it doesn't have to be competitive. A hike in the coulees, a round of golf, shooting hoops at the schoolyard, joining a game of shinny, playing grounders with the kids on the playground, all those things count, and will have a positive impact on you. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the reasons why sport matters. We really could go on and on. In fact, we think sport matters so much, we made a magazine to make it easier for you to find ways to participate in sport and active recreation. We invite you to check it out ---> https://lethbridgesportcouncil.ca/sportmatters