By Evan Midford, Website & Social Media Coordinator
Winnipeg Newcomer Sport Academy (WNSA) was founded and formed in 2016 and offers quality sport programs to newcomer families as they settle into their new community. It is a multi-sport program offering opportunities to sample many sports. Additionally, the organization aims to assist youth and their families to connect with quality sport programs and other opportunities through involvement in sport.
The program runs for 50 weeks of the year, twice per week, and families can register children ages 4-14 to participate free of charge.
Carolyn Trono, founder of WNSA and the volunteer Executive Director, says, “We get to know the families a bit better and the kids see more results when there’s consistency in their participation, so we often get the families to commit to the program for a minimum of six months. What’s unique about it is that we also program for a whole family at once, so all the kids in the family get to stick together.”
WNSA offers a variety of sport options, but skating and swimming are traditionally harder to access and afford so they get a prominent focus. Soccer is also offered quite regularly.
“You name a sport, we’ve probably offered it at some point through the program,” she says.
They also offer transportation, so it relieves pressure on the parents and reduces barriers to participate. Programs are offered in the downtown Winnipeg area and at the University of Manitoba.
Working Together for Strong Sport Programming
WNSA works with many partners to ensure they offer quality sport programs in a safe and inclusive environment and that each program is staffed by qualified coaches and volunteers. To get off the ground, WNSA worked closely with Sport Manitoba to organize and develop high-quality programming and to learn how to make it sustainable. Today they remain well connected, and kids from WNSA often participate in some of Sport Manitoba’s events, like the Girls Multi-Sport Series and Game Day.
Families are referred to WNSA from newcomer settlement agencies, which Carolyn says is the best way to get families involved because the agencies can help assist with any translation barriers and they tend to already know the families’ situations. Teachers at various schools also refer families to their program.
“Our focus is really resettlement, integration, and inclusion,” she says. “So within those first five years of being in Canada, we help the families adjust to their new life and introduce them to physical activity and sports and then hopefully when that five years passes they move on to more mainstream sporting programs when they’re ready. Sometimes that happens really quickly and other times it takes a bit longer.”
Multi-Sport Athletes In the Making
The main benefit to the program is the exposure to a wide variety of sports that without WNSA the kids would never get to try. The coaches, facilities, and equipment are all high quality, which serves as a positive introduction to sport.
Carolyn says she sees a true measure of success when the kids leave the program and go try out for a sports team or they take the skills from the program and integrate sport into their everyday life. It demonstrates the positive impact this program has had in building kids’ confidence.
“Groups tend to participate in silos so they rarely get to know newcomers, and a great way to get to know people is through sport,” she says. “That could be children participating together on a team or parents sitting together and talking on the sideline with people who have come from a country different from their own. Not only is that a benefit for the newcomers, but I think it also really helps to make our Canadian society more inclusive.”
Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk
One of WNSA’s objectives is to work in collaboration with other newcomer-serving agencies to combat racism, systemic racism, and discrimination including system barriers for newcomers and other minority groups. They aim to ensure that, throughout the organization, there is a balance of 50 per cent Canadian-born and 50 per cent lived-experience as a newcomer among the board, staff, and volunteers.
“We try to remain open about any negativity and systemic barriers and address those head-on so as not to drive anyone away,” she says. “It’s not all about performance in sport. We’re trying to introduce sport as a way to be healthy, not just physically and mentally, but also in society as a way of connecting. We all get to know each other through exchanges and interactions, and we act as a host through sport and physical activity.”
Overall, WNSA aims to provide quality multi-sport programming that is developmentally and culturally appropriate based on research related to growth and development. Through sport, they help families get introduced to Canadian culture together in a safe environment.
