‘A lot of different ideas’: Canada’s sport leaders meet in Ottawa to discuss next steps

Every marathon begins with a step. Let’s all row in the same direction. Don’t be afraid to get out ahead of your skis.

When you bring together around 400 of Canada’s pre-eminent sports leaders in one room, you’re bound to be blasted in the face with, well, sports metaphors.

So yes, all three of the above cliches were indeed uttered in some capacity at the Playground to Podium Summit at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which began Monday and intends to chart a new path forward for an industry that was in desperate need of a refresh.

For years, the cry from Canadian sport was, “if only we had the resources,” federal Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in his opening remarks. “Now, we do.”

A mixture of NSO executives, private-sector leaders, athletes, philanthropists and more convened with van Koeverden to discuss how best to use the government’s nine-year, $2.5 billion investment into sport, which includes $1.5 billion toward infrastructure announced in last week’s budget, and how to modernize the sports system as a whole.

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It wasn’t a day full of news or groundbreaking announcements. Panel discussions were useful to some, less so to others. A workshop with 100-plus people can only be so valuable.

“I don't know if I really recorded any direct quotes, but it was like a lot of different ideas were coming together. Just making those connections and thinking of things differently,” said 14-time Paralympic biathlon and Nordic medallist Mark Arendz.

There was, however, a sense of cautious optimism. Reason to believe things are on the track to change for a system that has been underfunded and broken. Collaboration. The sprouts of some ideas — born partially in boardrooms and