Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity 3.0


July 2019 – Sport for Life is proud to release the revised Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity 3.0 resource document. Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity is a framework for the development of every child, youth, and adult to enable optimal participation in sport and physical activity. This third edition brings a number of important updates and enhancements.

Since 2005, the flagship Sport for Life resource document has been called Canadian Sport for Life–Long-Term Athlete Development. The name has been controversial ever since. For those working with young children or older adults, the term “athlete” seemed inappropriate—“participant” better described the people they worked with. On the other hand, using the term “participant” made no sense to coaches and sport organizations who worked day-in and day-out with individuals who were clearly striving to achieve their athletic potential.

This resource is intended for everyone within Canada’s sport and physical activity ecosystem. One of the most persistent issues within this ecosystem is the way some groups continue to be marginalized and ignored. As a result, groups such as girls and women, individuals with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers to Canada, the LGBTQI2S community, aging adults, and those living in poverty and isolated communities remain under serviced and under-supported. Sport for Life works with content and context experts to build detailed components needed for each group and distributes them with the goal of building appropriate and meaningful Long-Term Development pathways for all.

Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity 3.0 is available in English and in French –Développement à long terme par le sport et l’activité physique 3.0