You want to start a community sport/rec program. Where do you begin?
Very often, I get the same quiet question from someone in a community somewhere in Canada:
“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮… 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯?”
Not a high-performance academy.
Not a national governing body.
Just a 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯 trying to create a place for people to move, belong, and stay active.
And every time, I’m reminded of something important:
There is 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 for starting a community sport or recreation program in Canada. This is a reality we hope to change.
The information exists — but it’s fragmented.
Policies over here. Funding over there. Coach training somewhere else. Permits. Banking. Do I need to set up a formal business in my province? Does it have to be a not-for-profit? Do I have to keep and report financial records and file taxes?
Visibility? Mostly left to chance.
That’s one of the gaps Sportall.ca is intentionally trying to help close.
Not by replacing governing bodies, municipalities, or national organizations — but by 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 and making it easier to navigate.
Here’s how I imagine a simple “Start a Community Club” pathway 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 feel:
• See what’s already happening nearby before reinventing the wheel
• Understand affiliation options without pressure or jargon
• Access basic guidance on safety, inclusion, and well-being
• Become visible early so families can actually find you
• Learn from other community clubs — not just elite models
• Grow at your own pace – no pressure to scale fast
• And over time, help surface better data so decisions upstream are informed by what’s really happening on the ground.
Sportall is still growing. This pathway is still being shaped.
But the values behind it are clear:
👉 Access over complexity
👉 Visibility over guesswork
👉 Community knowledge over siloed systems
👉 Collaboration over competition
👉 Practical & supportive
If you’ve ever:
• Started a club from scratch
• Supported grassroots sport/rec
• Funded community programs
• Worked in recreation, education, or policy
• Or simply believe local sport deserves better infrastructure
I’d genuinely love your perspective. Send us a note. Share your thoughts on our social media posts. Let’s talk, let’s engage, let’s share.
What would have helped you most when you were starting out?
What’s still missing today?
This is an open invitation — to build something useful, together. We will continue to add more helpful information, hints, links, connections and share tools that help us all build a stronger community sport/rec ecosystem….no matter where you live in Canada.
Glenn Burton
Founder, Sportall.ca – we welcome you to email us with your input – sportallcanada@gmail.com
