For many, winter in the second coldest national capital on earth means you don a warm coat, sharpen your skates, wax your skis and enjoy what Ottawa has to offer.
But for some, particularly recent immigrants to Canada, winter and the opportunities for sport that go with it, can be vexing.
No other city in the country can make the claims Ottawa can. Within 30 minutes of Centretown you can downhill or cross country ski, skate on the world’s largest skating rink, winter camp, ice climb, snowshoe, dog sled, ice fish and so on.
But the City of Ottawa does nothing to help new Canadians prepare for winter sports.
There are many resources, provided by government and groups that help immigrants settle in Ottawa, designed to help new Canadians prepare for their first winter. They address important things such as how to dress, drive and walk in a land of ice and snow, but nothing about winter sport in Canada’s capital.
This is odd, considering being active is a key message Ottawa delivers to new immigrants through the city’s online immigration portal. There is even this advice from a Colombian immigrant on the website’s How I got settled section: “I recommend you learn as many winter sports as possible to avoid winter blues and to enjoy the beauty of the parks the city offers.”
However, other than pointing new Ottawans to the city’s parks and recreation page, there are apparently no programs to help for immigrants who may be interested in giving winter sports a try.
One of the main hurdles to sport participation among new immigrants is not knowing the ins and outs of what the Institute for Canadian Citizenship called a “highly structured sports system” in its July 2014 report.
The report found the cost for new immigrants was prohibitive, violence in sports such as hockey was intimidating and the monochrome makeup of sport in Canada was also daunting.
On the plus side, apart from health benefits, the report showed 87 per cent of those immigrants who got involved in sport within their first three years in Canada felt more connected to their new communities as a result.
Despite the benefits, immigrants make up a disproportionately small part of Canada’s sport landscape, according to Statistics Canada.
Data from the 2005 General Social Survey showed that 32 per cent of children of immigrants who have been in Canada less than 10 years are likely to participate in sports, while 55 per cent of those born to Canadian parents are likely to pick up a stick or kick a ball.
Even in soccer, often heralded as the world’s game, children of recent immigrants are 13 per cent less likely to play than their Canadian born counterparts.
According to the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership 2011 immigration strategy, sport is an important means to integrating the nearly 9,000 people that come to Ottawa each year.
In spring 2013 OLIP, which was formed by the City of Ottawa and Local Agencies Serving Immigrants, launched “Welcoming Ottawa Week” as means of getting immigrants involved in the
community.
The week featured sports “favoured by immigrants” such as cricket, soccer and tai chi, but no program aimed at introducing immigrants to Canadian sports or showing them how to navigate the sports system.
Maybe it isn’t incumbent on municipalities to host introduction to sports programs. In many communities it’s local groups or national sport organizations such as Hockey Canada or Curling Canada that hold outreach programs.
But, if the city is serious about sport as a means of integration and points new immigrants to sports leagues and recreational activities on its Immigration Ottawa website, then maybe it’s time for the city to host an introduction to sports workshop.
And with ski trails opening and the canal freezing, perhaps they could begin with winter sports.