The National Coaching for Para Sport Summit Report

Abstract

The National Coaching for Para Sport Summit (NCPS), held on May 2–3, 2023, at the University of Alberta’s Steadward Centre, brought together a diverse group of coaches, researchers, athletes, and stakeholders to advance inclusive coach development in Canadian Para sport. Hosted in collaboration by the University of Ottawa, University of Alberta, the Coaching Association of Canada, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, NCPS brought together participants from across Canada. The NCPS, was designed as a hybrid event both in-person (Day 1: 38 participants; Day 2: 20 participants) and online (Day 1: 65 participants; Day 2: 9 participants). The NCPS aimed to catalyze sustainable systems change by fostering national dialogue, sharing research-informed practices, and co-creating innovative, user-centred solutions to address challenges in Para sport coaching. To guide this process, the summit adopted a Design Thinking (DT) framework (Brown, 2008), which emphasizes empathy, creative problem-solving, and iterative solution-building. Although widely used in business and education, DT remains under utilized in sport, making its application at the NCPS both timely and transformative. This report offered a thorough overview of the two-day summit and proposed recommendations for future actions regarding coach education for Para sport.