Hello and welcome back! It has been a while since our last post and we have all of a sudden arrived in Autumn! We quickly saw summer come to a close, kids returned back to school and finally lots of collegiate and professional sports seasons returned. (I am jumping up and down trying to contain my excitement!) Now here we are in October, a month to reflect on what we are grateful for, watch the leaves change colour and eat so much turkey that the tryptophan puts you to sleep for days. 

I would argue that it's the most wonderful time of the year! Not because of the cozy activities fall brings, but rather because today is National Sports Day (NSD)! 

National Sports Day was initiated only 2 years ago in 2019 to celebrate athletes, families and fans of all sports. So essentially this day is for all of you! 

Whether you like to walk every morning. Drive your kids from courts to fields then rinks and beyond. Enjoy skiing or playing softball with your family. Or yelling at the TV with your fingers crossed when your favourite team is in the playoffs. 

This day is for all of you!

The purpose of NSD is to discuss and promote the benefits of sport competition. Sport is such a powerful tool, it benefits individuals, groups and society as a whole. 

As an individual, I can personally attest to the contribution that sport made to my skill and character development. The skills I am referring to are not my ability to dribble or shoot a ball, but rather the communication, leadership, time management, problem solving and collaborative skills that I have been able to apply to my professional career. 

I have sports to thank for my resiliency, competitive drive, self motivation, confidence and discipline. So one of the benefits of sport which is also a goal of LTS is to prepare youth for the future using sport as a vehicle to do so. Something to be celebrated on a day like today. 

Sport has larger scale benefits as well. Sport brings people of all races, ages, religions and genders together. It is a unifier. Sport can teach lessons and leave us with beautiful memories of victory and failure. Sport is a vehicle for change. It provides a platform for legends like Billie Jean King to pave the way for female athletes of the future to have equal opportunity to participate, compete and succeed in sport and beyond. Or for brave individuals like Jackie Robinson to step up to the plate and break the baseball color line. 

So how can you celebrate? I encourage you to soak up some fall weather, get outside to golf, run, play in the park, throw around a ball or frisbee. Watch your favourite sports movie, documentary and appreciate the history of sport because it provides us with so many benefits.

Happy National Sports Day! 

Written by: Sarah Saftich