It's a tight race in the ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge Club Leaderboard

Thank you to everyone who has joined the Participaction Community Better Challenge so far! Canadians have logged over 50 million minutes of Physical Activity in the month of June with over 8000 of those minutes coming from OSSA Virtual Training programs! We are half way through our June sessions and there are still 2 weeks remaining in the Spring Series of OSSA Virtual Dryland!

The leaderboard in the Club Community Better Challenge is close! It's still anyone's race, so encourage your friends and teammates to sign up and show up to OSSA Virtual Training. https://forms.gle/5mim8xtH8WoTqN8R7

The winning club at the end of June will receive a $400 prize!

Thank you to ParticipACTION for funding our June OSSA Virtual Training sessions through the Community Better Challenge. ParticipACTION is funded by the Government of Canada.

Ontario Speed Skating Receives Jumpstart Sport Relief Fund Grant

In February, Canadian Tire Corporation announced an additional $12 million commitment to Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund to help sport and recreation organizations build back sport and play in Canada.

Jumpstart conducted a State of Sport study via Ipsos which revealed the pandemic has not only impacted current access to sport and play but has real long-term effects as well. Ontario Speed Skating and the communities we serve have experienced the impact of the pandemic first-hand.

We recently received confirmation that we are amongst over 500 sport and recreation organizations nationally to be provided with grant support through the latest round of Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund. In 2021, Jumpstart has already disbursed over $9 million in funding to more than 800 organizations across Canada through Jumpstart’s Sport Relief Fund. We are beyond grateful to receive this news and know the positive impact it will have on sport and recreation organizations, and ultimately, on kids across the country.

With Jumpstart’s support, we’ll be able to improve our organization’s delivery of inclusive and participant-centric programs through training and education to build a speed skating community that prioritizes equity, diversity and inclusion. First, we will establish an understanding and acknowledgement among our staff and members of the systemic barriers that exist for participants and potential participants in speed skating. This understanding will allow us to shift our focus towards implementing policies and programs that are built on a core foundation of inclusivity for all participants at all levels.

We will be announcing our diversity and inclusion education plans to the clubs this summer.

Thank you to Jumpstart for supporting our organization through the Sport Relief Fund!

Ontario Speed Skating Awards 2021

Ontario Speed Skating has a rich history of outstanding nominees and recipients of the OSSA Annual Awards. These exceptional individuals have excelled in the sport of speed skating as skaters, coaches, officials, volunteers, administrators and club representatives. This year, we would like to celebrate our members who have shown the same level of excellence.

The 2021 OSSA Annual Awards will recognize the efforts of an individual, or group of individuals, from each OSSA Club that made a significant contribution to the continuation of the sport of speed skating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have any nominees in mind for this award, please share with your Club's board members.

Ontario Speed Skating will announce the award recipients on the OSSA website, in OSSA E-News and through our Social Media channels during the summer of 2021.