For the 18th year, the Victoria Foundation is publishing the Vital Signs report, demonstrating areas where we, the community of Victoria, are succeeding and identifying areas for improvement. It also provides hope and optimism to create a vibrant, caring community. However, what is important about hope is the willingness and ability to create change that comes with it. If we do not work to move from hope to change, the results will not follow.
This year, our overall quality of life dropped to a B grade after receiving a B+ for the past two years. While the drop is not significant, it demonstrates that we have to create change to validate our hope for a better future.
Physical activity is an area where this type of work is evident, and it’s widely recognized that physical literacy can lead to great outcomes for the individual, their family, and their community.
Physical literacy aims to help children, adolescents, and adults build their confidence and abilities and find the motivation to be active for their entire lives. At the Pacific Institute for Sport Education (PISE) their goal is to give people the opportunity to experiment with different physical activities when they’re young so they can stay active and benefit from positive health outcomes.
While this example focuses on physical literacy, it can also be used as a framework in other areas.
The ABCs of Physical Literacy: Agility, Balance, Coordination
The concept of physical literacy begins at birth. Trying a new sport or physical activity helps build confidence and develop competencies, sparking the motivation to continue to grow.
“Physical literacy is not physical education,” explained Robert Bettauer, CEO of PISE. “Physical literacy is comparable to numerical literacy or phonetic literacy. As humans, we decided a long time ago that numeric literacy was vital to a human being able to function successfully in society, and likewise with phonetic literacy. Physical literacy is the same way. It’s developing the fundamental skills early in life: how to walk, run, catch, and throw. It’s agility, balance, and coordination so that, as a human being, you have the capacity and the motivation to be engaged in lifelong physical activity with all of the associated benefits. Our physical health is an essential component of our quality of life and is directly linked to our mental and emotional health.”
Having Fun While Developing Movement Skills
The programs at PISE are based on enjoyment and play-based infrastructure for the participants. Through games and activities that develop fundamental movements, such as throwing skills or using obstacle courses that involve jumping, the PISE leaders help children develop their physical skills while also encouraging them to build confidence and self-assurance. Engaging in movement through play, sport or any other form of physical activity helps nurture both the physical and mental aspects of child development.
Chris Wright, Manager of Physical Literacy Development at PISE, explained, “Developing physical literacy is a key component of staying active for your entire life. With support from the Victoria Foundation 13 years ago, we were able to showcase how we build the knowledge of educators in the classroom, demonstrating that everyone can play at the same time, no matter what their ability levels. That snowballed into the variety of programs we offer today. The funding gave us the ability to create a proof of concept to show people how to put the theory into practice.”
“The basic movements morph into every other movement,” said Chris. “Throwing, for example, is a tennis or volleyball serve. Many different things come from that fundamental movement of throwing. Just like running and agility, which leads to foundational movement skills, such as riding a bike, learning to skate, and beginning to swim. These are the actions that help to inspire a healthy lifestyle.”
Building Skills for Life
Physical literacy is not only an essential catalyst for growth and development, it can also create a lot of hope for children and their families. As skills progress and confidence blossoms, so do the possibilities for the future. Regardless of where an individual child is at, physical literacy helps lay the foundation for a successful and happy life. PISE adapts each program’s activities to accommodate everyone’s abilities, including those who experience a disability. Through simple modification — such as using a larger, smaller, or lighter ball — they can ensure everyone can play the same game at the same time.
“What we want to do at PISE,” said Chris, “especially with kids before the age of seven, is to build that skill level. We know that at seven years old, children start to perceive where they fall in terms of ability with other people around them. If we can build everybody’s skill level to a higher baseline, we know there will be less of an ability gap, and therefore more people will want to participate. Right now, there is a large ability gap between the people who can and the people who haven’t had much experience, and the people who don’t have that experience are much less likely to participate because they lack the confidence to join.”
“Not only are they developing that physical awareness of movement,” continued Chris, “but they are also maintaining that social connection as well, which is vital. We’re not separating people and saying, ‘Well, you guys are much better, so you’re going to go over there, and you guys aren’t very good, so you’re over here.’ Instead, we can all play together, doing the same activity in the same environment.”
A Space to Feel Welcomed
Anjit has two children with special needs, and COVID-19 was especially hard on them, resulting in behavioural issues due to the isolation. As well, it was difficult for Anjit to give the children the attention they needed as she was trying to be effective while working from home.
“My daughter had a tough year,” shared Anjit. “She was able to go to her regular program during spring break and was registered for the summer program. I assumed she was guaranteed a spot, as she had been going there for three years, but in May — keep in mind that most support spots are usually filled in February — we were told that the people running her program were not able to support her and her needs. I didn’t know what to do, so I started calling around to all of the programs in the area to see if there were any available spaces. I reached out to PISE, and they jumped on board to make space for both of my children, and they made sure the support worked around my schedule. As well, they allowed us to have the support people of our choosing. Having someone familiar to my daughter is really important, and they’ve made it possible for her to have the same person supporting her over the past three years. Honestly, it’s just been so successful. The kids have amazing days. They want to be there, and they feel wanted there.”
“They’re learning to play reciprocal games, like passing the ball back and forth, and that’s a new level of communication. My daughter used to keep to herself, but now at school, she’s more engaged with the other kids. If she sees them playing a game, she’ll try to get in there and play back and forth. It’s amazing.”
—Anjit, mother of two children at PISE
Good for the Body, Great for the Mind
The health benefits connected to physical activity — reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, improved weight management, bone and muscle strengthening, and more — are well known, but there’s also a direct connection to the mental health components of being active. Stress reduction, naturally boosted energy, more focus and motivation, and other benefits stem from an active lifestyle. “We know that the more active kids are in early childhood,” said Chris, “the more active they are likely to be in adolescence and adulthood. We’re playing the long game. There’s not an immediate impact, but we’re hoping that kids having a good time doing it now will inspire people 20 to 30 years down the road to continue being active and enjoying the benefits that come from it.”
Physical Activity for Everyone
The Victoria Foundation has been a long-time supporter of PISE, providing matching grants and other funding to bring sports-related programs to children throughout Greater Victoria. In 2023, the Victoria Foundation provided funding to PISE through the Community Grants Program to promote belonging and reconciliation and to ensure PISE can continue to develop a welcoming, inclusive environment where all participants feel safe, supported, and comfortable participating in physical activity.
Vital Signs Sports and Recreation Issue Area
This year, the Sports and Recreation issue area received a B grade, the same as the overall grade for quality of life. You can read more stories and explore the related data in the 2023 edition of Vital Signs.