‘We feel like part of the team’: Sask. speed skating club targets diversity, inclusion | CBC News

It’s their first season with Saskatoon’s Lions Speed Skating Club, and they’re getting better each week. All this ice and snow are new to them, as are parkas, mitts and toques. Back in July, they left their native Jordan and arrived in Saskatoon.

“It is so awesome seeing the family and the kids on the ice every week,” the director of membership Darcie Gravel said, adding she’s glad the club is welcoming people from other countries.

Lots of newcomers

Teacher Roshan Heisat and engineer Anas Al Khrissat said they came to Canada to make a new life for their family, and speed skating has made the transition a lot easier. They’re part of a growing contingent of newcomers to join the club.

Al Khrissat said that English isn’t the family’s first language, but the sport is helping the kids.

“It’s one of the tools that we use to encourage them to speak English and know people here,” Al Khrissat said. “They will learn more and have more friends.” 

Heisat said the kids “told their friends in the school how much they enjoy the skating.”

And the club is happy to have them, Gravel said.

Learning to skate

“They are having so much fun and it’s super cool seeing them learn how to skate,” she said. “They just dove right in.”

This year, the club also welcomed families from Asia, Africa and South America. Gravel said inclusion and diversity are top priorities. It will help boost club numbers, and the chances of finding future Olympic gold medalists like Saskatoon club alumna Catriona Le May Doan, who will be Team Canada’s Chef de Mission at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

But most importantly, Gravel said, it’s just the right thing to do.

“Everybody should be included everywhere. Everybody should be able to have a great time and we’re all better because of it,” she said.

It’s not just about recruitment, but retention, she said. That means making families feel welcome and removing barriers. This fall, at the first competition, they club tested a new buddy system for the parents and guardians. They helped each other with equipment, entry forms, rules and rides.

There are plans to partner with newcomer and Indigenous groups in the new year. And thanks to a big donation from the estate of Saskatoon Olympic skater Johnny Sands, the club now has dozens of new pairs of skates for any recruits or school groups to try.

“We didn’t know how we register, the tools, or the equipment, or the technique and even the ways we put on the skates,” Al Khrissat said. “And all the other coaches, they are cooperating with us.

“They are friendly,” he said, adding they ask how everything is and how they can help. “We feel like part of the team.”

Heisat and Al Khrissat are also making friends while volunteering with fellow parents. Some practices are indoors, but Al Khrissat spent a recent cold, windy evening flooding the outdoor skating oval, dragging a thick hose several hundred metres across the ice.

Sask Sport’s provincial sport manager Rob Kennedy applauded the speed skating club. Saskatchewan is changing for the better and and sport needs to lead the way, he said.

“The demographics of our communities are changing,” Kennedy said. “To ensure that sport stays relevant, it has to be representative of all the participants in our province and potential participants in our province. I think that’s an important core value for us.” 

He said diversity is also a top priority for Sask Sport. The organization hopes to increase both participation and performance in a sector that once catered to only a narrow segment of the population.

“I think we’ve started to see a lot of clubs and sports starting to see the benefits of inclusion, of creating welcoming environments for all,” he said.

Kennedy pointed to the partnership between his organization and more than a dozen First Nations tribal councils across the province. Equipment and fees can be subsidized for low-income families through the Kids Sport program. And all coaches in all sports are now required to take a “Respect in Sport” course, which helps them to create a safe, fun environment while preventing bullying, harassment, sexism and racism, he said.

Back at Lion’s Arena, the kids practice turning in small circles. They fall repeatedly, but get up and keep trying. Heisat and Al Khrissat sit in the stands with Gravel and other parents until the session ends.

Al Khrissat said the kids will probably talk about speed skating all the way home.

“Saskatoon, from when we arrived here, they are friendly people,” he said. “The clubs and the coaches and the other people, I want to say thank you because you are supporting me and my family.”