Nestled on the historic Paskapoo Slopes, WinSport has long been a gathering place. Today, it thrives as a space where high-performance sport and community recreation coexist, thanks to the foresight of leaders such as Frank King and the Olympic Bid Team, as well as the enduring support of those who keep the spirit of WinSport alive. We believe sport can change lives — and at WinSport we’ve seen it happen over the past several years with numerous social impact programs.

What began as a safe space became a launchpad. Talan’s challenges didn’t dis­appear, but he learned how to stand taller in the face of them. His time at Win­Sport has helped him transform pain into power, and vulnerability into courage. Today, that confidence carries with him everywhere he goes, and his mom is forever thankful. Because at WinSport, sport isn’t just about performance — it’s about healing, growth, and hope.

“WinSport improved my son’s mental health and turns out, mine too,” says Talan’s mom, Tatiana.

In the summer of 2025, WinSport hired two Inclusion Facilitators, Alyssa and Mollie, to ensure summer campers in need of specialized assistance could fully participate in the daily programming across Canada Olympic Park.

The extra helping hands were available for anyone struggling with stress, anxiety, overstimulation, ADHD, homesickness, or the like, with the goal of best meeting participants’ needs for emotional and behavioural regulation.

“At WinSport, we worked with every single summer camp,” says Alyssa. “Our job was to help different kids with different disabilities stay in camp and have the best time at camp.”

Approximately 10-15 kids were assisted during each of the eight weeks of summer camps who could then reap the full social and physical benefits of the fun-filled environment. With their vast experience, calm presence, and supportive spirits, Alyssa and Mollie made a lasting impact on a long list of deserving families at WinSport this summer.

“The kids impacted me a lot,” says Alyssa. “I gained so much experience and knowledge from working with the kids. I learned things that I did not think I would know. It was just so awesome learning different perspectives and watching them grow.”

“The way they set up the Adapted Sport Program allowed anyone with any ability to participate,” says Cassandra, who recently brought her son all the way back to WinSport just to share their story together. “He fit in immediately. They set up the sports for each individual and adapted them to different levels. It was an instant fit.

“He became a lot more confident and started expressing himself in wanting to try other sports that weren’t even offered through this Adapted Sport Program. We wanted him to keep building himself through sport.”

Participants were provided with transportation to and from Canada Olympic Park for 90-minute weekly sessions across a total of eight weeks. Improving general movement skills and sport-specific competencies were obvious objectives, as were enhanced social connection and increased self-assurance.

The research by Brock University on the positive impact of the program was published in December 2025, entitled: Investigating the impact of a novel movement behavior program for refugee youths in Canada: the IPLAY program.

CCIS continues to work with multiple youth sport and recreational program hosts in Calgary, highlighting basketball, swimming, badminton, and soccer. Yet in the eyes of the largest non-profit of its kind on the Prairies, WinSport stands out from the rest.

“There was lots of space for the youth to use and lots of different activities for them to try,” says Aslam. “It really helped the youth see that being in Canada and having it be winter almost half the year, it can be difficult to think about what activities you might be able to pursue. Seeing those at WinSport’s facility was great, to know that they could do that.”

For Ling Zhou and her son William Harder, both able-bodied participants who participated in 2023 during a lacrosse exhibition, it was a great family opportunity.

“Today is my first time to do it with William. We played together and learned teamwork, to be a team player, to have patience, to take turns and to improve our skills,” said Zhou, whose son has special needs. She also works with special needs individuals. These adapted programs will be very beneficial for children with special needs to get active and to improve their cognitive life as well.”