(Ottawa, Ontario – June 18, 2020) – The True Sport Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund sport study scholarship. The awards, in the amount of $2,000 each, have been awarded to Denis Beaudoin for his project, “My sport: A school of life,” and Kassidy Ford for her Master’s project, “Assessing academic, athletic and psychosocial outcomes among student-athletes in a unique partnership-based program.”

The Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund is a national endowment fund established by life-long leader in sport, Lyle Makosky. The sport study scholarship program provides annual financial awards to support the study of values and ethics-based challenges, and related policies affecting non-professional Canadian sport. The True Sport Foundation manages the program and selects award winners.

“There is usually a question of values at the core of the challenges and issues facing sport today… which values do we wish to be embodied and reflected in Canadian sport; which values are important to engage; which fundamental values are under threat, and so on. It is encouraging to see that the Values and Ethics Fund is helping to reveal and support the thoughtful and engaging study of such questions in Canadian sport,” said Lyle Makosky on the announcement of the 2020 awards.

“Denis and Kassidy’s academic and athletic experience will be tremendous assets in their research which we trust will inform the Canadian sport community,” said Karri Dawson, Executive Director of the True Sport Foundation. “The quantity and quality of the applications to the Lyle Makosky Fund should not go unnoticed; all of these research efforts will contribute to the movement for values-based sport.”

Denis Beaudoin is a former national level athlete and coach working with Polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau School. Denis is also vice-president of Kaizen Budo International and chief instructor at Beaudoin Karaté in Gatineau, Quebec. Kassidy Ford is completing her Masters of Health Sciences at the Ontario Tech University. Both are active in the Canadian sport community.

“Kaizen Budo International (KBI) is very grateful to the True Sport Foundation and Lyle Makosky Fund,” said Denis Beaudoin. “Our research project – My sport: A school of life – will be an important step to better understand how the values of sport can have a concrete and measurable impact on the lives of athletes outside their sport. In doing so, KBI will be able to focus its efforts, even better to help all sports, become real schools of life.”

“I would like to thank the True Sport Foundation and the Lyle Makosky Fund for acknowledging and supporting this research,” expressed Kassidy. “As (a) student-athlete, I know the many challenges that student-athletes face, and I’m excited to conduct research on an innovative and equitable program designed to support high school-aged student-athletes as they strive for success at regional, provincial, national and international levels of competition.”

About the True Sport Foundation
The True Sport Foundation is a national charitable organization committed to ensuring that sport makes a positive contribution to individuals and communities. The Foundation works with its many partners through programs and activities that promote values-based and principle-driven sport for all Canadians.

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For further information, please contact:
Megan Cumming
Manager, Corporate Communications
+1 613-526-6043 x3233
mcumming@truesport.ca