The purpose of the Foundation is not sport for sport sake. It believes that sport can be used as a tool to demonstrate and encourage community involvement, volunteerism, leadership, fair play, respect, inclusion, and other qualities that will help children and youth grow into community leaders and community volunteers In other words, using sport intentionally to instill character in individuals and build strong communities. It continues to use sport to educate about the principles of values-based sport, the avoidance of drugs and other performance enhancing substances, and health. The Foundation believes that the principles of ‘true sport’ can and should be applied to a person’s overall development in life.

The True Sport Foundation embraces and promotes the seven True Sport Principles as a means to instilling character in our children, strengthening Canadian communities and increasing our opportunities for excellence.

We do this by helping:

• incubate new ideas and initiatives to promote values-based and principle-driven sport in an effort to better fulfill sport’s contribution to social objectives.
• create partnerships and provide a common place for others who wish to promote and recognize sport as one of our country’s important community public assets.
• our partners and collaborators by operating scholarships, bursaries, grants and awards for the receipt and disbursement of financial resources for specific purposes related to growing True Sport.

History

As an independent, national, charitable organization, the True Sport Foundation has evolved over time from running a campaign that promotes drug-free sport to a foundation committed to ensuring that good sport has the opportunity to make a great difference in the lives of Canadians.

• In 1993, the Spirit of Sport Foundation was established as a charitable organization affiliated with the Canadian Centre for Drug-free Sport (now known as the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES)).
• The Foundation’s charitable incorporation focused on public education, promotion, training and research to address performance enhancing drugs, health, ethics and values with strategies targeted to educational institutions, sport organizations, community organizations and the general public.
• In 1996, the Foundation formed partnerships with Canada Games, Commonwealth Games Canada and Athletes CAN to assume responsibility for programs previously run by the Canadian Sport Council such as the Canadian Sport Awards and the Tariff Relief Program.
• The Spirit of Sport Foundation changed its name to the True Sport Foundation in 2004.
• In 2014, the NFPA reconfirmed the True Sport Foundation’s objective to intentionally use values-based and principle-driven sport as a contributor to Canadian society.