Politics of Sport – Running Hot Takes

A Call to Action for U SPORTS Athletes: The Green Circle Movement Returns

March 1, 2024March 13, 2024Not Trackie1 Comment

The Situation 2023 was the hottest year on record by a longshot. Multiple climate modelling research groups reported global average surface temperature increases near 1.5 °C above the earth’s “pre-industrial average,” the reference period from 1850 to 1900 that is used as a baseline to measure global average temperature increases caused by the massive...

An Interview with Long COVID Researcher Braeden Charlton

November 11, 2023November 21, 2023Evan UbeneLeave a comment

Braeden Charlton is a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam where he conducts his studies in the Department of Behavioural and Movement Sciences. 1) Briefly, could you give a short summary of what your research experience has been since the beginning of the pandemic? The research we have focused on has been understanding the...

For the CTFL to Fulfill its Goals, the Athletes Have to Make it Happen

July 16, 2023August 10, 2023Evan UbeneLeave a comment

Note: You can also find this article in the latest edition of NextUp Magazine, which is put together by friend of the show Davis Rutledge (aka dlr.shoots). 5-10min read The Canadian Track and Field League (CTFL) entered the Canadian track and field scene on January 1, 2022 and has been embraced by many athletes...

Athletics and Activism, A Series -Part 2: The Climate Crisis

January 28, 2023February 28, 2024Evan UbeneLeave a comment

The Short Version In November, over 100 university cross country athletes wore les cercles verts (green circles) to demonstrate commitment to climate justice. Please email sac.jc.usports@gmail.com or follow @sac.jc.usports on instagram to help continue building the movement. The Long Version The community nature of sports gives athletes a unique position of influence in society...

Athletics and Activism, A Series -Part 1: Truth and Reconciliation

October 14, 2022June 25, 2024Evan Ubene1 Comment

Prelude The community nature of sports gives athletes a unique position of influence in society and a platform that can be a powerful tool to spur social change –even fringe Canadian university sports can have many supporters. There are numerous examples throughout history where athletes chose to use their platforms to fight for social...

The Guelph Athletics Scandal Two Years In: What have we learned?

February 8, 2022November 8, 2024Steve BoydLeave a comment

In the room of Canadian university athletics, it would seem, only the elephant remains. Two years ago this week, the biggest and most salacious sports misconduct story in Canadian university athletics history broke on none other than front page of our putative national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. The now infamous story—written by former...

Facilitating Sports in a COVID-19 Pandemic World

January 10, 2022July 1, 2023Evan Ubene4 Comments

The Short Read If we want sports to go on during a raging global pandemic, we should not simply advocate for sports while ignoring the harms they entail. We need to come to terms with the unjust decisions that have led to the cancellation of sports, and pay attention to the social implications of...

Putting the “Community” Back In “Community Forum”

November 15, 2021November 15, 2021Steve BoydLeave a comment

If you’re among the first wave of fans to discover and join RunningHotTakes.com, you’re almost certainly a veteran of Trackie.ca, and maybe even of TnF North, both now long defunct as nexuses for the sprawling community of Canadian athletics fanciers, participants, and functionaries. If your interest is in the distance running side of the...