Dr. Kristi Allain’s Canada Research Chair in Physical Culture and Social Life Renewed for a Second Term

Dr. Kristi Allain hopes her research will encourage more inclusive and equitable sporting spaces in society.

 

“The sports played by older men may provide important lessons for the young and new ways of organizing and doing sport better,” she said.

Allain holds a Canada Research Chair in Physical Culture and Social Life at St. Thomas University and was just renewed for a second term. During the first term of her Canada Research Chair, Allain focused on the experiences of older men in Canadian winter sport and examined the ways that expressions of masculinity change over the life course.

 

“By exploring the gender expressions of older men, we can see how masculinities change over the life course, moving away from expressions that are sexist and aggressive, and towards gender expressions that are more able to accommodate difference, including disability. This finding provides important lessons for sport, especially today as many sports in Canada are in crises, with findings of abuse, towards athletes, the public, gender-based violence and other troubling findings."

During the next phase of her research, she will examine sports and physical activities where old and young play together and study the limits and possibilities of these environments. She will look at the importance of kinesthetic pleasure and fun in generating meaningful communities.

She will also examine ageing activism, observing at the ways that age — and specifically retirement from sports — opens new avenues to speak critically about the institution and inform social change.

 

“Sport is currently in crisis. I hope that my work will show various publics the importance of new ways of doing sport and physical activity — ways that open more inclusive and equitable sporting spaces that focus on pleasure and fun. We know the damage that is caused by an over emphasis on competition and winning. I believe there are important lessons that the old can bring to elite-level sport that will make it better for everyone.”