Sport
Survey says: swimming is the most popular physical activity among Canadian children
Swimming is the most popular organized sport or physical activity among Canadian children, according to a new survey.The Sports360 study was conducted by The Strategic Counsel and the field window was March and April 2025.It found that 73 per cent of Canadian youth between the ages of three and 17 are participating in at least one organized physical activity
Twenty-three per cent of respondents say their children are regularly engaging in some kind of swimming.
Soccer (20 per cent), hockey (10 per cent) and basketball (10 per cent) were the next most popular options.
The Strategic Counsel notes that overall youth participation levels are higher than their past research, despite concerns about affordability.
Organized participation in swimming, soccer and basketball are strong for both boys and girls. Creative movement disciplines like dance and gymnastics are also popular among girls, with participation levels in the 11-14 per cent range each.
Swimming, soccer and basketball are also the top three participation sports for youth in the households of new Canadians, while hockey is further down the list for those families but is still in the top 10.
U.S. sprinter Erriyon Knighton gets 4-year ban for positive test for anabolic steroid
Two-time Olympic finalist Erriyon Knighton was banned for four years on Friday in a doping case of an anabolic steroid that rules the 21-year-old United States sprinter out of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges upheld separate appeals by the World Anti-Doping Agency and track and field investigators filed after Knighton was cleared by a tribunal in the U.S. that accepted he was contaminated by eating meat.
WADA and the Athletics Integrity Unit argued the evidence that had been presented was statistically impossible and asked for a maximum four-year ban, the court said.