Sport and community building: The case of an ethnic community organization

Abstract

Canada is a society that is culturally defined by its two national sports, ice hockey and lacrosse. In the Canadian House of Commons in 1994, the federal government of Canada officially proclaimed ice hockey as its winter national sport, and lacrosse as its summer national sport. Hockey and lacrosse were the obvious sport choices of that time as both have deep historical roots in Canada. Today, hockey is the most popular spectator and participation sport in Canada. Indeed, hockey is identified by sport writers and sociologists as being perhaps the most identifiable attribute of Canadian culture. Yet hockey is not only an important part of Canadian culture, it has become a sport offered in ethnic community organizations through the citizen action efforts of members. This paper examines hockey and community building in an ethnic community organization in Canada. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to present the Greek Hockey League of Ottawa and the impact this league has had on community building for the Hellenic Community of Ottawa. Based on the example of the Greek Hockey League of Ottawa, the objective of this paper is to make a unique contribution to research through the construction of a model of sport and community building for ethnic communities. The findings of this paper indicate that hockey, a mainstream activity integrated by ethnic communities such as the Hellenic Community of Ottawa, can play a vital role in helping maintain ethnicity in multicultural societies. Indeed, this sport assists in bringing individuals of Greek descent closer to their community, thus enhancing social cohesion and social closure within the community.