CAF Sports Awards 2020 go virtual

November 17, 2020 - Defence Stories

Since 1988, we have gathered once a year for an in-person Awards celebration to honour excellence in Canadian Armed Forces’ Sports. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to do things a little differently but that doesn’t mean that this is no less important or that we’ve lost sight of the importance of sports.

In lieu of the traditional in-person CAF Sports Awards ceremony, this year’s event will be transformed into a virtual recognition of our athletes, coaches and officials from 23 November to 4 December 2020 via the CAF Sports Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/cafsports.

Sports have a long history as a key military enabler and contributes to Canadian Armed Forces members’ physical and mental health and well-being, and has just as many benefits from a social perspective.  They are a key enabler in operational effectiveness, our recruitment and retention efforts and in global engagement.  When CAF members participate in sports, they develop core military attributes such as leadership skills, teamwork, discipline and esprit de corps.

In 2019, there were more than 25,000 participants in various CAF sports programs at all levels and across bases/wings. There were approximately 3,500⁺ athletes who participated in regional sports championships. There were approximately 1,800 athletes who participated in 17 national sports championships.