Supporting the Development of Critical Thinking in Athletes Thanks to the RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND

The Research Support Fund of the Government of Canada is a program that provides funds to cover a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Research Support Fund grants are based on the funding received by researchers from the three federal agencies in the three most recent years for which data are available.

Dr. Maxime Trempe of the Department of Sports Studies, funded by the ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MEES) and the Institut national du sport du Québec (INSQ), has created and hosted a series of conferences and workshops aimed at all individuals with an interest in sports training (coaches, administrators, parents, etc.) on the development of CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS in athletes.

These workshops provide attendees with tips and tricks to avoid the pitfall of being sucked in by trends, rumors, false or weakly supported claims and the placebo effect. They warn participants of the dangers of fake news and subjective beliefs (as opposed to facts and plausible hypotheses). Finally, they propose a model decision-making tree that allows individuals to exercise critical judgment when considering a new innovation that claims to enhance athletic performance.

Support for the successful application for this research contract offered by the MEES and the INSQ has been made possible thanks to the Research Support Fund.