Our History

In the Beginning

A press conference was released on all 3 Edmonton TV stations and numerous radio stations that as of November 1st, 1990 The Alberta Association for Family Recreation and Sport had begun day-to-day operations. The first office was located on Stony Plain Road in Edmonton, Alberta.

FunTeam Groups throughout Alberta were playing hockey, curling and 9 other activities that were listed in the FunTeam Alberta Guidebook. The first FunTeam group was started up in Calgary by a mother who heard a CBC radio interview with our President, Randy Gregg.

After just one year FunTeam membership grew from 450 in 1991 to 1300 in 1992. At the time membership and groups were strongly concentrated in urban centers.

Partnerships

We have been so lucky to have learned from amazing organizations and benefit from their support. Our organization would not be what it is today without their help and guidance.

• Sport Central
• EverActive Schools
• ARPA
• Co-Ed Edmonton Recreational Hockey League
• Family Triathlon Sponsors included: M&M Meat shops, Nestle, Cliff Bar, West Edmonton Mall, and The Alberta Lottery Fund.

Leadership Programming

In 2003 FunTeam Alberta launched our first student leadership initiative called the U R IT program or the Ultimate Recreation and Sport Initiative. In its first year, it was implemented in 15 schools that reached over 800 students. Young Leaders were trained with the help of EverActive coordinators, University of Alberta staff, and Active Living Alliance to plan and implement their own recreation programs in their school for fellow students.

10 years later, the FunTeam Young Leaders program was created. In its first year, 3 schools ran the program with a goal to bring regular activity for their students and provide an opportunity for certain students to gain valuable leadership experience. This was done by planning weekly sessions that focused on skill development and fun that promoted healthy living and fair play. Today, we have worked with over 20 schools in the Edmonton area also reaching into Red Deer.

The Young Leader Program provides resources to schools looking to bring another recreation opportunity into its programming while giving the opportunity to students to be empowered through leadership. Schools are rewarded with a $1000 honorarium for successfully completing the program.

Noteworthy Program Highlights

• Hosted the first ever Edmonton FunTeam Sport Expo in 1991
• Randy Gregg Golf Tour and involvement with the Edmonton Marathon and the Jasper/Banff Relay in 1993
• helped promote and raise funds for FunTeam Alberta through continued media coverage.
• In 1993 FunTeam Family Challenge was organized in 11 Alberta communities
• In 1996, the Subway Scramble was a major fundraising opportunity that was established in 9 Alberta communities
• 1996 saw the first issue of the Leader Letter published. In 1999 the first newsletter was delivered to doors of FunTeam households.
• In 2002 the strategic plan was revised to look at 4 things:
• Female participation
• A high school leadership program
• Group expansion
• Training opportunities for Group Leaders
• In 2003 the first Family try-Athlon was held
• U R IT (Ultimate Sport and Recreation Initiative) launched in 2003 as a program to encourage schools to get involved with their school in a leadership role.
• First mini try-athlon was organized in 2010. The program was implemented in schools and community leagues
• In 2013 the Young Leaders Program was developed and has since been in 20 different schools across the province.

FunTeam Alberta Today

Through the years one thing has remained the same: our vision. With almost 3000 FunTeam members and 400 volunteers in over 50 FunTeam groups we have seen families in communities across Alberta participating in sport that have embraced FunTeam Alberta’s principles. We are working every day to facilitate development in sport with the participation of parents because a family oriented environment allows children to feel comfortable to develop their skills and learn how to play games before competing.

We hope we can continue to expand into many more communities that believe in our vision over the next 30 years.