Importance of diversity, representation in Calgary sport highlighted by men's health organization

Yenukwa Kombian and Hafeez Sumani speak to members of Sport Calgary about inclusion and diversity.

The Kings of Hearts (KOH) organization focuses on men's mental health and wellness.

Yenukwa Kombian and Hafeez Sumani both have Ghanaian roots but live in Calgary.

"KOH is an organization where we talk about the sticky conversations," Sumani said.

"We talk about awareness, vulnerability and also community as well, too."

The two were invited to speak at Sport Calgary's annual general meeting about how sport has benefitted them and to help members come up with ideas to include young people from all ethnic backgrounds.

Sumani remembers arriving in Calgary with his family as new Canadians when he was eight years old.

"I remember intramurals," he said.

"There was floor hockey. It was my first time and that was really my first memory of sports in Canada, was just playing with other kids and it was competitive. It was also fun and it was also inclusive as well, too, you know, so that was a great memory."

Kombian's parents wanted him and his siblings to be part of the community so they enrolled in figure skating.

Kombian learned the skills on hockey skates and when it was time to move up to figure skates and toe picks, he backed out.

"I didn't see any other Black men that were also doing that so, in that moment, I was like no, I'm done, and I transitioned," he said.

"But I'd like to think if there had been other kids that look like me also figure skating, I feel like we could have rallied together and I could have taken it somewhere."

The two hope sharing their stories will give Sport Calgary members a better idea of how to look for solutions to make all sports accessible to children throughout the city.

"What I want to bring to this conversation as dialog is like, let's make sure that we are eliminating the barriers of entry to sport and inclusion," Kombian said.

"And how can we be creative in that process."

Catriona Le May Doan, Olympian and president and CEO of Sport Calgary, says it's rolling out a new strategic plan that will serve as the organization's road map to ensure Calgary thrives through sport for everyone.

"Our goal is to have everybody in Calgary be introduced to sport," she said.

"We are growing as a city. We're growing in diversity. We have sports that people in the northwest don't know exist so, again, it's representation of sport and representation of people in sport."

All agree there is no quick fix to make sports in Calgary more inclusive but the process is starting, and Sumani says that's the first step in starting to make a difference.

"It brings people together, you know, no matter what your culture, your race background, right? It is inclusive, right?" he said.

"We need more of that."

Sumani is a former national Canadian track and field athlete with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Calgary.

Kombian is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge's kinesiology program and is passionate about soccer and rugby.

The Kings of Hearts website says, "Most men wait until a crisis before reaching out for support. This is not OK and oftentimes it's too late. The aim of Kings of Hearts is to create a brave space to share, process and let go of old stories that we tell of how we 'should' be. We encourage ourselves to reimagine and then reclaim what it really means to show up as a man, but most importantly a human being."

"Because we're three, four guys, our target demographic is men," Kombian said.

"So, some of our offerings are strictly for men and some of our offerings are for everyone to show up."

It started as a group meeting regularly to talk about what so many men are afraid to discuss openly, insecurities and personal struggles.

It has evolved into a foundation and platform for many men in the community to begin to retell their version of modern masculinity.

Learn more about Kings of Hearts at kingshearts.com.