Full Description
In the 1960s, Bruce Kidd was one of Canada's most celebrated athletes. As a teenager, Kidd won races all over the globe, participated in the Olympics, and started a revolution in distance running and a revival in Canadian track and field. He quickly became a symbol of Canadian youth and the subject of endless media coverage. Although most athletes of his generation were cautioned to keep their opinions to themselves, Kidd took it upon himself to speak out on the problems and possibilities of Canadian sport. Encouraged by his parents and teammates, Kidd criticized the racism and sexism of amateur sport in Canada, the treatment of players in the National Hockey League, American control of the Canadian Football League, and the uneven coverage of sports by the media - and he continues to fight for equity to this day. After retiring from his career as an athlete, Kidd became a well-known advocate for gender and racial justice and an academic leader at the University of Toronto.Depicting a Canadian sport legend's journey of joy, discovery, and activism, this memoir bears witness to the remarkable changes Bruce Kidd has lived through in more than seventy years of participation in Canadian and international sports.
Contents
IntroductionPart One: The Education of an Athlete1. A Boy on the Beach 2. I Become a Runner3. Choosing Canada4. Canadian Hero5. Commonwealth Champion6. A Cheer for Amateurism7. Great Expectations8. Lane ThreePart Two: The Education of an Activist9. Gap Year10. Recreation for All11. The Olympic Project for Human Rights 12. The Canadian Sport System 13. Wafflers and Jockrakers 14. The Political Economy of Sport Part Three: My Struggle for Canadian Sport15. Dream Job 16. Critical Support for the Olympics17. A Boycott that Worked 18. Feminist Ally 19. Recovery Projects 20. Struggling for the Olympic Ideals21. A Sport System We Can Be Proud Of 22. Renewing Varsity23. A New Social Movement24. Runner with a Worldview
