In 2012, the Ottawa Senators Foundation, now named the Ottawa Gatineau Youth Foundation (OGYF), launched a RINK (Recreational Investments in Neighbourhoods for Kids) Program. Lack of physical activity among young people in Canada was, and still is, in crisis. Youth today are not getting the required 60 minutes of physical activity required to live their best lives. A young person’s overall physical activity level is linked to physical and mental health, maintenance of a healthy body weight, academic performance, motor skill development, and physical literacy.

As a Foundation we want to ensure that young people throughout the National Capital Region, especially within marganized neighbourhoods, have access to free, year-round activities. The OGYF is committed to giving young people and their families access to free year-round activities like shiny-hockey, skating, ball hockey, basketball, lacrosse, pickleball, yoga, futsal, court games and a variety of recreational/leisure programs via its OGYF Sports & Leisure League – an initiative to be introduced in 2021 at Ottawa and Gatineau RINK sites.