Lyndsay Hayhurst

Faculty & School/Dept.

Faculty of Health - School of Kinesiology & Health Science

Degrees

Ph.D. (Kinesiology and Physical Education, socio-cultural studies) -
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada

MA (Human Kinetics, socio-cultural) -
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada

BAH (Sociology and Global Development Studies) -
Queen's University
Kingston, Canada

Biography

Lyndsay Hayhurst is a Tier 2 York Research Chair in ‘Sport, Gender and Development and Digital Participatory Research’, Director of the ‘DREAMING Sport Lab’ (Digital participatory Research in Equity, Access, Mobility, Innovation aNd Gender in Sport Lab). She is an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Her research interests include sport for development and peace (SDP); gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health in/through SDP; digital participatory action research; trauma-and violence-informed approaches to SDP; cultural studies of girlhood; postcolonial feminist theory; global governance, international relations and corporate social responsibility; SDP in Indigenous communities; and the gender, sport and environment nexus.

She is a co-author (with Holly Thorpe and Megan Chawansky) of Sport, Gender and Development: Intersections, Innovations and Future Trajectories; and co-editor (with Tess Kay and Megan Chawansky) of Beyond Sport for Development and Peace: Transnational perspectives on theory, policy and practice. Her publications have appeared in Women’s Studies International Forum; Gender, Place & Culture; Third World Quarterly and Sociology of Sport Journal. She has previously worked for the United Nations Development Programme and Right to Play.

Selected Publications

*For most up-to-date publications, check out Google Scholar *

Articles Published in Refereed Journals [last 5 years]

Hayhurst, L.M.C., Thorpe, H. & Chawansky, M. (2021). Sport, Gender and Development: Intersections, Innovations and Future Trajectories. London: Emerald Publishing.

Nachman, J., Hayhurst, L.M.C., Giles, A., Stewart-Withers, R. & Henhawk, D. (2022). Sport for Reconciliation: Re-examining Indigenous Refusal. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0147.

McSweeney, M.J., Otte, J., Eyul, P., Hayhurst, L.M.C., & Tara Parytci, D. (2022). Conducting effective collaborative research across global North-South contexts: Benefits, challenges, and implications of working with visual and digital participatory research approaches. Submitted to Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2022.2048059

Hayhurst, L.M.C., McSweeney, M., Bandoles, E., Otte, J., del Socorro Cruz Centeno, L. & Wilson, B. (2022). “Bicycles are important for women!” Exploring bicycles, gender and development in Nicaragua and Uganda. Third World Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2021.2020634

McSweeney, M., Millington, R., Hayhurst, L.M.C. & Darnell, S. (2022). Becoming an occupation? A research agenda into the professionalization of the sport for development and peace sector.  Journal of Sport Management. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2021-0099

Steinmann, J., Wilson, B., McSweeney, M.J., Hayhurst, L.M.C., & Bandoles, E. (2021). Experiences of ‘safe space’: From a bicycle program to the road. Sociology of Sport Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0155

McSweeney, M., Hayhurst, L.M.C., Wilson, B., Bandoles, E. & Leung, K. (2021). Colliding mandates of social enterprises: Exploring the financial strategies, environment, and social-market tensions of bicycles-for-development organizations. Sport Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2021.1899721

 

 

Other Research Outputs

Reports, Digital Compilations, Policy Documents and Working Papers 

Hayhurst, L., Millington, B., Wilson, B., Steinmann, J., Nachman, J. & McSweeney, M. (2022). Will the bicycle help us address pressing social issues? The Conversation. 

Darroch, F. & Hayhurst, L. (2022). Levelling the playing field: How a trauma-informed approach can make physical activity more accessible. The Conversation. 

Bandoles, E., del Soccorro Cruz Centeno, L., McSweeney, M.J., Hayhurst, L.M.C., & Wilson, B. (2020). The bicycle, agente de Cambio in Ometepe Island, Nicaragua: Findings and recommendations.

McSweeney, M.J., Hayhurst, L.M.C., Wilson, B., Bandoles, E., & Steinmann, J. (2020). The bicycle, safe space, social justice, and Charlie’s FreeWheels in Toronto, Canada: Findings and recommendations.

McSweeney, M.J., Hayhurst, L.M.C., Wilson, B., Ardizzi, M., & Otte, J. (2020). Cycling against poverty? The bicycle, health, and livelihoods of HIV positive women in Northern Uganda.

Kay, T., Hayhurst, L.M.C. & Dudfield, O. (2012). The state of play: Emerging issues in the contribution of Sport to Development. A position paper for the Commonwealth Secretariat. London, UK.

 

 

 

Service/Community Activities

Journal of Sport and Social Issues
Member, Editorial Board

Awards

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant (Principal Investigator) - 2016

SSHRC Insight Grant (co-investigator) - 2015

SSHRC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship - 2013

SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship - 2011

Canadian Foundation for Innovation - John Evans Leadership Fund - 2018

SSHRC Insight Grant (co-investigator) - 2020

SSHRC Insight Grant (PI) - 2021

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) - 2022

Supervision

Currently available to supervise graduate students: Yes

Currently taking on work-study students, Graduate Assistants or Volunteers: Not Indicated

Available to supervise undergraduate thesis projects: Yes

Current Research

Lyndsay's current research focuses on three projects funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grants. 

CURRENT FUNDED RESEARCH:

1. Bicycles for Development (2021-2026)

I am a Principal Investigator (co-investigators are Dr. Brian Wilson, Dr. Mitch McSweeney, Dr. Brad Millington, Dr. Cathy van Ingen & Dr. Francine Darroch). 

The bicycle’s capacity to respond to pressing social issues (e.g., gender inequality, access to education) and facilitate social change has inspired both interest and optimism, especially in the context of COVID-19. For example, in May 2020, the United Nations formed a taskforce to assess how to “make post-COVID-19 mobility more environmentally sound, healthy and sustainable” with an eye to “bicycles as driver[s] of post-COVID-19 ‘green recovery’” (UN, 2020). At the same time, there are a number of non-governmental organizations around the world that utilize bicycles to address social issues, including for instance: reducing gender-based violence; promoting social entrepreneurship for women and girls in bicycle-related work; and considering the roles of women and girls in achieving the aforementioned ‘green recovery’ in a (post-)COVID context.

The ‘Wheels of Change’ study builds on the activities, findings and community partnerships developed during the research team’s recently-completed five-year study (2017-2021) on ‘bicycles for development’ (BFD) — the use of bicycles to achieve community-level, national and global development objectives in Canada, Uganda, Nicaragua, South Africa, and India.

2. A Comparative Exploration of Sport for Reconciliation in Indigenous Communities in Canada, New Zealand and Australia (2020-2025)

I am a Co-Investigator on a SSHRC IG that explores sport for reconciliation (SFR) – or the use of sport as a means to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and settler peoples (2020-2025, PI – Dr. Audrey Giles, Co-Is, Dr. Dan Henawk, Steven Rynne, Dr. Rochelle Stewart-Withers, and Dr. Jeremy Hapeta). Despite this proliferation of and increased investments in SFR initiatives in Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa, there has been a dearth of scholarly investigation into this area -- a gap to which our international research team of Indigenous and settler scholars will attend. To address these issues, the objectives of our research are as follows: 1) to understand the prominent positioning of sport as a site for reconciliation by governments, NGOs, professional sports, and the private sector in Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa; 2) to understand the coverage and impact (or lack thereof) of associated policies and practices to advance culturally informed efforts in SFR; and 3) to conduct research that is itself founded on principles of reconciliation.

3. Trauma- and Violence-Informed Movement (2022-2026)

I am Co-Principal Investigator on a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) grant (PI is Dr. Francine Darroch). The benefits of physical activity are well known and plentiful. Due to these benefits, engaging in physical activity has been recommended by the WHO and the Government of Canada. However, access to physical activity isn’t always easy or straightforward. Barriers to physical activity prevent certain groups of people from accessing and engaging in physical activity or movement.

People living in marginalizing conditions such as those with experiences of trauma, domestic and/or sexual violence, and unsafe or unstable housing are at a higher risk of inactivity due to the various barriers they face. 

Barriers to physical activity can include:

Limited or no availability to childcare
Limited or no access to the resources required to participate in physical activity, such as clothing, shoes, or equipment 
Limited or no access to transportation to and from programming
Trauma- and violence-informed physical activity (TVIPA) is an approach that aims to address these barriers by increasing the accessibility to physical activity and movement for all. 

Leveraging TVIPA to support individuals who have experienced family violence: A community-based participatory approach is a 4-year project that aims to leverage TVIPA to support self-identified women and children who have experienced or are experiencing family violence (FV) through community-based participatory projects and research. 

Research Projects

Privatized Aid and Sport for Development in Indigenous Communities (2015-2020)
Role: CoInvestigator
Amount funded: $211,126
Year Funded: 2015
Duration: 5
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

A Comparative Exploration of Sport for Reconciliation in Indigenous Communities in Canada, New Zealand and Australia
Role: CoInvestigator
Amount funded: $253015
Year Funded: 2020
Duration: 5
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Digital Participatory Research and Physical Cultures Lab.
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $49664
Year Funded: 2018
Duration: 3
Funded by: Canada Foundation for Innovation

Exploring the Utility of Virtual Trauma-and Violence-Informed Sport for Development (TVISFD) Programs with Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment’s LaunchPad in Moss Park, Toronto: A community-based parti
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $18000
Year Funded: 2021
Duration: 2
Funded by: Other...
Other funding: e-Alliance

Leveraging Trauma- and Violence-Informed Physical Activity to Support Individuals who have Experienced Family Violence: A community-based participatory approach
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $750000
Year Funded: 2022
Duration: 4
Funded by: Other...
Other funding: Public Health Agency of Canada

Strengthening Practices: Trauma-and Violence-Informed Physical Activity
Role: CoInvestigator
Amount funded: $204466
Year Funded: 2020
Duration: 5
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Wheels of Change? Exploring 'Bicycles for Development' for Women and Girls in the (Post-)Pandemic Contexts of Canada, Uganda and Nicaragua
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $281634
Year Funded: 2021
Duration: 5
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

“Cycling Against Poverty? Researching an ‘Object’ in/for Development.”
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Amount funded: $167275
Year Funded: 2016
Duration: 5
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council