What is Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity?

Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity (LTD 3.0, 2019) is the Sport for Life Society's framework for how people develop in sport and physical activity across their lives. Earlier versions were called Long-Term Athlete Development.

According to the document:

• It keeps the focus on the idea that development is a process that takes time, and that sport and physical activity should look very different depending on the individual's stage of development.
• It stresses that long-term development matters both for sport performance and for life-long engagement in physical activity for health.
• It covers the whole spectrum, from "kicking a ball around with your friends" to "winning a medal at the Paralympic Games".
• Sport for Life's development goals are physical literacy, excellence and being active for life.
• Individual organizations are free to adapt the language they use for their own participants.

Sources: https://sportforlife.ca/long-term-development/ and https://sportforlife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Long-Term-Development-in-Sport-and-Physical-Activity-3.0.pdf. The research behind it is in the Handbook of References: https://sportforlife.ca/handbook-of-references/