Free Sports For Growth gave away sports equipment at Cockshutt Park on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
Free Sports For Growth is a Brantford-based organization that is in their third year of collecting donated balls, sticks, skates, and other sports equipment and gifting them to kids for free.
The organization was founded by Ross Enslev and Dave Levac and, according to Enslev, the organization has served more than 3,000 kids in the community so far, and run giveaways alongside neighbourhood associations, churches and schools.
Levac spoke about how the idea came to life after his conversation with Enslev, who had 55 years of experience as a sports coach and was the author of several books on local sports.
“We said, wouldn’t it be nice if we could get kids to play like we used to play in the neighbourhoods? And, hence, the books sparked us to move forward with it. Then we said, why don’t we do something about giving away equipment, because equipment was very expensive. We wanted to make sure that wasn’t an excuse for kids not to take a basketball and go shoot some hoops, or a hockey stick and play road hockey,” said Levac.
City of Brantford has supported the program from the start as it leased the pool building at Earl Haig Fun Park to the group for one dollar as a seasonal headquarters back in 2024. That arrangement pushed them to go year-round, and the program eventually moved to its current, permanent home at the cricket club at Cockshutt Park, where donated equipment gets a second life with new families.
Mackenzie Slifierz, a local resident registered for the event, bought tickets for his two hockey-playing sons and picked up some equipment.
“This program is such a valuable asset to our family, because we’re able to get equipment to play hockey and support both of our boys. We’re so fortunate to have this program in our community,” said Slifierz.
The organization’s next project is an outdoor rink with a roof at Conklin Park, designed to use piped ice rather than relying on natural cold.
“A couple of years ago, we only got about three days of ice because the climate changed. So that’s going to be another project. We’re building it at our cost, we are doing fundraising, and then we are just handing it over to the city at no cost. Our benefit is we control four hours a day of the facility to provide free sports facilities for children,” said Levac.
Brantford Fire Department Captain Patrick Vincze said the department’s involvement traces back to a longstanding connection between Levac, Enslev and retired platoon chief Ray Brimer.
“It gives children the opportunity to participate in sports that they normally couldn’t afford or didn’t even think about participating in. Like other sports that they don’t even have access to, they come here, see what’s available and give it a try. You never know,” Vincze said.
