Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec

What Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec does

Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec (Réseau des URLS) is a Quebec-based non-profit membership network that coordinates public recreation, sport, physical activity, and outdoor recreation services across all 17 of Quebec's administrative regions through affiliated regional URLS units. The organization operates under a mandate from the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (MEQ) and serves municipalities, schools, school service centers, day camps, community organizations, volunteer groups, and individual citizens as end beneficiaries of its programs and tools. Core product lines include circonflexe – prêt-pour-bouger (a free provincial sports and adaptive equipment lending program with 300,000+ loans cumulatively), parcours (a digital platform for inventorying leisure infrastructure, planning parks and school yards, and managing equipment maintenance, rebranded in October 2025 from Parc-o-mètre with official launch planned for 2026), eX3 plein air (school-based outdoor activity training and funded outings for primary, secondary and college students), Service soutien-conseil pour les camps de jour municipaux (day camp advisory serving 14 regions), Défi château de neige (an annual winter physical activity challenge), and the Rendez-vous québécois du loisir rural annual event.

The underlying technology stack is a conventional portfolio of digital tools rather than a unified platform: parcours provides infrastructure inventory and maintenance scheduling with offline mode and data integration; circonflexe coordinates equipment lending across 17 regional agents; and supplementary knowledge products (Répertoire des subventions, Trousse de l'élu en loisir, Réenchanter la cour d'école secondaire, volunteer governance capsules, and scientific committee video capsules) are delivered as content resources. Approximately 11 staff operate at the provincial secretariat in Montréal, with delivery executed through professional agents embedded in each of the 17 regional URLS member organizations.

The business model is grant-funded non-profit: core revenue flows from MEQ provincial funding for sport, recreation and outdoor activity, supplemented by municipal partnerships for local service delivery and member contributions from the 17 regional URLS units. All services and programs are provided free of charge to end users (freemium-equivalent), with no fee-for-service pricing disclosed. Distribution is achieved through the regional URLS agent network (direct field enterprise channel), school system partnerships (channel/reseller model), and the circonflexe.ca self-serve portal for equipment lending. Strategic partnerships with the Association des camps du Québec, AQLP, RPAQ, Sports Québec, Chaire SIMS, and GTR Activité Physique extend reach across the Quebec sport and outdoor recreation ecosystem.

Name

Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec

Legal name

Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec

Website

https://reseau-urls.quebec

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Réseau des URLS is a Quebec non-profit network coordinating public recreation, sport, and outdoor activity services across 17 regional units, delivering free programs (equipment lending, school outdoor activities, day camp support, digital infrastructure management) funded by the Ministry of Education and municipal partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal-nord

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Provincial Government Funding: Core funding from the Québec Ministry of Education (MEQ) sport, recreation and outdoor activity sector. The network acts as provincial coordinator for programs deployed regionally.
2. Municipal Partnerships: Support from municipalities through partnerships with regional URLS units for local service delivery and program co-development.
3. Member Contributions: The 17 regional URLS units are members of the provincial network, contributing to collective programs and accessing shared services and tools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Réseau des URLS is a non-profit membership network coordinating 17 regional leisure and sport units across Quebec, delivering public recreation, sport, and outdoor activity services to municipalities, schools, community organizations, and volunteer groups. Its offerings include free equipment lending (circonflexe), a digital infrastructure management platform (parcours), school outdoor activity programs (eX3 plein air), municipal day camp advisory services, and annual community engagement events, all funded primarily through the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec.

Product overview

The Réseau des URLS operates as a network organization offering programs, advisory services, and digital tools focused on leisure, sport, physical activity, and outdoor recreation across Quebec's 17 regions. Its core products include circonflexe – prêt-pour-bouger (provincial equipment lending program), parcours (digital infrastructure management platform), eX3 plein air (outdoor activity in schools), Défi château de neige (winter physical activity challenge), and various advisory services including municipal day camp support, rural leisure events, physical activity scientific guidance, and school courtyard redesign tools. Additional offerings include governance resources for volunteers, elected official toolkits, and a grants directory. The portfolio functions as a coordinated suite of regional support services rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• circonflexe – prêt-pour-bouger: A provincial equipment lending program providing free access to sporting, recreational, and adapted equipment to increase physical activity opportunities across Quebec.
• parcours
• eX3 plein air
• Service soutien-conseil pour les camps de jour municipaux
• Défi château de neige
• Rendez-vous québécois du loisir rural
• Avis du comité scientifique – activité physique

Products and services

• circonflexe – prêt-pour-bouger Provincial equipment lending program offering free loan of durable and safe sports, recreational and adapted equipment to the Quebec population through regional URLS units and partners, increasing opportunities for physical activity across all 17 regions.
• parcours Digital platform for inventorying leisure infrastructure, planning parks and schoolyards, and managing equipment maintenance with features including offline mode, data integration, analysis maps, and scheduled maintenance tracking.
• eX3 plein air Program to increase outdoor activity opportunities in school settings for primary, secondary and college students, providing training at preferential rates, communities of practice, mentoring, online tools and funded activity offers.
• Service soutien-conseil pour les camps de jour municipaux Advisory service for municipal day camp managers developed in collaboration with the Association des camps du Québec (ACQ) and the Quebec Ministry of Education, supporting municipalities in achieving compliance with reference frameworks and improving service quality and safety.
• Défi château de neige Annual challenge promoting physical activity during winter by inviting families, daycares, schools, municipalities and organizations across Quebec's 17 regions to build snow castles as teams.
• Rendez-vous québécois du loisir rural Annual event bringing together leisure workers from rural communities to promote and recognize rural leisure, offering workshops, training and networking opportunities tailored to rural realities.
• Avis du comité scientifique – activité physique Scientific committee guidance on physical activity synthesized into video capsules and explanatory sheets adapted for community, school, municipal and associative sport settings.
• Réenchanter la cour d'école secondaire Toolkit supporting secondary school courtyard redesign as stimulating, attractive, safe and community-open spaces, including accompaniment guides, thematic fact sheets, video capsules and inspiring case studies.
• Trousse de l'élu en loisir Online toolkit and training resources for elected officials involved in municipal leisure, covering cooperation, volunteering, policies and governance.
• La gouvernance en bénévolat Governance resources and video capsules for volunteer organizations, helping board members understand their roles and responsibilities to ensure organizational sustainability.
• Répertoire des subventions Comprehensive database of funding opportunities organized by categories including accessibility, facilities, volunteering, donations, events, environment, culture, human resources, sport, general development, tourism and outdoor activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300,000 free equipment loans distributed through circonflexe program
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Chaire SIMSmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2026Collaboration on the annual Chaire SIMS symposium on healthy and safe sports culture. The network participates in this day of reflection and exchange bringing together sports, research, and public policy stakeholders.
• Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (MEQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe primary government partner providing financial support and mandate for the network's activities. The MEQ sport, recreation and outdoor activity sector funds collective programs and regional support services.
• Association des camps du Québec (ACQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the consulting support service for municipal day camps. ACQ works with the network to help municipalities achieve compliance with reference frameworks and improve day camp quality and safety.
• AQLP (Association québéquoise du loisir municipal)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the circonflexe equipment lending program, contributing to making sports and recreational equipment accessible to the Quebec population.
• RPAQ (Regroupement des acteurs du plein air au Québec)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the circonflexe program supporting outdoor activity access and promotion across Quebec regions.
• Sports QuébecmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial sports federation partner in the circonflexe program, supporting equipment lending and outdoor activity initiatives.
• GTR Activité Physique (Groupe de travail régional)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to vulgarize the Scientific Committee's physical activity recommendations from the Ministry of Education, adapting messages for community, school, municipal, and associative sport settings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• sportscotland: Scotland's national sport agency operating a regional partnership network for sport and physical activity, providing grants and tools to local partners. Comparable to Réseau des URLS as a public-funded coordinating agency with delegated regional delivery.
• Sport England: English national sport agency with a network of County Sport Partnerships and a focus on grassroots sport and physical activity. Comparable mission and operating model (national funding + local delivery), although at a much larger scale.
• Sport Wales: National sport agency of Wales providing strategic advice, programs, and partnerships to grow sport and physical activity in a jurisdiction comparable in population scale to Quebec regions. Direct functional analog as a regional (Welsh) public sport coordinator.

Direct peers

• Association des camps du Québec (ACQ): Quebec non-profit association representing accredited camps, partnering with Réseau des URLS on day-camp municipal support services. Similar non-profit membership structure, MEQ relationship, and focus on quality/safety standards for recreation services.
• Active Partnerships (England): Coordinating body for a network of 43 Active Partnerships across England working on sport, physical activity, and community development. Structurally analogous to Réseau des URLS - a provincial/national coordinator with regional delivery units - making it the closest international structural peer.
• Sports Québec: Provincial sports federation in Quebec, member-based, coordinating sport and physical activity across regions and funded in part by MEQ. Directly comparable to Réseau des URLS in scope, funder base, and provincial-coordination role for sport/recreation.
• ParticipACTION: Canadian national non-profit dedicated to promoting physical activity and healthy living, federally funded and operating across provinces. Directly comparable to Réseau des URLS in mission and program approach (mass-participation challenges, evidence-based advocacy, free programs).
• Association québécoise du loisir municipal (AQLP): Quebec municipal leisure association partnering with Réseau des URLS on circonflexe and other municipal-leisure initiatives. Strong comparability on member structure (municipalities) and mission to support public leisure delivery at the local level.

Broad incumbents

• Kino-Québec: Quebec government program promoting physical activity across the population. Overlaps with Réseau des URLS in promoting active lifestyles and providing tools/guidance to municipalities, schools, and associations, often as complementary rather than competing entities.

Emerging players

• KidSport Canada: Canadian charitable organization providing grants to remove financial barriers to youth sport participation, with provincial chapters. Overlaps with Réseau des URLS's circonflexe lending program on removing access barriers to sport and recreation equipment for youth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@reseau-urls
• Facebookfacebook.com/RVQloisirrural

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Réseau des unités régionales loisir et sport du Québec