Well this year has certainly been interesting to say the least. Since last March when Brock announced that the remainder of the semester would be online the Brock Sport Management Council has worked to provide the best opportunities for SPMA students virtually. This, like everything else was faced with challenges. The first challenge was selecting this year’s SPMA Council members, which was all done virtually as the applications were due right when the COVID Pandemic hit. The second challenge was trying to integrate the members of council together when we were never able to meet in person. Despite these challenges, the members of council “clicked” right away. We all had the goal to make most out of the year and here is a quick recap of the amazing things we were able accomplish in 2020.
Speaker Series #1:
This was the first event that this year's council hosted virtually. Everyone was in lockdown, the winter semester had ended and as a council we wanted to give students an opportunity for professional development. Council hosted a three day speaker series from June 15th-17th with a different panel of speakers each day. The first day's topic was "Working in Sport Media" and the speakers included Cabbie Richards (TSN), Ellen Hyslop (The Gist), Kyle Bukauskas (Sportsnet), Tyler Childs (Sport-Travel), Sarah Jenkins (CBC and Sportsnet). The second day's topic was "Working Outside the 'Big 4' North American Pro Sports" and the speakers included Emma Lambert (Motionball), Drew MacPherson (Toronto Buccaneers Rugby), Maxime St. Laurent (Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada), Patrick Lowe (LaLiga North America), Photi Sotiropoulos (Canadian Olympic Committee). The third day's topic was "Working in Intercollegiate Athletics" and the speakers included Kaylee Aulds (LSU Athletics), Elaine Russell (University at Buffalo, athletics), Peter Baxter (Wilfred Laurier University, athletics), Alex Dominato (Athlete Institute). A big thank you to all the students that signed up for this event.
Trivia Nights x3:
In September, Council hosted three virtual trivia nights from September 15th-17th. Given that Brock's fall semester was virtual, we were not able to host any in-person orientations or events where SPMA students were able to meet and compete. Each night there was a different themed trivia competition. On the first night the theme was Iconic Teams, the second night's theme was Jersey Numbers and the third night's theme was Legendary Athletes.
Website Launch:
SPMA Council launched our website on October 26th. We spent the greater portion of the summer creating and designing content for the website and our goal for the future is to provide a resource that SPMA students can use and rely on frequently to find out about the different events that are going on and to provide relevant information about the sport industry and about Brock Sport Management.
Movember Initiative
Throughout the month of November the Brock SPMA Council participated in the Movember fundraiser to raise money and awareness about men's health. SPMA Council created and team and our original goal was to raise $1000 but by the end of the month we ended up raising $2,201. A huge shoutout and thank you to all that participated and donated to the cause. In addition to our fundraising efforts we also held a moustache bracket competition on our Instagram page. Participants sent us in pictures of their moustache progress and at the end of the month viewers voted on who grew the best moustache. Congrats to Evan Fraser for winning the best moustache bracket.
Speaker Series #2:
Our second speaker series took place on November 12th and the theme of the event was "Marketing Yourself as a Future Sport Industry Professional" and the speakers included Brenley Shapiro, Evan Gwartz, Jaden Ginsburg and Patrice Whiffen. This event was a huge success and we hope that those who attended took away an impactful message that they can use to develop their professional brand for the future. If you would like to read more about this event, check out the blog post called "SPMA Council Speaker Series- A Review"
Other Activities throughout the year:
- Blogs: https://www.brockspmacouncil.com/blog
-Tik Tok: @brockspmacouncil
-Social Media: keep up to date about events and activities related to sports, Brock and Council. Instagram @spma_council
-SPMA Council Podcast season 2: listen to episodes where you get your podcasts from. Hit up Instagram @spmacouncilpodcast for the link
-Social Events: NHL 20 tournament, NBA Virtual Fantasy League, First Year Zoom
A big shoutout to all the members of Brock SPMA Council for all of their hard work this year. As a council we look forward to providing SPMA students with more enrichment opportunities and virtual events in 2021!
To all, have a safe and healthy winter break!
--Brock Sport Management Council