U SPORTS News

U SPORTS held its 43rd Annual Meeting and accompanying professional development sessions June 3-4, delivered in virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

To begin Thursday’s Annual Meeting, Dr. Annette Trimbee, Chair of the Board of Directors and President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, addressed the continuing global health concerns, as well as our commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against systemic racism in North America.

U SPORTS then welcomed new interim CEO Dick White, former Athletic Director of the University of Regina, to his new roll, while also thanking outgoing Board of Director member Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Peter J. Ricketts, President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University, was elected the new Atlantic University Sport representative.

In addition, six other sports administrators and athletic department staff across the country were recognized for their service to university sports in Canada following their departures over the last year, including Jean-Pierre Chancy (Montréal), Marc Gelinas (McGill), Jeff Giles (Ryerson), James Keogh (Victoria), Ken McInnes (Lethbridge), and Sandy Slavin (U SPORTS Eligibility and Athletic Financial Awards Committees)

The Annual Meeting also featured the committee report presentations by UQTR’s Daniel McMahon (Finance), Carleton’s Dr. Taryn Taylor (Sport Medicine and Research Science), Memorial’s Dr. Karen Murphy (Sport), Joey Sabo of Bishop’s (Eligibility, Athletic Financial Awards), McGill’s Lisen Moore (Equity), and Darren Cates of the Royal Military College of Canada (International).

In addition, the membership had the opportunity to attend a pair of professional development webinars on Wednesday, June 3 in lieu of the traditional three-day U SPORTS conference.

The first presentation featured Mental Health Commission of Canada Business Development Officer Katie Lemenchick and Mental Health First Aid Canada Training and Delivery Specialist Denise Waligora speaking on raising mental health awareness through concepts and programs developed by the Commission.

Following this, sports psychiatrist Dr. Carla Edwards, who serves as a Mental Health Specialist on the U SPORTS Sport Medicine and Research and Science Committee, addressed the topic of Harassment and Abuse in Sport, and explored approaches that can be taken to protect athletes.

The 2019-20 season officially concludes with the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards Presented by Makadiff SPORTS honouring the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year. Winners will be announced on June 25 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBCSports.ca.

Click below to view the U SPORTS Annual Report celebrating the achievements of the past year:

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