Kanagasingam, Deana

Deana Kanagasingam is a PhD candidate in Kinesiology (Socio-Cultural Studies) at the School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia. Her research explores how principles of social justice, weight-inclusiveness, and person-centredness are integrated into healthcare practice. She holds a Master of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies, with a specialization in Women’s Health, from the University of Toronto.

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with larger bodied patients (n=20) and their healthcare practitioners (n=22) in Canada, this paper combines micro and macro approaches in outlining a social justice approach to caring for larger patients in healthcare practice. Theoretically, we draw upon structural competency (Metzl & Hansen, 2014) and critical consciousness (Kumagai & Lypson, 2009) to address the question of how social justice is enacted, experienced, and understood in interactions between clinicians and larger patients. Our findings highlight four key themes that provide a framework for integrating social justice into healthcare practice: 1) an awareness of one’s simultaneous experience of marginalization and privilege in the clinical interaction; 2) navigating between additive and interactive understandings of intersectionality; 3) micro and macro approaches to change; and 4) straddling the line between equity and equality. The synergies in participants’ perspectives across social identities suggests that the cultivation of social justice awareness potentially mitigates some blinders of privilege. Furthermore, practitioners’ social justice orientation positively impacted patient experience, with most patients expressing appreciation for having their various histories of trauma and social challenges handled compassionately during appointments.

Michael Liu

Michael Liu is a 3rd-year Kinesiology student in the neuromechanical and physiological sciences stream. He participated in the Canadian Olympic Committee mission team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, and is an ambassador for the Richmond Olympic Experience, the first North American museum of the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Museums Network.

Michael has been passionate about sports since childhood. He knew that after high school he wanted to deepen his understanding of sports and pursue a scientific speciality that explored human movement on a macro-level. Consequently, he enrolled in the UBC School of Kinesiology and has been heavily involved in sports journalism and media ever since. He is a senior sportswriter for the Ubyssey and write for other publications covering teams such as the Pacific FC, Canadian men’s soccer team, Canadian men’s sevens rugby team, Abbotsford Canucks, and Vancouver Canucks. Likewise, he reports on UBC sports at CiTR 101.9FM’s sports radio show, Thunderbird Eye, and is the travel and safety lead of the Quidditch Thunderbird Sport Club.

With a year left to his undergraduate studies, his degree is already preparing him to pursue a career in sports. Recently, he attended the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and it was nothing short of a remarkable experience. “Seeing the workings behind the scenes was incredible, as well as contributing to the success of Team Canada on and off the competition stage,” reflects Michael. He was the only current UBC student working on the mission team, so he was representing both Canada and UBC. It was no easy job for him to work at the Olympics while being a student, but his experience expanded his understanding of Kinesiology and how he could apply his degree to the real world. Furthermore, the event brought him back to his cultural roots and encouraged him to embrace his heritage through his love of sport. “I felt that I was able to relate more, understand more because I spoke the language and understood the culture,” notes Michael. “Bridging the cultural gap was something I was extremely proud of.” As a KIN student, attending the Olympics was certainly Michael’s proudest moment.

When asked where issues of inclusion find a place in his life or work, Michael mentions that there is still a lack of racial diversity and representation in professional sport, which can impact people’s aspirations to pursue a career in the industry. “The sporting world is predominantly led by white people. As a child growing up in Canada, I had a hard time finding role models. I bounced from sport to sport, trying my hand at everything because I liked it, but not really having anything to aspire to.” He believes that racial diversity benefits the sports industry because it reassures many passionate BIPOC individuals that they do have a place and can succeed in the field. As BIPOC representation is beginning to grow, he hopes to be a part of it and inspire others to enter the sporting world.

Michael is committed to spark more public interest in competitive sports and strongly believes in the Olympic movement. He is a storyteller and guide for visitors at the Richmond Olympic Experience, assisting them “through the exhibits” and “providing guided tours to special delegations.” Additionally, he is dedicated to support university athletes through strengthening their performance. As a student athletic trainer at UBC Athletics, he helps UBC football players to “prevent injuries” and assists in daily operations. After he graduates, he hopes to work in sports medicine, particularly in U SPORTS, NCAA Division 1, or a professional sports league.

Michael’s tips for prospective KIN students: Always chase after your passions and dreams. Be ready for opportunities that present themselves and enjoy each moment of them.

Jennings, Jim

Jim Jennings (HPCTL 2016) is presently completing his master’s degree in high-performance coaching and technical leadership and will graduate in May 2022. He is the former Chair of Karate Canada’s Long-Term Development (LTD) Committee and a member of the High-Performance Committee. He runs a Karate club in Bradford, Ontario, which offers recreational and high-performance training for athletes competing at both the Provincial and National level.

Jim started in karate at age 13 and soon after began to compete at the local level, eventually making his way to the National team six years later. His longtime involvement in the sport exposed him to various coaching styles. “There were many great technical people and wonderful and passionate coaches, but I believed there was so much more to coaching,” stated Jim. To fill this gap and develop his own coaching style, he seized the opportunity of becoming the head coach for Ontario’s provincial karate team. One of his career highlights was when he coached eight karate athletes from Team Canada at the Commonwealth Championships, winning nine medals.

Although issues of inclusion are prevalent in high-performance sport and leadership, Jim highlights the diversity in Canadian karate teams, both provincially and nationally. “Our Provincial and National teams are incredibly diverse with a rich mix of athletes whose heritage stems from many parts of the world. Our selections are set up to involve anyone who is interested regardless of race, gender, or sexual identity.” When asked where he finds issues of inclusion in his life or at work, Jim indicates the lack of women’s participation in high-performance leadership. However, through his efforts he has made some successful strides to achieve gender equality in karate coaching. “I strive to nurture leadership for participants at our club and this has been very successful, especially for teenage girls who make up about 70% of our club membership,” notes Jim. “As a past Provincial head coach, it was my initiatives that brought women coaches onto what was once an all-male Provincial coaching team. This has flourished since then with 50% of our Provincial team coaching positions now filled by women.”

In 2016, Jim received his certificate in the HPCTL program and then continued to the master’s program at the UBC School of Kinesiology. When asked about what made his time at UBC memorable, he reflected on how his teachers played a huge role in his academic success: “My studies were done through a mix of online and in-person sessions. Living in Ontario, I did not have access to any of the on-campus programs or teams, which made me feel somewhat isolated. That said, the professors, instructors and guests that played a role in this program were amazing in how they delivered the program. Their level of knowledge is inspiring, and they were incredibly helpful and encouraging during the difficult pandemic times.” The HPCTL program provided him with useful skills and knowledge that he now uses to support his athletes.

Jim’s main interests are, “high-performance programming, grass roots approaches to ensure quality sport for all ages,” and “conducting further research regarding the junior to senior transition in karate.” He is “open to new challenges” and hopes to pursue more opportunities in both his coaching and academic career. “I am older than most students, so I had my path relatively set out,” comments Jim. “However, as far as my coaching or academic career goes, it is still a work in progress.”

Follow Jim on Twitter @JimJennings18 to learn more!

Maya Sato-Klemm

Maya Sato-Klemm is a 5th-year Kinesiology student in the interdisciplinary sciences stream, minoring in biology with a focus in neurobiology and serves as a research assistant under Dr. Tania Lam in the Human Locomotion Laboratory, which is situated in UBC’s spinal cord injury research centre, known as the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD).

Maya first met Dr. Lam in KIN 190 (Anatomy and Physiology), where she became so engrossed in the subject that she regularly attended out-of-class office hours to ask more in-depth questions. That summer, she began to volunteer in Dr. Lam’s Human Locomotion Laboratory. Working there with fellow researchers helped her to expand her understanding of academic research and to learn to “develop new project ideas” and collect data. Her experience there “ignited her passion to learn and grow” in the field. “During my time in this lab, we have undertaken such a wide range of research that I find I am learning enormous amounts of new information, not solely with regards to current literature, but also in research-related methodology, analysis, and presentation skills,” notes Maya. After volunteering that summer, she transitioned to working as a Work Learn Research Assistant.

One of the biggest takeaways Maya from working in Dr. Lam’s lab was learning about existing issues of inclusion and equity in Canadian society. “I have come to better understand that it is not a person’s “disability” that prevents them from achieving their goals in our community, but the discriminatory way we have built this world to favour those with other bodies,” comments Maya. “I deeply believe in this message and have been inspired by my research to use the resources I have to bring awareness to those around me.” During the pandemic Maya was able to incorporate her artistic skills by drawing her team members and others in different ICORD labs to depict them all together in one location. Her drawings helped everyone “connect when they couldn’t see each other in-person in a COVID-safe way.”

Maya will be publishing her first academic article as lead author in her 4th-year self-directed study on pelvic floor muscle training (PMFT). Titled “Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pelvic Floor Muscle Therapy in the Spinal Cord Injury Population: A Cross-sectional Survey,” her study examines the “knowledge, attitude, and practice of PMFT in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).” Maya reveals that not many people with SCI have tried PMFT, despite many “being aware of and having favourable attitudes towards PFMT.” At the 50th Annual Alberta Motor Control NeuroHike Meeting, she gave her first academic presentation about a study investigating and characterizing the activity of pelvic floor muscles during running. The purpose of the study was “to create a baseline for further research into pelvic floor muscle training in able-bodied individuals and in people with spinal cord injury.” Maya disclosed that she had “extreme stage fright,” but practiced intensely beforehand which ultimately “fueled her for future challenges ahead.”

Maya’s time at UBC has been nothing short of an insightful experience. “From the get-go, all my classes have been incredibly interesting and applicable to my life,” states Maya. “I never would have taken a sociology class had there not been two mandatory courses offered in kinesiology. I have found through this degree that there is infinite information out there and hence, infinite opportunity to learn and grow.” Maya will graduate with her BKin in May 2022, and then plans to take a gap year to pursue her passion for visual arts before enrolling in medical school.

Ng, Tobias

Tobias Ng is a graduate of the High-Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership program (BKin 2013, MHPCTL 2020). He was an Olympic athlete in the 2012 Games and is a high-performance coach at the Bellevue Badminton Club in Washington, U.S.A. He currently coaches for the club’s junior badminton program and travels to regional and national competitions with his athletes.

Tobias began as a UBC engineering student but quickly realized it was not for him. He discovered his interests were more aligned with KIN’s undergraduate program and so transferred to the School of Kinesiology. He then took a leave from his studies to train and compete as a badminton player at the 2012 London Olympic Games. He returned to UBC to complete his BKin in 2013, and in 2018 Toby decided to enroll in the MHPCTL program while competing with Badminton Canada.

He says that studying high-performance coaching and technical leadership broadened his perception of badminton as an athlete. “Now that I’m finally retired from international competition, I have the chance to combine my former experience as an athlete with the best of the coaching sciences to help me as a coach,” remarks Tobias. Tobias cited KIN professors and adjuncts, Dr. Carolyn McEwen, Dr. Maria Gallo, Dr. Andy Van Neutegem, Dr. Shaunna Taylor, and David Hill, as his biggest inspirations to “think critically” and to familiarize himself “with evidence-based decision making.” He believes his studies at UBC KIN have provided him with the opportunity to apply what he learned in academia to his training, and to develop an interdisciplinary outlook on coaching.

Tobias has achieved many career highlights and successes over the past decade. He competed with Badminton Canada as a national badminton athlete, winning six national titles and competing at the 2012 London Olympics. In addition, he participated in seven World Championships, including the Pan Am Games where he won gold in 2011 and silver in 2015. As a successful athlete, coaching was not a career path he thought he could pursue full-time. “Although I was always considering coaching as a part-time thing, opportunities came up where I could do it as a full-time job and I’m truly grateful for that,” states Tobias. One of these opportunities was “coaching the B.C. team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games” prior to his current position.

Becoming a “better coach” is Tobias’s primary goal. He wants to “learn from wherever possible” and implement approaches that improve his coaching style. He hopes to publish a book on badminton in the near future, “to coach an athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games and return to international competition as a professional coach.”

Tobias’s tips for current KIN students: “Focus on what you can control (your choices and intentions). Don’t worry about what you cannot control (outcomes, pretty much everything else). If you can turn obstacles into opportunities, then nothing can get in your way. Lastly, understand the difference between recognition (illusion of understanding) and recall (true understanding).”

Trainor, Lisa

Lisa Trainor is a 3rd year Ph.D. Kinesiology student focusing on sport and exercise psychology. She conducts qualitative research on athlete psychological well-being, sport injury, and psychological growth, including interviews with high-performance athletes who have competed in the Olympic or Paralympic games. With the supervision of KIN assistant professor Dr. Andrea Bundon and KIN professor emeritus Dr. Peter Crocker, she aims to expand the conceptualization of mental wellness in sport and “better understand how athletes conceptualize sport psychological well-being.”

Lisa began her pursuit for sport and exercise psychology at UBC, where she studied Kinesiology and played for the varsity women’s ice hockey team during her undergraduate years. She learned more about field and postgraduate research while volunteering at Dr. Crocker’s lab on sport and exercise psychology. Her volunteer experience motivated her to pursue a master’s degree under Dr. Crocker’s supervision and hone her specific research interests. Upon completing her masters, she continued her research at UBC KIN as a doctoral student.

Lisa states that this field is important to her because it informs health practioners working with athletes how to advocate for their athletes’ health. “I believe that focusing on individual-driven understandings of athlete psychological wellbeing can help with the identification and conceptualization of sport-specific wellbeing and develop strategies for practitioners (i.e., sport psychologists) to better support athlete wellbeing.”

Lisa has now worked as a TA for an impressive 11 terms. From acquiring new pedagogical skills to building positive student relationships, she has gained significant insight from her TA experience and encourages any student to become a TA, if given the opportunity. “By being a TA, you’re able to build a number of teaching related skills that you can apply post-grad, as well as work closely with different instructors and KIN students,” notes Lisa. In addition, she obtained a Certificate in Advanced Teaching and Learning, taught a self-directed course at Langara College, and has completed multiple teaching workshops. She has recently become a an executive board member of the International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (QRSE). She joins the board as an Early Career Researcher.
Being open-minded is Lisa’s most important takeaway from her Ph.D. thus far. “It is a time in your life that you’re able to explore new things and learn about yourself and what you’re interested in. I have been able to experience many different facets of research, teaching, and academia, all of which have contributed to shaping my grad journey and future aspirations.” After graduation, Lisa wishes to continue her research and teach classes at a university.

Lisa’s tips for prospective KIN graduate students: “If you are interested and passionate about learning more in a specific subject then I would encourage you to follow that passion. Grad school exposes you to several new experiences – so if you have the chance and the passion, go for it!”

To learn more about Lisa’s work, follow her on Twitter @trainorL.

Albert, Ueli

Ueli Albert (MHPCTL 2020), recently graduated with a Master of High-Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership. He grew up in Switzerland and competed on the national athletics team in the 800m. His background in athletics and his decision to move to Canada prompted him to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. He is the founder of Global Wheelchair Athletics and is also currently an adjunct professor at Acadia University.

In 2004, Ueli received a scholarship from Dalhousie University “to study kinesiology and run for their Varsity track and field team.” He achieved great success as a student-athlete by participating in the World FISU Games and becoming a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion. After graduating in 2009, he partook in adapted sport classes and worked at Acadia University’s S.M.I.L.E. program, while serving in his first coaching position as a national wheelchair racing team coach. He continued in his position until he founded Global Wheelchair Athletics and became the head coach for Team Nova Scotia Athletics in 2014.

Ueli always had a passion for coaching, but he did not expect to become involved in para sport coaching. “When I first got involved in para sport, I could not believe how few opportunities were available for people with a disability to get involved in sport,” states Ueli. The lack of opportunities motivated him to create more for para sport athletes. Furthermore, he had not planned to do a Ph.D., nor to have a career in post-secondary education. His career path shifted to academia in 2017 when he enrolled in the UBC School of Kinesiology’s High-Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership (HPCTL) program. Pursuing a Master of HPCTL at UBC required him to “do research, confidently make evidence-based decisions in his work, and communicate his findings to his peers and students.” His time at UBC was nothing short of an eye-opening experience. When asked about his memorable moments at UBC, Ueli enthusiastically responds that he relished his in-person classes and getting to know his coaching classmates. “We had great discussions and really connected in a short time. I might have even yodeled in one of our outings to the pub,” reflects Ueli.

As a coach, Ueli has had many career highlights. He helped five athletes qualify for senior and junior national teams and coached at several international competitions, including the World Junior Championships, the Para Pan Am Games, and the Paralympic Games. Working in para-athletics and para sport leadership gave him substantial insight into the existing issues of inclusion. “When I was coaching para-athletics, I constantly made decisions based on the person and the individuals,” remarks Ueli. “To me, inclusion is non-negotiable, and it starts with the mindset. Everyone involved needs to let go of biases and stigmas attached to minorities.”

A year before he graduated with his master’s degree, Ueli began teaching para sport coaching and inclusive leadership at Acadia University. Despite the obstacles that the COVID-19 pandemic presented, Ueli not only finished his MHCPTL degree, but he was accepted into Acadia’s Ph.D. Education program. Ueli will begin his Ph.D. in July 2022 to explore para sport coach education and improve para sport programs.

Canadian team makeup reflects gender gap at Beijing Paralympic Games

Female athletes at 2022 Games only represent 24 per cent of total competitors

Andrea Bundon, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, studies the Paralympic Games gender gap because of her experience guiding visually-impaired Para-Nordic skiers Courtney Knight (2010) in Whistler and Margarita Gorbounova (2014) in Sochi, Russia.

“They had a strong preference for a female guide,” Bundon said. “Many of the guides are men. The reason being is it’s kind of easier to find a man who is faster than you than to find a woman who is faster than you, but not herself racing.

“I believe I was one of two female guides in Sochi. We’re lining up at the start line, and despite this being a women’s event, there’s a lot of men on the start line. […]

Read the full article here.

Dr. Guy Faulkner joins the Editorial Board of Journal of Physical Activity & Health

Mar. 7, 2022 – Congratulations to Dr. Guy Faulkner for joining the Editorial Board of the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.

“Exploring emotional-modulation of visually evoked postural responses through virtual reality”

Congratulations to Emma Nielsen, Drs. Taylor Cleworth, and Mark Carpenter on their recent publication “Exploring emotional-modulation of visually evoked postural responses through virtual reality”!

Read their study at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304394022001434