Mar. 18, 2021 – New paper out by Dr. Negin Riazi, Kelly Wunderlich, Dr. Madelaine Gierc, Dr. Guy Faulkner and others examining parental experiences of COVID-19 and its impact on their children’s movement behaviours. Read it here!
Brian Wilson and CSS Team Awarded Funding in the 2020-2021 ‘Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters’
The School of Kinesiology’s Centre for Sport and Sustainability (CSS) received a recent boost thanks to the success of a team from the CSS, and a range of collaborators, in the 2020-2021 ‘Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters’ (GCRC) funding competition. The GCRC is a UBC-based initiative jointly created by the Vice-President (Research & Innovation) and the Provost & Vice-President (Academic) “to enable the formation and growth of interdisciplinary research excellence clusters.”
The GCRC-enabled cluster, called the Mobilizing Sport & Sustainability Collective, was assembled to support research and knowledge mobilization activities associated with the CSS. Led by Kinesiology’s Dr. Brian Wilson (cluster lead), Dr. Andrea Bundon, and Dr. Moss Norman, the cluster includes 22 UBC and non-UBC members, from both academic and non-academic communities. The cluster’s mandate is as follows:
Sport-related social and environmental problems sometimes ‘fly under the radar’ because of the unique contexts that sport presents. Sport also has unique potential for addressing these same problems. The Mobilizing Sport & Sustainability Collective, in association with UBC’s Centre for Sport and Sustainability (CSS), aims to 1. Raise awareness about problems within and around sport that are sometimes unacknowledged, and feature existing research that is concerned with these problems, 2. Highlight and explore the unique potential of sport for addressing social and environmental issues, and 3. Foster dialogue concerning the potential of, problems with, and misuses of the notion of ‘sustainability’ in and around sport. In pursuit of the overarching aim of mobilizing knowledge about pressing issues related to sport and sustainability, activities of the Collective are oriented around the development of original, strategic and engaging communication materials for a Sport and Sustainability Research and Education Media Resource. These activities will support the CSS’s vision of being a local, national and global resource on sport and sustainability.
Brian Wilson noted that “support from the GCRC will be invaluable as we continue to work to promote awareness about sport’s relationship with sustainability, highlight ways that sport-related social and environmental issues might be addressed, and explore the power of sport as a facilitator for positive change”. Dr. Robert Boushel, Director of Kinesiology pointed to “the CSS’s alignment with the strategic priorities of UBC’s School of Kinesiology, including research excellence, knowledge exchange, and the promotion of wellbeing.” The Centre for Sport and Sustainability is one of five research centres in UBC’s Faculty of Education. The CSS’s mission is to improve “understandings of the relationships between sport and human and ecological wellbeing, social and economic development, and cultural identity.”
Patricia Vertinsky Receives 2020 ‘In Her Footsteps’ Award
Congratulations to UBC Kinesiology professor Patricia Vertinsky who, as part of Sport BC’s Athlete of the Year Awards, was selected as a 2020 Honouree to the In Her Footsteps, Celebrating BC Women in Sport recognition program. The award took place virtually on Thursday March 25th, 2021.
Dr. Vertinsky, who is a prominent feminist sports historian, was one of 62 Honourees, women who have had a significant impact on women and girls in sport and who have strengthened the community through their passion, academic expertise and commitment. UBCKin is proud of the important work Dr. Patricia Vertinsky has done to advance women and gender politics in the realm of sport and kinesiology and is delighted that one of its own has been chosen to join this inspirational group of women!
Dr. Vertinsky’s story will also be presented and profiled in the In Her Footsteps exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Drs. Moss Norman and Jan Hare Awarded Funding for their innovative project, (Re)Imagining Indigenous Centered UBC Campus Recreation
Congratulations to Dr. Jan Hare (EDST; Associate Dean, Indigenous Education) and Dr. Moss Norman (KIN) for being one of four teams across UBC awarded Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) Fund grants. These inaugural grants are designed to support innovative research projects on the Vancouver campus that uphold strategic sustainability priorities and embody the principles of a living lab.
Drs. Hare and Norman will use their $42,308 award to support their project (Re) Imagining Indigenous-Centred UBC Campus Recreation. The project will address two UN Sustainable Development Goals, including ‘Good Health’ and ’Sustainable Cities and Communities”, by responding to several priority calls to action within UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP), with an over-arching objective to decolonize campus space and advance and support Indigenous self-determination through socially and culturally sustainable campus recreation.
UBC School of Kinesiology is Ranked 1st in Canada and North America, and 4th in the World!
We are very proud to announce that the UBC School of Kinesiology, together with UBCO School of Health and Exercise Sciences, ranked 1st in Canada and North America, and 4th in the World in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.
To learn more about the QS Rankings: Click Here.
Zoë Balbosa
Zoë Balbosa is a third-year Kinesiology student who hails from Surrey. Zoe has chosen to do the Interdisciplinary stream. She was drawn to the KIN program due to the intimate School size and believes that “KIN is a more inviting and “close-knit” School that allows people to feel a part of a community.”
“Many of my experiences with KIN profs have been positive. Dr. McEwen, Dr. Bennet and Dr. Kennedy are some of my favourite professors so far.” One of Zoë’s favourite classes has been KIN 488 – Interprofessional Health Mentors Program. “The course runs throughout the year and gives students the ability to be mentored by an individual who either has a chronic disability or is a caregiver themselves.” She also enjoyed KIN 206 – Introduction to Statistics in Kinesiology with Dr. McEwen.
Zoë started playing softball when she was six years old, “I continuously played up until the pandemic hit. It was very strange to stop playing softball due to lockdown because it has been such a big part of my life. I probably wouldn’t be in KIN if I didn’t play softball.” Zoë currently serves as a member of KIN’s newly founded KUS BIPOC Committee and UBC’s Black Student Union (BSU). “Similar to many other BIPOC students, I find it helpful and comforting to be a part of a space that highlights, discusses, and aims to improve the university experiences of BIPOC students. I have made many close friends in these clubs/committees and achieved great things with them.”
When asked about the most important aspects she has learned from KIN so far, Zoë states “it is important to remember to not be too hard on yourself. In first year, I felt like I didn’t belong because of the discrepancies in grades I received in comparison to high school. I’ve learned that this tends to be the case for many first-years because of the change in environment, expectations, routine, among many other factors.”
When asked about her future, Zoë says, “Although I get asked this question frequently, I still don’t have an answer! I hope that whatever I choose to do, I will truly enjoy it. I am interested in helping others and hope that this desire will come into fruition in one form or another.”