Kinesiology 494y*

Sport and Community Service

Academic year 2006-2007

Course Description and Selection Process

Dr. Craig Boydell

Course Description:

The purpose of this field experience/seminar is to examine how sport can contribute to personal development and meet social needs through a variety of community service endeavors. In the field experience component of the course students will bring together their own backgrounds in competitive sport and community involvement to plan and carry out community outreach events and programs. Students will incorporate and assess the Intercollegiate Athletic Program, the University as a whole and a number of external organizations as resources to meet community needs.

*The course has been designated as a “y” course to permit one or two planning sessions in the first term, but the bulk of the work will be in the winter term. As such, for the purpose of assessing workload balance students should treat it as a second term course.

Prerequisites and considerations

The formal pre-requisites for the course are registration in 4th Year Kinesiology and the completion of at least two years in a varsity sport. Registration in the course will be limited to a maximum of ten students and be by permission of the professor. A limited number of non-Kinesiology students may be admitted upon the recommendation of the Professor and permission of the Dean of their home Faculty and the Director of the School of Kinesiology.

Priority will be given to students with volunteer and work experience involving community service activities, organizing community events, planning, promoting and marketing athletic events, and the like. Since course activities will be very public, students should be confident in their ability to represent the University in the Guest Seminar Sessions, with the media, in dealings with the various internal and external partners, and in delivering the events to target populations. Priority may also be given to students whose backgrounds fit the kinds of projects that will be undertaken in a given year.

Applying for Enrollment

Students interested in applying for admission to the course should submit their resume with the online version of their transcript along with a brief statement (<100 words) on why you wish to enroll and what you think you can bring to the course. Also provide phone and e-mail contact information for yourself and your Varsity Coach. Please put your information in a folder labeled Kin 494y Application and your name and submit to Jennifer Symmes in the Kinesiology office any time after August 15th, but not later than Wednesday September 12, 2006. You may also do so via e-mail to (the subject heading should be - Application for 494y followed by your last name).

Eligible students will be short-listed for interviews with the Professor after which students will be admitted to the course on a rolling basis. Once a student has been approved for enrollment by the professor they should report to Jenn Symmes in the undergraduate office to fill out the Field Experience forms. The final date for adding a full year half-course (“y”) is September 15th.

Information about the course for prospective students

Some information on last year’s version of Sport and Community Service Course will be in a folder available from Jennifer Symmes in the Undergraduate office as of August 15th. Information will also be available on the Course Website, which is currently being updated and will be available again for your perusal on August 15th. The interviews will also serve as a source of information about the course and these will be set up as soon asinformation packages are completed.The interviews should be seen as a two way process. Prospective students are also invited to examine feedback from students in last year’s course and contact them personally.

Class Sessions and Projects

Each week we will have either a Regular seminar discussion session or an Interactive Guest Seminar Session. Sessions will be highly interactive in nature and will rely heavily on active student participation in some unique seminar and community settings. Students will be able to make some input on the specific guest sessions that will be set up during the winter term as well as on the nature of outreach programs and events.A calendar of the sessions in last year’s course is attached below as a sample. In addition to the seminar sessions there are small group project team meetings. Some travel may be required to facilitate information gathering, event planning and to carry out specific project goals.

Regular Seminar Discussions

The topics that will be raised as issues for discussion and debate in regular seminar sessions will be tied into the major course themes on community service and directed to stimulating thinking on course projects. We will also provide the necessary time in these sessions to prepare for the guest sessions. Background materials will be provided for each of the Guest Sessions one week prior to the session.

Interactive Guest Seminar Sessions

The Interactive Guest Seminar Sessions will be discussion panels and question and answer sessions involving students and invited guests who have considerable experience and reputations in areas relevant to the course. In cases where information would be helpful from outside experts who cannot be involved directly in a seminar discussion, students may conduct individual interviews or have separate meetings with their project groups. While the focus for these sessions will be the class itself, there is the possibility that sessions could be opened up to other interested persons as observers or even held in a public format. It is also possible that some of the sessions and events will involve viewing audiences and media coverage beyond our own video documentation of special sessions and events. One option for this is that one of the sessions may be conducted as a TV show.

Students who are offered a place in the course will be notified by e-mail. Once intention to enroll has been confirmed they must report to Jennifer Symmes to fill out registration materials to be submitted no later than September 15, 2006, the final day for adding a full year half-course.

Sport and Community Service (Kin 494b)– Winter Term 2006

(LAST YEAR – SAMPLE)

Regular Class Sessions and Events*

Week of
January 9 / Dimensions of Sport and Community Service
January 16 / Discussion and Development of Event Proposals; Assignment of Event Teams
Anti-Bullying Event – First Nations Track and Field Events – GuluWalk Event
January 23 / Guest Seminar – Successful High Profile Community Outreach Programs in the Private Sector
  1. Michael J. Boydell – Vice President International Development Yahoo!; President Hotjobs Canada; Board of Directors and Acting CEO Altruvest Inc.
  2. Paul Etherington – Vice President Etherington Enterprises; Co-Founder Motion Ball Charity Organization

January 30 / More than Just a Game Discussion. Follow up on Corporate Guest Session; Preparation for President’s Session; Project updates.
February 6 / Guest Seminar –
Dr. Paul Davenport - President University of Western Ontario
Debra Dawson – Educational Planning
Marcia Steyneart – Community Outreach
February 13 / Guest Seminar Ray Hughes – Director Fourth R Canada; Susan Dale Safe Schools Coordinator Thames Valley District School Board; Toni Wilson TVDSB Teacher involved with Safe School Initiatives
February 20 / Event Team Meetings
FirstNationsSchool Visits – Slack Week
February 27 / Team Presentations and evaluations Anti-Bullying; First Nations; GuluWalk
March 8 / ANTI-BULLYING EVENT – 8:00 AM Alumni - should be done around 3:00 PM
March 9 / Guest Seminar – First Nations Initiatives and Sport - Kelley Nicholas; Vivian Peters – First Nations Resource Centre
March 13 / GuluTeam meeting 8:00-10:00 PM
March 22 / FIRST NATIONS TRACK AND FIELD EVENT – Thompson Arena
March 30 / GULU WALK EVENT – Stadium Reception; Campus Walk; UCC Hill; Alumni Hall
March 30 / Special Guest Session: Adrian Bradbury - Winner of Two Major International Humanitarian Awards for his role as Founder of Athlete’s for Africa and the International GuluWalk Movement.
April 10 / Final Seminar Meeting – Review all events; Preparation for final submission and oral Final Exams; Review Website Status; Recommendations for future
April 28 / Final Exams

*Does not include numerous Project Team Meetings and Partner Meetings