What’s JDC? It’s a three day event that showcases academics, athletics, social spirit and charity and is Canada’s fastest growing business student competition. JDC stands for Jeux du Commerce, and first began in Quebec in 1989. Five years ago, JDC Central was created with a focus on business schools located in Central and Eastern Canada. Our business students have attended JDC Central since its inception. The 2014 JDC Central competition was held at the University of Guelph. This year’s Goodman delegation brought home a number of awards, including placing third for the School of the Year award. Michael Walkey and Jordan Molzan were the 2014 JDCC co-captains.
What a great year at JDC Central! Can you share the team’s secret to success?
Michael: I think the overall success can’t be attributed to one thing. After all, this year we witnessed a significant increase in multiple factors. From faculty support, to a new organizational structure, and most importantly, an energetic team that was willing to go the extra mile.
Jordan: We implemented a new hierarchy structure that opened up more leadership roles that were filed with highly experienced individuals who had many years of JDCC under their belts. We were prepared long before the school year started and placed a lot of effort into our marketing to attract top talent from our business school. Faculty and alumni support was crucial and they worked very closely with the teams and provided them with the tools and skills required.
What is the JDCC experience like?
Michael: The JDCC experience is tough to describe. The easiest way to describe it is the Olympics of business schools. The competition hosts multiple different events that the delegates compete in: Academics, Debate, Social, and Sports. And like the Olympics, the experience is life-changing; being able to show off your school spirit along with the top delegates from 15 other schools is quite amazing, and bringing home the medals brings immense school pride to us, the captains, the delegates, and the Goodman JDCC Alumni.
Jordan: It has to be the highest spirited business competition in the country! It brings together the top business students from 15 universities from all over eastern Canada for a very competitive yet unforgettable experience.
In addition to winning 1st overall for JDCC Socials and in the Finance Category and placing 3rd overall in the Debate and Strategy category, Goodman also placed 3rd for the School of the Year award. What did this mean to the team?
Michael: It really means a lot: being a newly named school, our canvas is quite blank. When we have such outstanding achievements we see the direct impact on that so called blank canvas. I can say without a doubt we have sent a message that Goodman is not be considered lightly!
Jordan: This is a huge accomplishment for the Goodman JDCC team. I have competed on our JDCC team for four years now and when we first began we placed last out of eight schools. Now, competing against 15 schools, we placed 3rd and this is such an amazing improvement. Especially after the naming of our business school to the Goodman School of Business, other schools now view us in high regard as one of the top contenders.
What was your favourite part of this year’s JDC Central competition?
Michael: My favourite part was after the competition, when I heard the delegates saying they had the time of their lives and that they want to come back next year! Hearing Goodman announced multiple times at the awards ceremonies was pretty awesome!
Jordan: My favorite part of this year’s JDCC had to be in the success of our team. Hearing our name called numerous times at the gala has to be one of the greatest feelings. I am very proud of the team and all of the hard work that they put in and to see it pay off was a very rewarding experience.
What’s next for the Goodman JDC team?
Michael: Bigger and better things! This year we proved that Goodman is most definitely in the house, but we won’t stop until that School of the Year trophy is in Taro Hall!
Jordan: We are expecting a lot of big things in coming years for our JDCC team. We established a lot of partnerships this year and I am looking forward to see them work together in the future. We have a very dedicated group of Goodman students that I know will not stop until we capture the School of the Year award. It is a very fair assumption that the best is yet to come from Goodman JDCC.
