Articles from:March 2020

• Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being supporting members virtually

  Tuesday, March 24, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 24 March 2020 – R0048

  Physical activity is an important part of staying healthy and boosting immunity, but doing so during the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge — especially for older adults and high-risk groups.

  In response, the Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being is using social media and online tools to keep members engaged and active.

  “The Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being is a social hub for many of our members,” says Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Director of the SeniorFit program Kimberley Gammage. “It’s important to us that our community doesn’t feel isolated and we are taking steps to contribute to the social, mental and physical health of our members.”

  To assist members with their health and fitness goals, Centre staff are posting daily Home Workouts which do not require exercise equipment on their public Facebook page and have launched a new Brock webpage to provide information and important safety tips.

  “We’re committed to providing our members with continual comprehensive service,” says Department of Health Sciences Chair and Centre Director Deborah O’Leary. “Our team is dedicated to providing a virtual, communal environment so that our members do not feel socially isolated and continue to partake in a healthy lifestyle.”

  The Centre membership is comprised of older adults, individuals with cardiovascular disease or risk factors and individuals with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or amputations.

  Each daily home workout posted on Facebook and the Brock webpage will have two options to allow individuals to make modifications based on their own unique needs, including seated exercises.

  “Despite our best efforts, the reality is some of our members with disability may not be independent enough to take advantage of the online exercise options,” explains Kinesiology Professor and Director of Power Cord, David Ditor. “For members in our wheelchair accessible exercise program, a phone call during this period can help them to fight off loneliness and isolation. We plan to reach out to our members and let them know we’re thinking about them.”

  Another facet of the Brock community being engaged online are 30 Pelham residents, ranging in age from 59 to 91, who were a part of a 12-week functional exercise program at the Meridian Community Centre. Through a formal partnership with the Town of Pelham, FIT with Brock, a program of circuit classes had been running three times a week since January, and ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Since the shut-down, Centre Co-ordinator Katherine Crockett has been reaching out via email to provide members with home workouts and online video resources.

  The Centre team is currently looking into the feasibility of running virtual fitness classes in real-time so all members can continue their exercise and social interactions from home.

  For more information and updates on these initiatives, please visit the Home Workouts webpage on the Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being website or the Centre’s public Facebook page.

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Canadian boycott of Tokyo games will influence others to do the same: Brock profs

  Monday, March 23, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 23 March 2020 – R0047

  With Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees deciding not to send athletes to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games if they proceed as scheduled, Assistant Professor of Sport Management Michael Naraine and Associate Professor of Sport Management Julie Stevens say Canada has become a leader for other countries to make the same decision.

  “It’s an unprecedented situation,” says Naraine. “Team Canada is taking the lead on the international Olympic movement stage. In the last decade specifically, Canada has been one of the key leaders in the Olympic space, not only for athletes and development, but also in providing for other stakeholders as well. The decisions in the last 24 hours signals the progressiveness of the Canadian team.”

  Stevens says the decision fell in line with larger efforts being undertaken to ensure the safety of Canadians abroad.

  “The Canadian government is trying to bring Canadians home,” says Stevens, who also serves as Director of Brock’s Centre for Sport Capacity. “It is contradictory to also plan to send Canadians abroad when this crisis is happening. Values of health, safety and collective global good are paramount.”

  Naraine says the decision also provides a clearer picture for Canadian athletes who have been unsure of how things might proceed during the COVID-19 crisis.

  “Both the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees have done their due diligence and there is more clarity for the athletes,” he says. “This removes additional stress from the athletes and provides some structure to them during this time.”

  Naraine believes Canada’s decision will be the first of many similar moves around the world.

  “You will see that the games are about to be postponed because of the leadership of Team Canada,” he says. “It takes one domino to fall and others will follow. Once Team USA and Team Great Britain announce their decisions, that’s game over. Given what’s happening in Europe, those teams will also follow along.”

  Stevens says pressure put on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by national committees is the only way the dates of the games could be changed.

  “The IOC answers to no entity,” she says. “It has members — such as National Olympic Committees (NOCs) — who are the key actors who can generate any pressure. If the NOCs stand together, then no one is left out as the only NOC that didn’t participate and put its athletes at a disadvantage. An ‘all stand together approach’ is the best way to move forward.”

  Stevens also highlights the need for a proactive and decisive approach.

  “An IOC decision to reschedule the games sooner rather than later will ensure plans can be adjusted within a manageable time frame rather than under crisis,” she says. “In this way, a balance among all stakeholders, especially the athletes, can be reached.”

  Though some have proposed only postponing the games a few months, Naraine says a delay of one year is better for athletes.

  “The reason we are where we are is that it essentially maintains the athletes’ training cycles. If they were postponed until January, it would affect an athlete’s training cycle much more.”

  With athletes’ well-being top of mind, Naraine says there are also significant implications for the many sponsors of the games, given that they only take place every other year.

  “It’s a difficult business proposition when you only have one activity every two years,” he says. “It’s far easier for professional leagues to miss a few games when they can still salvage their season. The Olympics has made its name as a special event, when you bring the world together. As a result, you have also sold your sponsors on being exclusive and having all eyes on you.”

   

  Brock University Sport Management Professors Julie Stevens and Michael Naraine are available for interviews over the phone or via Skype/Facetime.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected] or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases