Media releases

  • Cycling scientist looks to improve performance for amateur and world-class riders

    MEDIA RELEASE: 28 June 2017 – R00124

    A new book being launched by renowned Brock kinesiologist Stephen Cheung will soon have advice from the world’s top cycling experts available at your fingertips.

    Cycling Science provides readers with an insider’s look at the sport, taking them from the training room and research lab and onto the competitive course.

    The cutting-edge book provides insight into how the bike and body work together, environmental stressors — such as heat, air pollution and altitude — racing techniques, psychology and team building.

    “It’s the most comprehensive cycling book to date, dealing with more issues than any other book on the market,” says Cheung, who is the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Ergonomics. He is also a competitive athlete who is respected internationally for his research into the science behind cycling performance.

    “For me, this is the culmination of more than 30 years of cycling passion.”

    Cheung’s work in human physiology and performance has been used by major cycling companies like Garmin and Pearl iZUMi to improve their products. He is highly sought after by world champion cyclists for advice on how to improve performance.

    “The comprehensive information in this book is presented in a way that is just as useful for the everyday cyclist, as it is for world champions,” says Cheung, who co-edited the book with Mikel Zabala, from the Movistar professional cycling team.

    The follow-up to Cheung’s Cutting-Edge Cycling was developed with contributions from 43 top cycling scientists and coaches from around the world.

    A book launch and signing is set for Friday, June 30 at 8 p.m. following the Canada 150 party at Liberty! Bicycles, 2 Bond St. in St. Catharines, that begins two hours earlier.

    Cheung will speak about his history as a sport scientist, his passion for cycling and the value the book provides to both amateur and competitive athletes.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

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    Categories: Media releases

  • Getting their kicks: Goodman Business students help alumnus launch new FootGolf course

    MEDIA RELEASE: 27 June 2017 – R00123

    When Brock University alumnus Andrew Julie (MBA ’05) and his wife Jen took over the Brock Golf Course (no affiliation to the university) three years ago, they wondered how they might grow the business.

    They found an answer just down Merrittville Highway, on the campus of his alma mater.

    Andrew became a client of students at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business — specifically, of the Goodman Accounting Students’ Association — in the Goodman Consulting Competition, a six-week challenge where students hone their consulting skills while bringing value to an organization.

    As a result of that fateful collaboration, this weekend Andrew and Jen will officially open a FootGolf course, joining a new recreational activity whose popularity is spreading across Canada.

    FootGolf combines soccer and golf. Players basically use golf rules while kicking a soccer ball towards a hole — a big hole — on what otherwise looks like a golf course.

    Andrew doesn’t hesitate to say the idea was a direct result of the Goodman competition. He provided a budget to work with, and students came up with creative but feasible possibilities for making the best use of what was then a 27-hole golf course.

    “We were trying to figure out what to do with the third nine, and the idea to open a FootGolf course came out of a brainstorming session with one of the groups of students,” said Andrew.

    “I looked at my wife, and a light bulb came on.”

    Work soon began to convert nine holes of golf to nine holes of FootGolf. As a pure business growth strategy, the Julies hope that having the FootGolf facility alongside their 18-hole golf course “will help introduce people to golf even though they may not be golfers yet.”

    Goodman Business student Mikayla Zolis, who was on the competition’s winning team, says the experience was a lesson on how to communicate effectively with a consulting client. The students had to conduct stringent analyses to support presentations on the proposal’s feasibility and expected return on investment.

    Zolis said the experience develops skills that are invaluable as students prepare to leave the campus and enter the workforce.

    “We had more creative liberties,” said Zolis. “We had to look at all the different challenges that an organization faces when it wants to grow.”

    This is an example of experiential learning opportunities where Brock students get to take on learning partnerships with industries, not-for-profit organizations or small businesses. In this competition, students interact with a client to learn about their particular business and better understand its needs.

    Brock FootGolf officially opens to the public at 7 a.m. this Saturday, July 1, although the media can get a sneak preview at noon on Thursday, June 29 when a Grade 8 class from St. Alexander Catholic Elementary School in Pelham gets to play the first round.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

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    Categories: Media releases