Hi, my name is Curtis Dupuis-Sutton, I am a fourth year Sport Management Major / Political Science Minor Student here at Brock University, and this spring/summer I will be interning at the Centre for Sport Capacity as the Marketing, Communications, and Events Coordinator. I was born here in St. Catharines but grew up all over the GTA region before returning to the Niagara Region for high school. Growing up, sports were always surrounding me, whether it be my dad watching Oilers hockey, my grandparents watching Blue Jays baseball, or my mom’s softball tournaments, I could never escape it. However, I didn’t participate in sports that much growing up, my parents would recall me throwing a temper tantrum learning how to skate the first time – something I never learned until a couple years ago.

I started working in sport as a volunteer at a local sports facility, ballhockey.com before being offered a part-time opportunity working at the pro-shop. Throughout my years at ballhockey.com, I took on various roles that played a key part in the day-to-day operations of the company, such as:

• Marketing 
  • Oversaw Ballhockey.com website; 
  • Developed new merchandise designs for greater brand exposure; 
  • Managed social media pages; 
  • Marketing lead for Ballhockey.com Team North America which encompassed developing brand identity, logo, and team jerseys. 

• Event Management  
  • Assisted in the planning and execution of several events, such as: 
  • Large-scale ball hockey tournaments; 
  • Partnership events with amateur teams; 
  • Various other sports tournaments.  

• New Projects 
  • Key role in the launch of e-commerce website; 
  • Re-brand of company-wide identity. 

My time at ballhockey.com was a great privilege, as it’s not ordinary for an organization to allow young people like me at the time the opportunity to be critically involved and take on important new projects. All of that was made possible by the late President and Owner Brian Broley, a great mentor and to me, Niagara’s greatest sport entrepreneur. More recently, I have been working within the Brock University intramural team as an Ice Hockey convenor.   

My interest of working in sport started with Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography. All the behind-the-scenes insights regarding commercial strategies, and managerial decisions sparked my desire in knowing how sport operates as a business. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as I was applying to post-secondary schools shortly after. I attended Niagara College of Canada’s Sport Management program, where I was amazed at the scope of Sport Management research and enjoyed every single minute of my three years leading up to graduation during COVID. Since beginning at Brock in the Political Science program, then switching to the Sport Management program, my time in Sport Management courses has been limited, however there were two courses I was looking forward to taking this past term, and they didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed both the Sport Governance and Financial Management of Sport courses as they dove deeper into two specific fields of Sport Management that I enjoy. Throughout both my academic and professional experiences, I believe I have been able to develop many skills, such as event management, marketing, and project management, to name a few. I look forward to the opportunity to further develop skills, as well as potentially learn new ones throughout my time at the CSC.  

I first heard about the CSC through LinkedIn a few months ago, before our program experiential education coordinator posted the internship opportunity in late February. I jumped at the opportunity to apply as elements of the job description seemed familiar with the work I have done in the past. Once I applied, I quickly heard back from Grace (CSC Coordinator) and Dr. Stevens, (CSC Director) regarding an interview time. I will say, throughout the interview, I felt I was on the same page as both Grace and Dr. Stevens regarding potential next steps for the future of the Centre. I was also appreciative of the feedback provided throughout the interview, as it’s an uncommon practice traditionally but very valuable. The ability to work again with programs such as Canva, WordPress, and social media platforms was something that stood out to me as I have previous experience and would appreciate the chance to further build on those skills.    

I am excited for the upcoming term here at the CSC. I believe there are interesting projects and events on the horizon, which will positively impact the Centre’s reputation and identity moving forward. I am extremely excited about the fee-for-service model that will be a featured project for this term as it will be a great learning experience for myself and contribute to something that I’m passionate about – improving the quality of sport.   

I have ambitions to further build on my education once I’ve completed my degree here at Brock University; however, I am unsure of what specifically I would like to do. I have an interest in Change Management, Organizational Behaviour, and Sport Finance. I am hopeful that my time here at the CSC working on the creation of a fee-for-service model and other CSC initiatives will allow me to explore potential career paths and help me understand what next steps I would like to take personally.    

Overall, I am looking forward to being a part of the Centre for Sport Capacity and working alongside Grace, Dr. Stevens, and the Centre’s members. To contribute to an organization that looks to positively impact sport in the Niagara region and abroad is an honor and I’m eager to get started. I encourage all students to get involved at the university in whatever way they can, and for those interested in making a difference in sport, to stop by the Centre of Sport Capacity and inquire about how you can get on board.