HAMILTON, Ont. - The Department of Athletics & Recreation at McMaster University welcomed colleagues from across Ontario to campus last week as it hosted its first Anti-Racism Symposium, Future Directions in Anti-Racism.

The event, which was attended by close to 100 administrators, coaches, support staff and student-athletes from OUA, OCAA and professional sport organizations, provided sessions dedicated to sharing emerging and established anti-racism initiatives and best practices in the areas of education, recruitment, support, and accountability. 

McMaster's Athletics & Recreation Anti-Racism Symposium, which was the first of its kind in Ontario, was developed with the goal of creating a forum that can help to further the conversation of anti-racism at all levels of sport and recreation in Canada. 

Shawn Burt, Director of Athletics & Recreation at McMaster, says the Marauders' inaugural anti-racism event was an important step in enacting meaningful change in policies and university environments, but acknowledges institutions, including McMaster, still have a long way to go.

"We must create opportunities for people to have critically important and uncomfortable conversations when it comes to equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism in sport" says Burt. "The symposium last week was our opportunity to extend the conversation into – and amongst - the OUA and OCAA communities to ensure that leaders are talking about and committing to real change in post-secondary athletics & recreation departments."

Presenters
Darrell Adams - University of Waterloo
Jacky Beckford-Henriques - University of Waterloo
Justin Bobb - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Chris Cheng - University of Windsor
Teri Dennis-Davies - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Marissa Dillon - McMaster University
Waneek Horn-Miller - Mohawk Olympian
Toluope Ojo - McMaster University
Sabrina Razack - IDEAS Research Lab
Alexandria Town - York University
Dr. Clare Warner - McMaster University
Marika Warner - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
John Wiggins - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Resources shared during the Anti-Racism Symposium can be found here.
 
"Coming out of the Black Student Athlete Experience review at McMaster" says Keenan Jeppesen, Associate Director, High Performance, "we realized that as a department we gathered a ton of valuable insights and learnings that could only benefit our peer institutions. The Anti-Racism Symposium offered a space for discussion and sharing with departments facing the same challenges we are."

Jeppesen says that the symposium was developed with the goal of creating a forum that can help to further the conversation of anti-racism at all levels of competitive sport in Canada. 

"We truly hope that sharing the uncomfortable but important work our department has done over the past year empowers our peers to do the same. We hope to foster dialogue between student-athletes and their coaches and administrators that will lead to meaningful change."

Jeppesen and Trish Chant-Sehl, co-chairs of the symposium planning committee, extended gratitude to all attendees and presenters for doing their part in prioritizing this important work.

"We were very pleased with the engagement of all participants and want to thank all of our speakers for their excellent presentations. The symposium is only the beginning of what we hope will be ongoing, collaborative conversations about anti-racism and fostering safe, welcoming and inclusive cultures across all of our institutions."

"Unlike sport, there is no finish line when it comes to this work" added Burt. "It must be a journey of sustained commitment to positive change at individual institutions, leagues, governing bodies and society more broadly, that will ensure our success and impact. Last week's event was a crucial first step in this journey together."

McMaster University expects to host its second annual Anti-Racism Symposium in 2023, and will look to extend invitations to all post-secondary institutions across Canada.