Students from Maranatha Christian Academy and Catholic Central High SchoolStudents from Maranatha Christian Academy and Catholic Central High School vied for the tuition prizes in the Faculty of Human Kinetics’ Sports Management and Leadership Case Competition held Dec. 14.

Maranatha Christian Academy takes top honours in HK case competition

Grade 12 student Owen Turner has always been interested in business, but participating in last week’s case competition at the Faculty of Human Kinetics has him considering a career in sport management and leadership instead.

“I’ve applied to both,” said Turner, a student at Maranatha Christian Academy. “Because of learning about this, two worlds collided for me.”

Turner was on the winning team at the Sport Management and Leadership Case Competition sponsored by the Faculty of Human Kinetics Dec. 14. He and teammates Frederick Gillett, David Moloce, Micaela O’Neill, and Rebecca Sweet won a shared prize of $5,000 to put toward tuition in the Sport Management and Leadership or Kinesiology/Movement Science programs in the faculty.

The runner-up team from Catholic Central High School: Kennedy Carlsen, Shania Cheng, Lily Penrose, Dimitri Pindus, and Joaquin Urbano, will share a $2,500 tuition prize.

The event marked the first time the faculty has sponsored a case competition.

“This competition is part of a larger outreach effort with local high schools to get them thinking about our department and all of the wonderful things we do,” said kinesiology professor Craig Greenham, who organized the event. “In this situation, we provided them with a real-life scenario — one of importance to Lancer athletics — and let them creatively engage with possible solutions.”

The participating teams were asked to research and present ways for the Lancer men’s and women’s hockey teams to increase attendance at their home games. They were scored on strategy, delivery, the ability to answer the questions about their presentation, and overall impression.

The team from Maranatha attended games of the men’s and women’s teams, interviewing fans at both. They also attended campus and interviewed students.

The Maranatha team suggested better marketing of games to UWindsor students, minor hockey teams in the region, schools near the complex, and fans of the game in general would help pack the stands.

They also said improvements to the sound system at the home ice at the city-owned Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, having guest singers performing O Canada, and having activities in the stands between periods would improve the fan experience and boost attendance at games.

Dr. Greenham praised both teams for their performances.

“I feel that the presentations demonstrated analytical thought and polished delivery. That’s not easy to do at any age — particularly when faced by a panel of judges,” he said. “These students didn’t look intimidated. They were confident in their ideas and that was great to see.”

—Sarah Sacheli

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