Minister of State for Sport launches National Sport Day at Sheridan

Last Friday, the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport) and MP for Bramalea, Gore-Malton visited Sheridan’s Davis Campus to officially open the Health and Wellness Fair. The Fair was a collaborative effort involving MoveU, the Health Centre, the Bachelor of Exercise Science and Health Promotion program, Athletics, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and was held to promote national Sports Day in Canada.

The Minister provided opening remarks in which he spoke of the need for “education and sports to work together to create healthy communities.” He also noted that 2015 has been proclaimed the Year of Sport in Canada, citing a long list of major sporting events that will be taking place across the country, including the World Juniors Hockey Championship in January, the Canada Winter Games in February, the Men’s World Curling Championships in March, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June/July, and the Pan/Parapan American Games in July/August.

Also participating in the Fair were 45 grade six students from Royal Orchard Middle School, all part of a pilot project funded by the Peel District School Board that has students receive the regular Ontario curriculum through the lens of athletic development. As part of the project, the students spend two hours each week at Sheridan working on strength and conditioning and health education with Exercise Science and Health Promotion students.

Minister Gosal visited the Fair’s various booths, and tried out some of the interactive strength and conditioning exercises and health monitoring tests. He also visited the Fabrication Lab in the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies to learn more about Sheridan’s 3D printing capabilities, and toured the Athletic Therapy clinic and Exercise Research Intervention Centre.

“We were honoured that the Minister chose to kick off National Sport Day by officially opening and participating in our inaugural Health and Wellness Fair,” said Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, Sheridan’s President and CEO. 

About MoveU

Move U is a collaborative project with ParticipACTION and the University of Toronto, funded by Trillium, aimed at improving student health by promoting physical activity.

Photo Top Right:  Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, The Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), Mardy Frazer, Associate Dean