By Paul Esau (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: September 26, 2012
Student events happen fast and furious in September, and it can be easy to forget the students, staff and faculty whose effort makes them happen. While support for such events comes from many places around UFV, the men and women of the varsity sports team deserve special mention this year for volunteering their time and effort towards a good cause.
Since serving burgers and hot dogs for the Community Dinners program on August 8, Cascades athletes have helped out at both the Chilliwack and Abbotsford orientations (August 23 and 30 respectively), UFV International’s Amazing Race orientation on August 28, the Baker House move in on September 1, and Student Life’s Welcome Back “Barbecue” on September 6. Dozens of athletes participated over the course of these events, including every single member of the women’s basketball team.
While at times the athletes were simply required to showcase their skills, wow audiences and teach some tricks, they also readily served in other ways. The Baker House move in, a day when new and returning students migrate their lives into UFV residence, was a perfect example of athletes serving their fellow students and their school.
“We were just basically there helping people move in,” said Sasa Plavsic, one of 26 student athletes who volunteered at Baker House, “there’s a lot of people coming in from different areas of Canada going to UFV so we were there helping them as soon as they got in the parking lot. We’d come over there with some carts and we’d help them bring their stuff up to the rooms and assist them in any way we could.”
Athlete involvement is a tradition at the event says residence housing assistant Junelle Mah, who has benefited from Cascades help for all three years of her involvement at Baker House. “It provides those extra hands … picture a car and then ten athletes just swarm in picking up bags and boxes … It’s just tremendous to see the support. Again, a lot of conversations go on back and forth [between athletes and residents], the parents just loved it and we loved it. It definitely helps with the process.”
A large portion of the student attendance at Cascades home games last year came from Baker House, and part of the importance of the move in is connecting athletes with their support on campus. Resident assistant Sean Webber says he’s already seeing more residents turn out for varsity games, and attributes it to a newfound sense of community.
Cascades athletes were also an important component in the novel “Infotainment” portion of student orientations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, a program highlighted by a skills demonstration from the men’s soccer team. In a similar contribution, coach Chris Bertram and the UFV golf team put on a swing clinic at CEP during last Thursday’s festivities.
Student Life manager Jill Harrison, whose department benefited from athlete involvement both in the orientations and the Welcome Back Barbecue, was extremely positive about the growing number of student athletes who’ve decided to give back to their university. “I think it’s really good because sometimes Athletics [departments] can be off to the side and only of interest to the athletes. But our athletes are pulling into the community and saying ‘we’re part of this community and we want to be involved and part of it.’”
The man providing many of the opportunities for athlete involvement is Athletics information coordinator David Kent, who is also the mastermind behind the annual Cascades AESC doubleheader and the fast-approaching Cascades Tailgate Party. “In my three years here,” he said, “this was a record amount of [athlete] attendance and support that they gave to the Athletics administration. We know that they were all trying out at the times that these were happening…we know they were still working their summer jobs. We know they were still getting used to being back at UFV for September, and yet a record 26 people showed up at Baker House. We had 12 student athletes help out with Infotainment in Abbotsford, we had six soccer players in Chilliwack plus cheerleaders. It was tremendous.”
For his part, Plavsic said the importance of his and his teammates’ service was in creating a more vibrant UFV community. “I’d have to say [the event’s value] was to meet all the new people. There were a lot of people coming into the school … and to just let them know what UFV is all about and if they see me or any other [player] on campus they now know that they can ask us for help. So kind of just to build a relationship with people around the school because I know our school is a lot smaller than a big school like UBC so it’s good to build a tight-knit community and welcome everybody who’s new to the school and let them know it’s a little different around here. You’re not going to be isolated, there’s so many people around you that you can talk to and be a part of great groups and communities and sporting events too.”
