*This webinar will be presented in French, with simultaneous translation into English.
Sport and physical activity programs must be evaluated over time to determine their real impact. The best way to do this is through collaboration between the community and researchers.
To kick off this webinar, Véronique Pagé and Shane Sweet will share their experience and identify the elements that have facilitated the creation and continuation of a strong community-research partnership. They will explain how they managed to bridge the gap between research and the community, which are two very different realities. They will demonstrate what they consider to be the essential qualities that need to be put forward to support collaboration. As an example, they will share the steps taken to conceptualize and carry out a research project and to develop resources that will have a concrete impact for Viomax.
In the second half of the webinar, Sophie Brassard and Patricia Demers will describe various research projects that have been used to evaluate resources and programs at the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, as well as tips and tricks for developing a beneficial partnership between researchers and practitioners in sport.
Speaker Bios
Sophie Brassard is a career counsellor, supporting the needs of athletes at the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence and for the Game Plan program since 2014. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, as well as a Master’s degree in Guidance Counselling from the Université de Sherbrooke. A former gymnast, she was a member of Sherbrooke’s club and university cheerleading teams. During her athletic and academic career, Sophie saw the lack of career transition and counselling resources available to athletes at the time, which inspired her to make this field her life’s work. She is now completing her PhD to further her knowledge on the subject and is collaborating on several research projects in the field.
Patricia Demers holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Social Sciences from Concordia University and a Master’s degree in Administrative Sciences (M.Sc.) – Management option from the same university. After having been the Director of University Programs for the Quebec Student Sports Network for five years, she has been working at the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence since 2011 and has been the Executive Director since 2016. A former basketball player for the Concordia University Stingers and Quebec teams, she finished her career as a professional player in Switzerland. A mother of three, she is very concerned about the quality of support offered to student-athletes and their overall development.
Véronique Pagé has more than 10 years of experience in the community environment, in intervention, and in team coordination and management. She has held the position of clinical coordinator for an intermediate facility that is a partner of the CIUSSS centre-sud de l’île de Montréal and has held the position of executive director of the Viomax centre, which is a partner of the same CIUSSS. The Viomax Centre’s mission is to make physical activity accessible to people with physical limitations.
Shane Sweet, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at McGill University. His research program focuses on understanding and promoting physical activity participation and well-being in adults with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses through motivational theories. He collaborates with the community to co-construct research projects and develop knowledge transfer strategies. In his spare time, Shane participates in various sports, jogs, reads fiction books, and is a comic book fan.