Overview
December 1, 2020
SFU is working to deepen our focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and ensuring our campuses are welcoming places for everyone to gather and learn, and that all who work or study here feel a sense of belonging, inclusion, fairness and respect.
With this in mind, Athletics and Recreation (A&R) will begin the process to choose a new name for our varsity athletic teams. Student-athletes and A&R coaches and staff will lead the process, and SFU will support administratively including resources to engage and manage an external creative agency. This process reflects ongoing learning about our values of EDI and gives voices to our student-athletes and staff to help inform the process
Process
We will begin the process to choose a new name by establishing the Varsity Team Name Working Group. The Working Group (WG) will be composed of varsity student-athletes, varsity coaches and Athletics and Recreation staff. The aim is to have diverse representation of sport, career and educational stages and experiences that reflect the diversity of our student-athletes and staff, with a minimum of four student-athletes, four coaches and four staff. Rather than representing teams or units within A&R, WG members will be asked to work together to consider the needs of all those that represent SFU Athletics and Recreation.
The Varsity Team Name Working Group will be co-chaired by Ryan Stolys, President of SFU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Breanne Watson, Associate Director, Athletics. Theresa Hanson, Senior Director Athletics and Recreation will provide strategic direction, oversight and guidance. Staff members from Athletics and Recreation, Student Services and University Communications & Marketing will be invited on an at-large basis to provide expertise as needed.
With a focus on our bright future, the process to choose a new name for our varsity athletic teams will:
- Be co-created and led by student-athletes, coaches and Athletic and Recreation staff
- Focus on our collective belief that our team name should reflect shared values, inspire unity, and be a source of pride
- Be principled and transparent
- Include broad input, with the acknowledgement that our student-athletes and coaches, who represent Simon Fraser by wearing this name, will have a primary place in guiding us to a new name
- Result in a name that reinforces our institutional commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and as such, must not cause harm to any group
The project work is expected to span over approximately three months, with regular updates and calls to action shared here.
Expressions of Interest
To assist with this work we will engage with our student-athletes and Athletics and Recreation staff by inviting Expressions of Interest to serve on the WG.
We invite interested SFU varsity student-athletes, coaches and Athletics and Recreation staff to submit a brief Expression of Interest to join the Varsity Athletics Team Name Working Group. Please send your expression of interest to ad_office@sfu.ca by, Thursday, December 10, 2020, 4:00 pm with the following information. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.
- Your contact information (email and phone)
- For student-athletes, provide your sport, year of study, faculty
- For coaches and staff, provide your sport and/or unit within department, the number of years you have worked in SFU A&R
- A brief statement of your interest in participating in the Varsity Athletic Team Name Working Group
- Confirmation that you can attend the introductory meeting on Thursday, December 17, 2020 (1:00 – 3:00 pm), and commit to the proposed meeting schedule below.
The project work is expected to span the course of approximately three months. The proposed meeting schedule for the Varsity Athletics Team Name Working Group is as follows:
December 17, 2020 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Kickoff and Introductory meeting
January 12, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
January 19, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
January 26, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
February 2, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
February 9, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
February 16, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
February 23, 2021 4:00 – 5:30 pm
The meetings will primarily take place on the zoom platform.
A proposed slate of the Varsity Athletic Team Name Working Group will be approved by the Senior Director, Athletics and Recreation; President, Student Athlete Advisory Committee; Associate Director, Athletics; and one at-large former student-athlete advocate.
