From basketball to recreational skiing and hiking, assistive technologies are helping break down barriers to sport participation for persons with disabilities or health concerns – and to support individual mental and physical wellbeing.

Join us as our panel of athletes, changemakers, and leaders share their personal experiences, and discuss ways that sport is being transformed – by technology and people – to broaden participation and to change our understandings of (dis)ability. Beyond just technology, we’ll hear stories of resilience and perseverance, while also gaining a better understanding of what more is needed to ensure equal participation for all.

Speakers

Dr. Andrea Bundon, MA’08, PhD’14
Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology

Gail Hamamoto, BA’91
Executive Director, BC Wheelchair Sports Association

Donovan J. Tildesley, BA’08
Former Canadian Paralympic Swimmer; flag bearer of Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games

Moderator

Matt Dolf, PhD’18
Director, Strategic Support, UBC Wellbeing

This event is delivered in partnership with alumni UBC.

Panelists

Dr. Andrea Bundon, MA’08, PhD’14 Assistant Professor in the School of KinesiologyAndrea Bundon is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology. Her research spans the sociology of sport and critical disability studies and she uses community-based and participatory research frameworks to explore the intersections of sport, disability and social inclusion. Currently, she is working with viaSport BC and a team of academics to explore how the BC sport sector can be made more inclusive of people with disabilities. Andrea’s interest in disability sport and the Paralympic Movement stems from her own involvement as a racing guide for two para-nordic with visual impairments at the 2010 (Vancouver) and 2014 (Sochi) Paralympic Games.

Gail Hamamoto, BA’91 Executive Director, BC Wheelchair Sports Association Vice President, Canadian Paralympic CommitteeGail Hamamoto is a passionate advocate for equity in sport for athletes with a disability. She has influenced provincial and national policy, served on national and international committees and boards, and currently leads a provincial sport organization as the Executive Director of BC Wheelchair sports Association.  Gail is the Vice President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and serves on the board of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. Gail is an active participant in many sports, including ice hockey, skiing and downhill mountain biking. She enjoys travelling around the world to experience the amazing cultures and people who are part of our global community.

Donovan J. Tildesley, BA’08 Former Canadian Paralympic Swimmer; flag bearer of Canada at the 2008 Paralympic GamesDonovan Tildesley is an accomplished swimmer who has traveled the world extensively, and in the winter, he loves nothing better than to rip down double-black Diamonds on Blackcomb Mountain. But there’s one more thing you should know about him…Donovan is totally blind, and has been since birth. Donovan was born with a condition known as Leiber’s Congenital Amaurosis, which left him without retinas. Donovan joined the national Paralympic swim team at age sixteen. Coached by his father, career highlights included five Golds and one Silver medal at the 2002 IPC World Championships, participating in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, multiple gold medals at the 2007 Para PanAmerican Games, two silvers and one bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Moderator

Matt Dolf, PhD’18 Director, Strategic Support, UBC WellbeingIn his current role, Matt provides strategic direction for UBC Wellbeing – a university-wide initiative to promote health and wellbeing aiming to make UBC a better place to live, work, play, and learn for all community members. He holds a Doctorate in the field of sport and sustainability from the UBC School of Kinesiology and has researched and published in the areas of sport management, environmental impact assessment, sustainability, and health promotion. Matt has a high performance sport background in tennis, having coached, competed, and led development programs at a national level. Previously, Matt was the Director, Special Olympics Initiatives for UBC, where he was responsible for managing and coordinating the University’s initiatives related to the Canada Summer Games 2014 Special Olympics and creating new community-based opportunities for research, education, engagement, and sustainability in respect to the Games.