Recapping The Ottawa U Sport Management Club’s Inaugural Conference

Last Friday, I had the chance to attend the first-ever Ottawa University Sports Conference, hosted by the Ottawa U Sport Management Business Club. I had no clue to what to expect from it, but the only thing that I kept in mind was that the club was very specific about the theme they wanted to present on that day: the importance of Canada’s National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and the areas of sport in which they serve.

Today, I would like to take the time to share with you my experience, what I learned and what I liked about it.

Firstly, what stood out about this conference was the fact that most of the speakers were females. It is a great demonstration of our Canadian sport culture. Most of the female leaders were former athletes. They genuinely took the time to talk about the important roles they held within the sport industry as females. I appreciated this diversity at the event because it demonstrates a great example to all females aspiring to pursue a career in the sport industry. All of the speakers at the conference were representing different sports from different NSOs.

Here are the three main lessons I learned from the conference:

Be a generalist, do not be a specialist.

Sue Sherer, Senior Program Officer and two-time International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Gold medal winner talked about the importance of delving into the industry with an open mind. She spoke about the shifts that she had to work, and the different job positions she went through early in her career. She reminded the audience of the importance of trying different roles because one position may lead to another, which can quickly get us to where we ultimately want to be.

We often plan our career path ahead of time thinking that everything will run smoothly until we reach our final destination. However, life doesn’t work that way. An internship in a different field other than our chosen study program may just lead us to where we want to be or it can help us discover a different aspect of the sport that brings us more pleasure. Whenever you have the chance, do not hesitate to try out different things. Learn about the sport industry as a whole (not just the management side of it or the marketing side). We often forget this, but they are all linked to one another so keep that in mind as you move forward.

Passion comes before money.

We all share this huge passion for sport; it comes from within. A majority of the conference speakers underlined that we must not lose focus of that passion. It is what drives us to get better and to go places. If we focus on money before experience, we severely limit our opportunities for growth.

Passion is what gets us where we want to be, passion is what makes us give our best every time, and passion is what makes us explore our curious side. Don’t get me wrong, the sport industry has its ups and downs: sport organizations may have very little turnover, may be stuck with a fixed budget, or even a combination of the two. The best tip is to go out there and volunteer or intern for different organizations, learn the best practices and always stay hungry for more. Do not worry about how big or small the organization you’re working for is — the actual size of a company is almost never correlated to the experience derived from a role. Seek to differentiate yourself in everything you do.

Build relationships

Do not hesitate to take advantage of every situation or opportunity that may lead you to connect with other people in the industry. Interacting with other contacts in sport business not only opens doors for you, but it also gives you the golden opportunity to learn from these people. We must not forget that the importance of being a good communicator in the sport industry is crucial. In order for you to really make it in the sports, you have to be a people’s person. Someone who knows how to communicate, has a good and positive attitude, and knows how to interact with others.

Most importantly — enjoy what you do and do it with a lot of energy!

About the author:

Wala Amara is the CSBN Ambassador for the Quebec region.

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