This month, we feature a recap of the 2019 Staff and Faculty Sports Day, which took place on May 3 and brought together UBC employees to take part in fun and collaborative challenges.
It was a record-breaking year for one of UBC’s largest events for faculty and staff. Hosted by UBC Human Resources and UBC Recreation, the annual Staff and Faculty Sports Day saw more than 800 participants from over 130 different departments, units and faculties in Vancouver and the Okanagan being active and having fun. Teams of four to six colleagues competed in a variety of fun recreational challenges and activities that could only be accomplished through collaboration and team spirit.
In Vancouver, the prize winners included:
In the Okanagan, prize winners included:
In a post-Sports Day survey, over 92% of Vancouver participants noted that the event had a positive impact on their sense of community with colleagues at UBC.
One participant said that “the event really helped [them] get to know [their] new colleagues.” Because it was their first year working at UBC, taking part in Sports Day “really makes you feel like a part of a community.” Another participant thought Sports Day was “a great event that brought people in [their] unit together just for fun. It built a great sense of belonging.”
Paul Cyr, captain of UILO So Good, the top competitive team in Vancouver had this to say about this year’s event:
Sports Day provides a fun and social event to help build team spirit while getting a break from the usual workday routine. Having so many participants from all across UBC adds to the experience and sense of community.
Jonathan Easey, captain of Team Peeps which received the UBC Vancouver Top Team Spirit Award shared the following:
Our team had a fantastic time in this year’s Sports Day! This was our second year participating, and after the fun and camaraderie of last year we were eager to participate again. We know that we won’t ever be the fastest or the most competitive team time-wise, so we just like to have fun and cheer each other on as much as we can. We love getting to let loose, wear funky costumes and run around campus having a blast doing different activities, so winning the Spirit Award two years in a row really is such an honour for us. It’s great that the organizers see the value in having fun and supporting one another as a team in addition to competing for the best time.
There are some great photos that capture the excitement and action of the day. Check out UBC Vancouver’s event day and photo booth photos and the Okanagan’s photo gallery.
Hope to see all of this year’s participants – and some new faces – at the 2020 Sports Day. In the meantime, stay active with your colleagues!
Photo Credit: UBC Recreation
The Healthy Workplace Initiatives Program (HWIP) provides start-up funds for health-related activities for UBC departments and units interested in promoting wellbeing in the workplace. Do you and your colleagues have a great idea for boosting the health and wellbeing of your team? Need a little financial assistance to supplement department resources? Consider applying today.
To date, the HWIP program has funded 327 grassroots initiatives, including stretching classes, health challenges, mental health training and creative activities.
In 2018, the program funded the following in Vancouver and the Okanagan:
Send your applications before the April 18, 2019 deadline.
Full details, including regulations, funding toolkits and application forms can be found on the HWIP page.
Have you registered for Staff & Faculty Sports Day on May 3, 2019 (2:30 – 4:00 p.m.)? Don’t delay because this popular event fills up quickly each year!
Sports Day is one of the largest events organized for staff and faculty, taking place across UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan. Teams from departments across both campuses participate in a variety of fun, recreational challenges that can only be accomplished through teamwork, collaboration and team spirit.
Open to UBC faculty, staff and grad students, this free event is an exciting team-building afternoon that encourages inclusivity, accessibility, mental and physical wellbeing, and fun! Participate in what your time allows.
Don’t forget to join us from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. for an Apres Sports Day social and beer garden, open to participants and non-participants. See you there!
Want to support Sports Day instead of participating? Volunteer for the event instead! Visit UBC Recreation’s Get Involved & Volunteer page for more information.
Photo credit: UBC Recreation
The nature of working and learning on university campuses often promotes sedentary behaviour, from sitting in classes, meetings and offices to working on computers with few breaks for physical activity. In addition to the effect on physical wellbeing, high levels of sedentary behaviour and low levels of movement also impact mental wellbeing and academic and professional success.[1]
Emerging research suggests that prolonged sitting can lead to physical states of “exercise resistance” where the body stops producing the typical metabolic benefits that accompany physical activity.
This month, we’re sharing ways to fit more movement and activity into sedentary periods of your day.
Infuse some movement and fun into your work day by participating in this university-wide event. There are numerous activities to enhance your mental and physical wellbeing and to suit any ability. Gather your colleagues and make it an exciting, active, team-building afternoon. Register now.
To break up long periods of sitting, try doing one or more of these suggested exercises (Washington Post).
Grab a colleague and explore the campus with one of five UBC Vancouver walking maps or one of UBC Okanagan’s trail routes.
Learn how to move and protect your body by incorporating posture exercises and stretching into your daily routine.
For more ideas and inspiration, check out Move UBC’s Make Your Move page.
Let us know your favourite tricks for breaking up sitting time throughout the day!
[1] https://move.ubc.ca/the-sitting-epidemic/
Photo credit: UBC Recreation
Ready to celebrate the end of the school term? Be sure to sign up early when Sports Day returns for its ninth year! UBC’s annual Staff & Faculty Sports Day will take place on Friday, May 3, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. An “Apres” Sports Day social and beer garden follows from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Open to UBC faculty, staff and grad students, this free event is an exciting team-building afternoon that encourages inclusivity, accessibility, mental and physical wellbeing, and fun! Participate in what your time allows.
The event sells out every year so mark your calendars for March 18 and be sure to sign up!
Full details available on the Staff & Faculty Sports Day page.
Click here to view last year’s photo gallery.
Looking for UBC Okanagan information?
You’re in luck! Staff & Faculty Sports Day is also happening on May 3. Visit the UBCO Sports Day website for more details in the coming weeks.
Photo credit: UBC Recreation
This month, we feature Associate Professor Lesley Lutes, Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at UBC Okanagan. She recently spoke at the Mind of Mine Mental Health Forum hosted by UBCO for Bell Let’s Talk Day. Learn how she finds time to manage all the different hats she wears and still help change how people see healthcare, whether it is mental health or physical health.
One word: time. As a faculty member, our roles are to excel in teaching, research and service…I take all of my roles very seriously – from getting my doctoral program accredited, to running long-term randomized studies on weight loss, depression and diabetes here in Canada and the US, to mentoring and advocating for undergraduate and graduate students, to supporting my faculty members. I try to give it my all. That results in sometimes not really having enough time to do it all.
I try to give 100% of my attention to the task at hand, so that at least I give what I am doing my full focus.
I have come to realize, appreciate and embrace – even celebrate – the idea that I can’t do it all. As a faculty member, wife and mother of two young children, I have multiple things in my life that command time, attention and effort. Therefore, I do several things.
First, I enlist help – and lots of it! For example […] I hire a young woman three afternoons a week to help clean up, do dishes and prepare a meal so that when we get home, there is a clean house with dinner on the table and a wonderful person there to greet us! This way, I can focus more on being with my kids and husband when I am at home.
Second, I do self-care/down time – it is a must! I am less efficient, more stressed out and exhausted when I am not exercising, sleeping well or eating well. So, I make sure to attend a fitness class on the weekend, book a regular massage and watch at least one romantic comedy a week!
Third, I minimize distractions. I am not on any form of social media. I signed off about eight years ago and have not regretted it. Research has consistently shown that in addition to losing many hours of time, increased social media use is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety and lower subjective wellbeing.
Also, I took email off my phone about six months ago and it has been wonderful! Don’t get me wrong, I am on email A LOT. However, I have to be intentional about it. […] If there are urgent issues/emergencies, my graduate students and faculty have my cell phone number. That is very different than always being connected. I think this has made me more efficient [and] not mentally cluttered with the constant onslaught of emails/requests/to-dos.
As a clinical health psychologist, my research focuses on physical health, mental health and wellbeing – which I love! For example, we just finished a three-year clinical trial in North Carolina (where I worked for eight years before coming back to Canada in 2015). We looked at 140 patients in primary care that had both diabetes and clinical depression. Instead of treating the diabetes, we focused on treating their depression with a behavioural health consultant embedded in the primary care practice. […] After just 16 visits (across 12 months), they decreased their HbA1c (or ninety-day average blood sugar) by almost one point – a 20% reduction! We are currently working on a grant proposal to test a larger-scale dissemination of this integrated care approach.
[It’s] like a walk-in medical clinic…a same day service, no appointment necessary, no referral needed, free clinic where you can get support. [It’s] open to UBC students, staff and faculty on campus, but also to the greater Okanagan community.
We initially did a five-week, unfunded pilot that coincided with Thrive Week. In five Thursdays, we saw 48 patients from UBC and the greater community. We addressed things like stress, anxiety, depression, work-life balance, conflict resolution, substance use, homelessness and grief. […] Each patient worked with a graduate student in clinical psychology and registered psychologist in a 30 to 45-minute appointment to discuss current symptoms and challenges, and to develop an active, evidence-based plan to improve their health and wellbeing.
I worked with my department and dean to discuss the importance of keeping [the clinic] going for 2019. I also met with two private donors about funding our clinic and now have grant proposals under review.
Moreover, I have been incredibly appreciative of the support by UBC administration, particularly Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Principal Dr. Deborah Buszard, who immediately wanted to know more about the clinic, see a proposal, and had me meet with senior leadership regarding what we would need to make this clinic a permanent offering on campus.
We are currently working on a partnership grant between UBC and the not-for-profit daycare operating on the campus, encouraging the BC Government to expand the daycare. As a mother who had to delay starting my position here because of the lack of daycare available, and as the vice-president of the daycare board where we are seeing a three-year waitlist for spots, we needed to do something. […] This $1 million-dollar grant would increase the infant-toddler spaces – the most urgently needed and in-demand – by 60% percent.
People often say that to me! I say to them – I don’t! I have amazing administrative staff at the university, a supportive and patient husband at home, and the blessing of all of my family in the Okanagan.
People deserve to have barrier-free access to mental health services. People deserve to have excellent childcare. I almost never make cookies, and truthfully, my husband does most of the shopping. But I can support great students, faculty and important initiatives. That makes me thrive everyday: it propels me, inspires me and fulfills me.
I say find what inspires you and go do it – and take care of your healthcare!
The Thrive Walk-in Wellbeing Clinic at UBCO is open every Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in ASC 168. No appointment necessary. For more information, call the clinic at 1-250-807-8241.