Overview

Students from Sprott School of Business & Varsity Athletics at Carleton University are collaborating with the partner communities to co-create sport and wellness programs that offer the opportunity to build a connection based on the love of sport and healthy community living. Courts for Change is part of a set of creative thinking experiential courses at the Sprott School of Business. In Courts for Change, Carleton students learn in a collaborative environment with local partners to explore business and entrepreneurship fundamentals. Students share culture, creative ideas, and learn business skills that will prepare them for their careers. Courts for Change projects that our students can be a part of include:

Tsunami Tower & Sport Court Design (Masset, Haida Gwaii)
Working together with the local basketball community and Buckets and Borders beautify the new Tsunami Tower and Sport Court in Masset, BC. Court design will include designing functionality and atheistic of the court to fit with the vision of the community youth.

Adaptive Sport Development (Masset, Haida Gwaii). Working with community leaders to build adaptive sport programming in Masset, BC.

Youth Sport Program Design (Mayo, Yukon). Working with teachers and students you will design programs for engaging and inclusive sport activities that reflect indigenous approaches to Sport Training.

Rabbit Stars Sports Football & Basketball Club Facility Building (Longido, Tanzania).
Together with community entrepreneurs, our students will be taking this project forward to help build a new multisport training facility and community center.

Tembo Sports Store (Longido, Tanzania). Working with local NGO and community members to develop a sustainable sports equipment business and training center for student entrepreneurship skill development.

The Background

The goal of this project is to nurture collaboration, partnership, and a love of sport and wellness between students at Carleton University and our community partners in Canada and Internationally. Through the promotion dialogue and teamwork on geographically distributed teams, the project strengthens cross-cultural relationships and enables participants to develop community-based, culturally appropriate solutions to challenges determined by the community.

A passion for sport and healthy living is the connection that will be the foundation for our projects. Here at Carleton, we want to develop student leaders who are committed to building better communities that enhance our lives.

The Rollout

Funds for this project will be used to cover project costs in our partnered communities, along with travel costs and on-the-ground expenses for both members of Carleton. We will collaborate with leaders in the community to cover expenses associated with our activities in the partner communities.

The Impact

This project is a way for Carleton students to learn through experience by working with our community partners.

At the community level, the Courts for Change projects enable community youth to:

• Participate in sport and wellness programs that are important in their community.
• Develop critical thinking, creativity, and co-design skills through their project work.
• Develop practical skills in entrepreneurship, business, and virtual teamwork.

For Carleton Students, the Courts for Change projects will:

• Increase their skills in social entrepreneurship, creative thinking, working in geographically and culturally distributed teams.
• Develop critical thinking, creativity, and co-design skills through their project work.
• Allow them to establish long-lasting relationships with community members