TORONTO, August 5, 2016 – York University is proud of its top athletes headed to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games, opening Aug. 5. While congratulating them on making it among the 65 athletes representing Team Canada, York U is offering its world-class researchers in sports-related areas for media interviews:
Athletic coaching & performance
Joe Baker, Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science is available to comment on talent identification, athlete training and development, performance and aging, perception and cognition in sport and sports psychology.
Parissa Safai, Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, is available to comment on the socio-cultural impact and risk-taking in sport, social determinants of athletes’ health, and the social organization of sport medicine in Canada.
Sports psychology
Frances Flint, Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, is available to comment on physical or psychological aspects of injury, the psychological aspects of performance and sports medicine (not related to performance-enhancing drugs or doping).
Jessica Fraser-Thomas, Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, is available to comment on sport psychology, mental training, youth sport, talent development, dropout, psychosocial influences of sport (parents, coaches and peers). Her current study investigates the role of the Olympics in influencing young children’s sport participation and development.
Emergency preparedness
Ali Asgary, Associate Professor in the School of Administrative Studies, is available to speak on emergency preparedness and management of major sport events, with special focus on hazards and threats such as terrorism, pandemics, infrastructure failure and human behavior.
Branding & marketing
Markus Giesler, Marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business, is available to comment on celebrity branding and sponsorship relations. He can also comment on how captivating sports-based consumer experiences are designed, and how consumer perceptions of fairness and transparency form.
Vijay Setlur, Marketing Instructor in the Schulich School of Business, is available to speak to the economic impact resulting from sport tourism, ticket sales/attendance, and legacy planning for sport and community.
York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni.
York U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.
Media contact:
Gloria Suhasini, Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca
