A former McMaster varsity athlete and once the men's athlete of the year, Keenan Jeppesen is set to become the new director of Athletics and Recreation
Come Sept. 23, Keenan Jeppesen is set to take the directors seat of the athletics and recreation department. Jeppesen, who is a familiar name within the McMaster community, has already demonstrated himself as a leader in his previous roles in Housing and Conference Services and Athletics, High Performance.
This transition from housing and conference services to athletics and recreation might seem like quite the shift, but Jeppesen was confident that it was the right choice.
"Housing touches so many parts of the institution around McMaster, so it was a great learning experience for me. Coming back to athletics and recreation, it is a different score but there's a lot of familiarity, whether its with the operations of the department or the staff," said Jeppesen
Born into an athletic family, Jeppesen was always determined to leave his mark on the sports world. Over the course of his career, he competed with the varsity basketball team at Brown University, where he was selected for the All-Ivy League Second-Team for the 2005-2006 season.
"I'm a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, so I've spent a good time in both countries. When I graduated high school, I got recruited to play college basketball at Brown University. I spent around three years there, then after graduating I returned to Canada," said Jeppesen
His return to athletics and recreation is particularly meaningful, as he is a former student-athlete at McMaster and won the male athlete of the year award in 2010.
"After a brief stint at Western, I came to McMaster to do my Masters in Business Administration where I also played on the varsity basketball team for a year. We had a pretty successful season, we were ranked third in the country, and personally I've had my best individual year. Unfortunately, the season came to an end prematurely due to my ACL tear," said Jeppesen
Jeppesen's previous personal experience and relationship with athletes over the years means that he will be entering office with expectations to achieve. He aims to communicate effectively with athletes to improve their experience in the school and the department.
"I was in their shoes, but I try not to make too many assumptions about others experiences even though I can relate. For example, a lot has changed since I was last working within the department, so I understand that things may not be the same compared to when I was around. So my objective is, as soon as I enter office, to consult with athletes, coaches and other staff to get their perspectives about various things such as their challenges, what they're excited about and what we can do better to improve their experience at the school," said Jeppesen
Jeppesen's return to athletics and recreation brings an experienced leader back to the department, after a few years spent in other sections of the university. With a varsity background and leadership experience embedded at McMaster, he is set to take office on Sep. 23 with a fresh perspective. While his path forward may present challenges, this leadership change could contribute to positive developments within the department.
A look into Mac student Puisand Lai's journey to competing for Canada at the 2024 Paralympics
A McMaster engineering student, and a rising star in the parasports scene, Puisand Lai is getting ready to compete for Canada in the 2024 Paralympic Games. Lai, who first began playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 13, has come a long way as a player for the women's national wheelchair basketball team.
Lai unexpectedly lost the ability to use her lower body when she was six years old and was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord. Despite this, when she was introduced to parasports, her gravitation to physical activity since childhood shined through.
Lai's mother encouraged her to try out wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and sledge hockey. At one point, she was ranked number seven in the International Tennis Federation's World Rankings for girl's wheelchair tennis. In 2017, she was a member of the World Team Cup - the largest international team event in wheelchair tennis, featuring men's, women's, quad, and junior teams from around 50 countries.
Lai wrote in an article that she came to the realization that in order to advance to the next level of competition, she had to hone in on sport. With great difficulty, she decided to let go of tennis and devote herself entirely to wheelchair basketball because she was drawn to the sport's sense of friendship and teamwork. "If I wanted to get serious about playing at the next level, I had to really dial in on one sport," stated Lai.
At the age of seventeen, she became the youngest member of the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball national team in 2018. She has since participated in other high-profile competitions, such as two world titles, two Parapan American Games, and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where Canada placed fifth. The team's goal is to place on the podium in Paris to claim their position as one of the best Paralympic teams, not having won a medal since 2004.
At the age of seventeen, she became the youngest member of the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball national team in 2018. She has since participated in other high-profile competitions, such as two world titles, two Parapan American Games, and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where Canada placed fifth.
Lai has put in a lot of work and dedication to go to the Paralympic Games this year. After training in Quebec City with her colleagues in anticipation of the games, she expressed her excitement about the upcoming games and her confidence in the team’s potential. "I believe that every single one of us is really, really talented. We have the foundation to be a really great team," said Lai in an interview with the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
Lai attended McMaster University for a degree in mechanical engineering where she also excelled in athletics. After returning from Paris, she plans to complete her degree, but also to keep her options open, thinking about opportunities in engineering or picking up basketball again.
Lai attended McMaster University for a degree in mechanical engineering where she also excelled in athletics. After returning from Paris, she plans to complete her degree, but also to keep her options open, thinking about opportunities in engineering or picking up basketball again.
As she prepares to represent Canada abroad, Lai is an example of the power of mental determination. Her career is expected to soar to new heights with the Paralympic Games in Paris, beginning a new chapter in her amazing tale. In the end, her journey serves as a reminder that despite the obstacles we encounter, excellence is achievable with commitment and grit.
McMaster sports teams, including field hockey, women's curling, men's baseball and fencing among others, fundraise to offset team travel costs and upgrade equipment
First announced on Nov. 23., the McMaster University Athletics and Recreation Department advertised an annual event called Giving Tuesday to fundraise for U Sports, Ontario University Athletics and club teams.
In order to raise funds for teams, the department has urged McMaster alumni, members of the community and university sports fans to pitch in and donate to teams.
Prior to the event, each of the Marauders sports teams identified a fundraising goal they hoped to earn through donors. Some teams had high aims, such as men's volleyball and football who aimed to fundraise $5,000, while others such as women's field hockey aimed to fundraise $300.
Participating teams also posted their reasons for fundraising and what they hoped to accomplish with their donations. Numerous OUA teams looked to offset travel costs, such as field hockey, women's curling and figure skating. Several teams also wanted funding for upgrades to equipment, including men's baseball, fencing and Nordic skiing.
Numerous OUA teams looked to offset travel costs, such as field hockey, women's curling and figure skating.
As Giving Tuesday kicked off on Nov. 28., many student athletes took to social media to garner support and awareness toward their cause. Many Marauders reposted an image by McMaster Sports on Instagram to urge the community to donate.
The event ended successfully with an overall fundraising total of $101,655.22 provided by 667 different donors. In addition to base funding, McMaster Athletics and Recreation awarded prizes for reaching certain donation amounts and donor goals.
The event ended successfully with an overall fundraising total of $101,655.22 provided by 667 different donors.
The department gave an extra $500 to teams that reached $1,000 in funding, the team that had the most donors and the team with the highest donation amount. The women's soccer team was able to capture the most donors while the men's water polo team was received the highest donation amount.
The hope is that this funding will help all teams involved in Giving Tuesday to achieve their set of goals and support athletes for the upcoming season.
Photo By: Travis Nguyen/Photo Editor
In the two years since the initial large-scale allegations were made against the McMaster Athletics Department, what has changed?
Just under two years ago a McMaster university student-athlete, Steven Archachan, was accused of tweeting racist posts on social media, which provoked a mass reaction to get the player off the team. Although Archachan was kicked off the lacrosse team, there are still many issues surrounding McMaster athletics and systemic racism.
Another issue the school encountered was surrounding Glenn DeCaire, the director of parking and security services, who faced many allegations of racist behaviour. At one point, over 6,000 individuals signed a petition to fire the ex-police chief.
While all of these incidents occurred in the past, after the Systemic Review of the Black Student-Athlete Experience and the McMaster Athletics Climate was released, there was a major outcry yet again. Many news sources, including The Silhouette covered it and many students were surprised to see this many controversial incidents happening at McMaster. What exactly did McMaster do to combat these events after the document was released?
“Overall, I think that the McMaster response has been somewhat effective. There are many areas where we have seen some improvement, but there are still many areas that haven't even been looked at. Sure, I think that the school has been taking some steps to reduce the systemic racism within the sports department, which is good news. For instance, the Black Athlete Student Body has been formed, yet I just don't think that it’s enough to counter the 60 page document that listed enormous racial instances,” said Nana Yaw Serbeh, a member of the Marauders football team.
"Sure, I think that the school has been taking some steps to reduce the systemic racism within the sports department, which is good news. For instance, the Black Athlete Student Body has been formed, yet I just don't think that it’s enough to counter the 60 page document that listed enormous racial instances."
Nana Yaw Serbeh, Men's Football Team
“Ever since I came to McMaster in 2018, it’s evident that the Black student experience just hasn’t been the same compared to other races within the athletics department. I think that the document released a few years ago clearly outlines that. There are so many instances where Black student athletes were not treated the same as other races and it really does make me angry,” explained Serbeh.
In the System Review published by the Athletics Department in October 2020, there were multiple instances of different Black athletes being let down by coaches and other members of the Marauders.
“Just one of the horrible situations that Black athletes have found themselves in goes way back to 2014, I believe. Essentially, a student athlete wished to discuss a problem he had within the squad and arranged a meeting with personnel higher up. However, when he arrived at the meeting, nobody was there to welcome him or speak to him. He was left alone in the situation and had nobody to help him,” said Serbeh.
Although there’s plenty that McMaster can still work on to improve the experience of Black student athletes and the way that they are treated, the school has taken steps to create spaces and opportunities for them. For example, the school just recently announced that the Athletics department has created 21 financial awards for Black student athletes, in an effort to create a more welcoming and motivational atmosphere within the community.
“I think that there is much more to do for McMaster athletics. One of the things that I’d like to see is a more welcoming atmosphere to the Black student athletes and more Black student athletes in general. I think that we are making some movement, but it’s simply not good enough yet. We’ve raised a lot of awareness and I think that the community should be more aware of the incidents that occur on campus and that they should be addressed correctly,” explained Serbeh.
There have certainly been efforts on behalf of McMaster to rectify the challenges and racism faced by Black student athletes. They have made considerable efforts to welcome Black student athletes to the sports scene, but is that enough to create meaningful and lasting change?
