School of Kinesiology & Health Science

Event Summary

The School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University is proud to host the 2nd Annual Donald Sanderson Memorial Symposium on Sport Concussion. The symposium pays tribute to Mr. Sanderson, a former student in the Kinesiology and Health Science program and a promising hockey player, who passed away on January 2, 2009 as a result of a head injury during a hockey game. The symposium aims to continue the discussion on the occurrence and treatment of concussions in sport.

The Donald Sanderson Memorial Trust Fund

Through the Trust Fund, Donald's family and friends help keep his memory alive.  The fund supports young future leaders through education and development; provides opportunities for those less fortunate to experience the thrill of sports and, supports others in their life adventures through appropriate community causes.  The Trust has donated funds toward the symposium to help share important knowledge about concussion management.

More information about the Donald Sanderson Memorial Trust Fund can be found at: http://www.georginaice.com/DonSanderson.html

Opening remarks

The Honourable R. Roy McMurtry, Q.C.
The Honourable Roy McMurtry is the former Ontario Chief Justice and Attorney General, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is presently the 12th Chancellor of York University.

Born in Toronto, Mr. McMurtry is a graduate of the University of Toronto where he was the Captain of the University of Toronto Blues. In 2000, he was named as a member of the All Century University of Toronto football team. Mr. McMurtry is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1958. After practising as a trial lawyer for 17 years, he was elected to the Ontario legislature in 1975, where he was immediately appointed Attorney General by then-Premier William Davis. As Attorney General, Mr. McMurtry argued major constitutional cases in the Supreme Court of Canada and played a key role in the negotiations leading to the patriation of the Constitution with an entrenched Charter of Rights in 1982. Mr. McMurtry left office in 1985 to become Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. In 1989 and 1990, he served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CFL. In 1991, he was appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Superior Court and then Chief Justice of that Court in 1994. In 1996, he was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario, a capacity in which he served for over 11 years until May 2007. He then joined Gowlings’ Advocacy Department where he continues to serve as counsel to the Firm.

Mr. McMurtry is the founder and president of The Osgoode Society, a body established in 1979 for the writing of Canadian legal history which to date has published 84 books and 80,000 pages of oral history. In 2007, his significant contributions to the legal profession were recognized with Osgoode Hall Law School’s Award of Excellence (The Robinette Medal) and the President of the Canadian Bar Association’s Award of Merit. He also received an honorary degree from York University in 1991 and has received honorary degrees from several other universities and, in 2009, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Merit of France. He was invested in the Order of Ontario in January 2008, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.

The Donald Sanderson Memorial Fund

Ms. Dahna Sanderson
A senior Marketing Communications professional, Dahna has been instrumental in helping make a difference to people’s lives. She consistently gives her time to a number of organizations that give back to the less fortunate. Dahna’s mission and passion in life is to enrich the lives of others and to provide the tools for people to strive to reach their full potential through coaching and training.
 
Dahna founded The Donald Sanderson Memorial Fund, in memory of her son Donald Sanderson, in whose honour this event is held.
Prior to her career as a Marketing and Communications professional, Dahna served as a professional figure skating coach, coaching all levels and ages from beginner recreational to provincially competitive. Dahna has personally achieved 2 gold test levels. She is a sports mom and fan and for 20 years, a coach, and volunteer. She has been involved in various community associations in Durham region in recent years, related to sports and her community. She has played women's slow pitch for over 20 years and was a part of the 2000 Canadian championship winners. Having relocated to Richmond Hill in 2009, she became involved with Vaughan Task Force related to sports and helmet safety. Dahna is passionate about sports, both as a participant and a fan, as well as her family and the people in her life. Her personal mission is to live in today as the present, and to value the gift every day.

Dahna currently serves as the Director of Marketing & Communications at The Pampered Chef and has been there since 2003. She previously held the position of Director of Sales at the same organization.

Athlete / Parent Perspective

Mr. Matt Dunigan (Analyst, CFL on TSN)
Legendary quarterback Matt Dunigan is one of the CFL's most accomplished and celebrated players. In 2006, Dunigan received the League’s highest honour with his induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and was also named one of the TSN Top 50 CFL Players of the modern era.

Throughout his career, Dunigan has been struggling with the long-term effects of the concussions he suffered as a CFL player. He explored that side of his life and how it's affected his family in a stunning feature on TSN.

Over the course of his CFL career, Matt sustained at least 12 diagnosed concussions and possibly many more that went undiagnosed," TSN's Brian Williams said during the show's opening. "Seldom do we deal with how concussions affect the family."

| Dunigan said he still feels the effects of concussions today.

Watch the Interview: http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/#clip498028

Sport Medicine Specialist

Dr. Paul Echlin
"Concussion in Sport" with guest athletes Ms. Olivia Greentree and Mr. Brad Madigan.

A primary care sports medicine specialist and Board Certified in Family and Sports Medicine in Canada and the U.S., Dr. Echlin currently practices in Burlington, Ontario. Dr. Echlin has been a Junior Hockey team physician for the last decade in Canada and in the United States. He currently is a Research Chair at the Hockey Neurotrauma and Concussion Initiative Research Committee and also serves as Current Primary Investigator of the Hockey Concussion Education Project.

Dr. Echlin’s past activities include serving as Chair of the London Hockey Concussion Summit, and as Co-Chair of the HNCI Stakeholders Meeting (January 2009).

See Dr. Echlin on "Listen Up TV" with Lorna Dueck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4I3JR7dtTU

The Neuroscience of Concussion

Dr. Lauren Sergio
"The Neuroscience of Concussion: What we know, what we don't."

Dr. Sergio is an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, a member of the Centre for Vision Research, and is currently the Neuroscience Graduate Diploma program coordinator.

Dr. Sergio has studied the neural control of movement since 1988. Her research projects examine the effects of age, sex, neurological disease, head injury, and experience (elite versus non-elite athletes) on the brain’s control of complex movement.

Dr. Sergio works with a wide range of adult populations, including NHL draft prospects and Alzheimer's disease patients, using behavioural and brain imaging techniques. Dr. Sergio earned a BSc in Physiology from McGill University and continued on to earn her Ph.D. in Psychology, also from McGill University.

Dr. Sergio's web page can be found at: http://www.yorku.ca/lsergio/

Master of Ceremonies

Mr. Teddy Katz
For more than a decade Teddy Katz has traveled the world to bring Canadians some of the most compelling sports stories around the globe. As a news reporter with a passion for sports journalism, Teddy has led CBC Radio's coverage for all the top international sports events including the Olympic Games, the World Cup, and numerous Commonwealth and Pan American games. He has won several awards for his work including Black Ice, a documentary that examines racism in hockey. Teddy looks for the kind of stories that can shine a light on political, cultural and social issues in Canada and beyond and believes sport is the perfect venue. He believes in having a bird's eye view of the sports world, which allows him to go behind the scenes to look for the stories and issues beyond the scores in sport.

Teddy began his career with CBC as a news reporter and producer in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1989 where he worked until 1991. After he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he freelanced for many of the top news organizations, learned fluent Spanish, and met his future wife. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario and earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University.