April 4, 2006 – The SIRC Research Award recognizes outstanding sport research in Canada. Acknowledging how sport research benefits the Canadian sporting community is the primary purpose of this award. Over $10,000.00 in cash and prizes will be awarded to this year’s winners. Congratulations to all who participated.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of our judges and to the following sponsors for their tremendous support: CIHR – Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, Wellness Options, Ebsco Publishing, Human Kinetics, McGraw-Hill Ryerson and Wilson Sports.

“We are proud to honour all of those individuals and organizations who continue to dedicate themselves to the world of sport research.” Debra Gassewitz, President and CEO, SIRC

And the award goes to…

The Impact of Applied Research on Athletic Excellence — High Performance Category: “Evaluation of Pain Appraisals and Coping Styles among Athletes Dealing With Training-Related Pain” – Petra Kopka McDowell, Ph. D. Student — University of New Brunswick

Petra Kopka McDowell completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Waterloo and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Dr. Diane LaChapelle. Her research is in the area of sport, with special interest in how athletes appraise and cope with training related pain. Because pain is a common experience for athletes, Petra’s goal is to identify which pain appraisal and coping strategies are beneficial for athletes and how these strategies can be fostered in young athletes, thereby providing them with the tools they need to excel in their sport. Prior to entering graduate school, Petra participated in national and international level sporting competitions. Currently, she is the head coach for the Fredericton Dragon Boat Festival in support of KidSport New Brunswick (an organization that helps children from disadvantaged families participate in sports) and Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic (an organization supporting high performance athletes and coaches).

The Impact of Sport on the Community — Community Category: “A Perfect Match: Brazilian Martial Arts and the Canadian Multiculturalism Act” — Janelle Joseph — University of Toronto

Janelle Joseph is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Toronto in the Department of Exercise Sciences. She is interested in physical, cultural and community aspects of martial arts. In particular, she has studied Capoeira, a Brazilian Martial Art, played in Canada since the early 1990’s. Canadian participants create truly multi-cultural communities when Brazilian and Canadian participants take up an activity that is a fusion of Brazilian, African and European customs. Her research reveals that players in Canada use capoeira to fulfill aspects of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in different ways. As participants learn to conjoin music and sport, aggression and grace, competition and cooperation, through the complex martial art/dance/game that is capoeira, they play a part in bringing Canadian ideals of multiculturalism to life.