Commerce crushes competition

The 2011 Dalhousie JDC team.

Dalhousie commerce students have done it again.

For the second year in a row they returned from the Jeux De Commerce (JDC) games with an impressive collection of trophies. This year’s delegation brought back five trophies in total including first place in accounting, first in finance, second place in entrepreneurship, second in debate and Faculty Advisor of the Year for Dan Shaw.

Not bad for the only school invited from Atlantic Canada.

“The Ontario schools see Dal as underdogs,” says Jesse Mawhinney, co-captain of Dal’s JDC team. “We had all kinds of people coming up to us on awards night and asking what school we were from. They were quite taken aback when we told them we were from Dal. We’re really starting to make some waves.”

The JDC is an annual event that was started in Quebec in 1989 that brings business students together to use the skills they’ve learned in the classroom in a hands-on setting. Based on the success of the Quebec version of the games, a JDC West and JDC Central version were created. This is the second year for the JDC Central competition, which is the section Dal competes in.

The competition is on an invite-only basis and Dalhousie is the only school from Atlantic Canada in the JDC Central section. The other eight schools in the section are all based in Ontario.

This year, 31 Dal Commerce students took the Dal bus to Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, a 25-hour journey. Participants were responsible for raising money to cover the cost of the trip. JDC participants held several fundraising events as well as secured sponsorship from some big companies such as ScotiaBank, Eastlink, Emera and Molson. The Dal Commerce Society and other university organizations also donated money to the group.

The results at the competition came after months of hard work. Students participating in the JDC delegation do not receive extra credit for their efforts.

“To prepare for the JDC, we were doing at least one four-hour long mock session per week on top of our regular coursework,” says Mr. Mawhinney. “Our faculty advisors and coaches donated their time and knowledge as well. It’s a really big commitment.”

“Our success can also be credited to the outstanding dedication of our team captains. There’s no way we could have been successful without them,” adds Stephanie Clark, “godparent” of the 2011 Dalhousie JDC team and VP external, Dalhousie Commerce Society.

Next year’s JDC is taking place at Carleton University in Ottawa and Dal's team already has its sights set on the podium.