A pair of Tigers kinesiology majors have been helping the Tigers improve through their academic studies. Jasmine Kwan and Sartaj Sidhu, both Academic all-Canadians, have embarked on their own research journeys.
“I think that the more that we get hands-on here at Dal, the better our Tigers will be when we invest time into research,” says Sartaj.
Jasmine, a first-year goalie on the women’s hockey team, is volunteering in biodynamics, ergonomics, and neuroscience at the BENLab. The BENLab is part of Dalhousie Kinesiology, where Jasmine assists master students with their research.
“I feel like having this hands-on experience has really helped me gain a stronger interest in this type of research,” she says.
The lab has a partnership with hockey equipment manufacturer CCM, and Jasmine has been assisting the masters students in their research. One of the projects she has helped with is a validation study on a markerless motion capture system.
They are using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). There is an IMU on each body segment, which is all connected to a central pack that sends a signal back to the hub, making up the IMU suit.
Kwan is focusing on the biomechanics of goaltenders and how stance and positioning can increase save percentage using the IMU suit.
“We're very excited to see what she continues to do and where she ends up going with her academic work,” says Seth Daley, a PhD student who had Jasmine assist his masters project.
Connecting research to the ice
Sartaj, a third-year men’s volleyball player from Calgary, is also conducting research. He is researching the efficacy of the women's hockey training program using a test battery, which may also indicate in-game performance.
The battery tests how well Dal’s strength and conditioning translate to on-ice performance. An on-ice test reflects how well athletes perform in the weight room and could be applied to their performance in the game. The research is collecting data, and the project is on track to conduct data analysis by the end of the semester.
The first test is a repeated skate sprint, originally administered by Dr. Lynda Ransdell for an international women’s cohort of athletes. Sartaj will see how the test translates to U SPORTS and if it has applicability.
“This is a foundational step towards making research for women's sport more of a commonplace,” he says.
Sartaj got to work closely with the Tigers strength and conditioning coach, Brett Armstrong, who is serving as a supervisor on his research.
“Testing in sport is hard and I think that students like Sartaj do a really good job of looking at individual differences in athletes,” says the coach.
Sartaj’s research can directly help the women’s hockey team now. He encourages more projects and points to the positive outcomes of students conducting research that can directly impact the Tigers success.
His efforts put a spotlight women’s sports, helping close the gap between research in women’s sports compared to men's.
“We’re seeing there’s a gap between the research for women’s and men’s hockey,” says Sartaj. “We know that there's differences between men's and women's hockey and we know that training should also reflect that. We talk a lot about putting women's sports into the spotlight, and this is something that I feel can be extremely impactful and can create change in the world of sport. It's something that I truly care about, and it's very rewarding.”
Achieving academic all-Canadian status
Achieving Academic All-Canadian status for the first time means a lot Jasmine Kwan from North Vancouver, B.C. Jasmine is in her first year of eligibility but is in her fourth year of studies. She is proud of herself and her teammates who have accomplished becoming an academic all-Canadian.
“It’s a big achievement because it shows we’re able to balance practice, training and our courseload,” she says.
Jasmine's connections with her professors have helped her manage her courseload and dedication to her team.
“My professors have helped me and took their time to guide me through things that I was having a pretty hard time grasping,” she says. “Some of them went out of their way to accommodate my practices and created new office hours for me.”
Achieving academic all-Canadian status for the third time means a lot to Sartaj. When he first arrived at Dal, he was told that he was not just an athlete, but a student-athlete and that the student side of dash came first.
He says it’s a reflection of his dedication and persistence to both academics and athletics.
“It means a lot because we get a lot of support from our athletic department. There's a lot of resources that go into our success and being able to capitalize on that means a lot to me,” she says. “My family is extremely supportive of my academic and athletic endeavours and want to see me succeed. Their hard work to get me here was and continues to be a driving factor and I’m so thankful for them.”
The Tigers celebrated Sartaj, Jasmine, and the rest of the 150 Academic All-Canadians from the 2022-23 season at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on Thursday.
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