The Journey from Good to Great...Scrum 2012 is a SUCCESS!

Posted Sun, 28 Oct 2012, 5:31pm by James Scott

During our "afternoon debrief" at the Saturday portion of the 2012 Scrum, I took a moment to quietly survey the crowd of engaged, talkative, thoughtful participants, and something struck me - there were a lot of new faces in the crowd!  Through nominee meetings, annual general meetings, and Pride preparations, you start to see "the usual suspects" over time.  It's always great to see a friendly familiar face, but I am incredibly encouraged by the newly engaged LGBT sport and rec supporters who took a step from good to great by participating in the 2012 Scrum.

Judging from the comments and feedback we received during the conference, the 2012 Scrum was indeed a success!  Over two days, the LGBT sport and rec community assembled at U of T and at The 519 to collectively take the journey from good to great by way of learning, networking, and engaging.

Over the weekend;

• We heard an emotional and very personal keynote speech from Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James.
• We had terrific conversations on the barriers to sport facing two very important constituents - youth and women.
• We set the stage for a groundbreaking PrideHouseTO in 2015.
• We learned how to train our minds and bodies to better our performance and better our health and wellness.
• We kicked off The LGBT Sport Leadership Programme with a workshop from a PhD on the challenges and opportunities facing local sports organisations.
• We fostered relationships that will strengthen the LGBT sport and rec community!

This conference could not have happened without the support and efforts of some key groups and individuals;

• Bruce Kidd and the Hart House at University of Toronto for hosting our Friday night reception and keynote speech.
• The 519 for being very professional conference hosts of the Saturday session.
• The Faculty of Kinesiology at The University of Toronto for spearheading the youth session of The Scrum, dubbed the Jr. Scrum.
• The Blake House, proudly supporting as lead sponsor for The Scrum.
• Deb Pierce, who was hilarious, endearing, and just perfect as our emcee.
• Angela James, for taking time out of her busy schedule to deliver a very powerful keynote speech.
• The session leaders and presenters for donating their weekend, and countless hours of preparation to put together their amazing workshops!
• The Scrum committee (Deryck Mollenthial, Chris Hau, Matt Cutler, Michele Brownrigg, Ericka Ho Sang, Shawn Sheridan, Ken Meiklejohn) for all of their efforts in the planning and execution of this conference.
• My fellow OUTSPORT TORONTO board members for all your help leading up to and on the day of the event!

Lastly, I want to thank all the participants of the Scrum for taking the time to show you care, and contributing the time and effort to strengthen the LGBT sport and rec community!

See you at next year's Scrum... and hopefully sooner!

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