The Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Surge are hosting the first ever Cheer Game for students

Six-foot-eight-inch Gabe Osabuohein ran down the court, leapt into the air, and dunked the ball into the hoop. As thousands of Calgary students cheered on their Calgary Waves, the buzzers went off and bullets rang out over the top of the backboard.

On May 15, 2024, the Calgary Surge and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) partnered with the first-ever Bye School Day Game. Thousands of seventh and eighth grade students from Calgary schools attended the event at the WinSport Event Center to strengthen CBE's high school program.

Artistic performances complemented the event with a DJ, dance groups and musical acts. The Calgary Foundation secured these acts as a title sponsor for the game and plans to connect artists with the Surge for the season.

“This story is about showing each other. All these young people study in the seventh and eighth grades. This is a difficult period of life. Getting to know yourself, getting to know your community, social-emotional learning, it's all going on, says Ken Lima-Coelho, a volunteer on the Calgary Foundation's board of directors.

This event is designed in line with CBE's Student Wellbeing framework. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown how difficult it is for students to learn when their physical and mental health is at risk. This model has learned from that time and uses it now. It's about prioritizing student well-being and recognizing that a student needs to be in good health in order to learn and succeed.

What is the basis of student welfare?

CBE's definition of well-being goes far beyond physical health and recognizes that many other factors influence a student's happiness. According to the policy, wellness can be divided into eight interdependent categories: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, intellectual and vocational.

The model is also derived from the holistic lifelong learning system of local education. Developed in collaboration with local elders and knowledge keepers, this definition of wellness relates to the health of four basic human qualities: spirit (being), heart (belonging), body (doing) and mind (knowing). All of these elements must be met for a person to be happy with this definition.

CBE defines wellness as a broad multidimensional concept that requires a holistic approach to achieve. CBE's own model also divides their system into four key categories that work together to create a culture of well-being. These are students, staff, schools/workplaces and communities. These different elements are interdependent and treat wellness as a prerequisite for learning. At the same time, they can be further divided to avoid using broad strokes and generalizations.

The Calgary Wave and the Bye Game

“We initially approached CBE and simply said, 'What problem can we solve for you or what feature can we provide?' said Jason Ribeiro, Vice Chairman and President of the Calgary Surge.

The Calgary Surge became a part of the Calgary community both to raise awareness of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and to give back to the community that nurtures them. Their players will visit several schools participating in the Bye Game before the event.

“I think every success that (Resident Chairman) Usman (Jutt) and I have had has been a result of the community. I think when you want to consider giving back to the community it bleeds into every aspect of your life. The Surge is no different. It's about representing, entertaining and uniting the city through the power of basketball and the arts,” said Ribeiro.

The “Be Well” game is designed according to the values ​​described by the CBE framework. The game has a very clear focus on inclusion, diversity and community. Multilingual signs were used to highlight the importance of the concept. They used sports and the event in general as a form of enrichment to strengthen students' sense of community.

“Simply put, our game is for everyone,” from the Calgary Surge.

CBE Director of Education David Dyke said it takes many partners to support this initiative and the Calgary Wave has been great for students.

“Whether it's a team sport or an individual sport, there are aspects of teamwork and cooperation. This shows how important it is to have good communication skills, respect for colleagues and self-discipline. How do you deal with frustration? You know, a missed shot, a missed call. These are all life skills that we use throughout our lives,” Dyke said.

The Calgary Surge open their season on May 21, 2024 against the Edmonton Stingers. All Calgarians can watch the game at the Saddledome. Tickets can be purchased here.