2018 Conference Information

October 31- November 3rd, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Welcome to the NASSS 2018 Conference website. Please use the tabs on the left to register and to find links to the conference schedule.  You can also find information on conference meeting rooms, technology, receptions, meals, and special events. We have also provided hotel and travel information as well as some suggestions for sites to visit in the Vancouver area.

Thanks to the Conference Steering and Program Committees for all of their great work in making this conference happen.

Conference Theme | Sport Soundtrack: Sport, Music, and Culture: 
As early as the first Olympic Games, sport has moved to the harmonies of music. In and throughout the event music has been used to frame the games through the “Olympic Hymn”, “Bulger’s Dream”, and “Summon the Heroes”. Appreciatively, each representative host country has framed the Games with their nation’s musical expression soundtrack. Across the globe, sport and music occupy the same space to set the tone of a sporting event, serve as a backdrop for a performance, support an athlete in their development and preparation, or facilitate the delivery of fitness training. Sport and music as cultural institutions share a bond, some might say they have a symbiotic relationship as they have worked together to elevate the production and consumption of their respective products. Sport and music forge communities, imbue national pride, and promote cultural identities.

Preliminary Schedule

The conference overview is listed below. Click to download a PDF of the 2018 Conference Program.

*The Sched app is available for planning sessions and sorting by presenter.  For more information, click on the Sched App.

NASSS 2018 Conference Program   (Updated 10/26/2018)

 

Wednesday, October 31, 2018
3:00pm - 8:00pm Conference Registration - Open
4:00pm - 9:00pm NASSS Executive Board Meeting & Dinner
8:00pm - 11:00pm Conference Welcome Reception

Thursday, November 1, 2018
7:00am - 8:00am Diversity and Conference Climate Committee Meeting & Breakfast
7:30am - 11:30am Conference Registration - Open
8:00am - 5:45pm Conference Exhibits & Vendors
8:00am - 9:15am Concurrent Sessions - 1
9:15am - 9:30am Break
9:30am - 10:45am Alan Ingham Memorial Lecture: Dr. Mary McDonald, Professor,
Homer C. Rice Chair in Sports and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
11:00am - 12:15pm Concurrent Sessions - 2
12:15pm - 1:30pm Graduate Student Luncheon, Lunch on Own
1:30pm - 4:00pm Conference Registration - Open
1:30pm - 2:45pm Concurrent Sessions - 3
3:00pm - 4:30pm Plenary Session: viaSport, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with Sheila Bouman -
Chief Executive Officer, Shawna Lawson - Director of Research and Social Innovation, & Caitlin
Pentifallo-Gadd - Director of Innovation & Impact
4:30pm - 5:30pm Concurrent Sessions - 4

Friday, November 2, 2018
7:00am - 8:00am Sociology of Sport Journal Board Meeting & Breakfast
7:30am - 9:30am  Conference Registration - Open
8:00am - 5:45pm  Conference Exhibits & Vendors
8:00am - 9:15am   Concurrent Sessions - 5
9:15am - 9:30am    Break
9:30am - 11:00am  NASSS Presidential Address: Dr. Joshua Newman, Professor, Florida State University, USA
11:00am - 12:15pm Concurrent Sessions - 6
12:15pm - 1:30pm Take a Student to Lunch
1:00pm - 3:00pm Conference Registration - Open
1:30pm - 2:45pm Concurrent Sessions - 7
3:00pm - 4:30pm Keynote: Dr. Damion Thomas, Curator of Sports, National Museum of African American History & Culture - Smithsonian, USA
4:30pm - 5:30pm Concurrent Sessions - 8
5:30pm - 7:00pm NASSS Business Meeting
7:00pm - 10:00pm NASSS Presidential Reception

Saturday, November 3, 2018
7:00am - 10:00am NASSS Executive Board Meeting & Breakfast
7:30am - 9:30am  Conference Registration - Open
8:00am - 3:00pm Exhibits & Vendors
8:00am - 9:15am  Concurrent Session - 9
9:15am - 9:30am  Break
9:30am - 11:00am Keynote: Dr. David Leonard, Professor, Washington State University, USA
11:15am - 12:15pm Concurrent Session - 10
12:15pm - 1:30pm NASSS Members Luncheon
1:30pm - 2:45pm Concurrent Session - 11
4:00pm                   NASSS 2018 Annual Conference Ends

 

 

Registration for our 2018 conference, Sport Soundtrack: Sport, Music, and Culture, is now open.

The following link will take you to the event website, with a link to the registration page: https://www.regonline.com/2018nasssconferencevancouverbc

A reminder that you need to be a current NASSS member to present at the conference. You can purchase your membership at https://nasss.org/join/

If you have any questions about the conference registration process, please contact the conference steering committee chair William Bridel at william.bridel@ucalgary.ca.

 

 

Travel

The nearest airport is Vancouver International Airport.

As part of our environmental initiative,  NASSS has organized a interactive Ride Share document.  The document will allow you to match up with other conference attendees so that you can share a ride from the airport. Sharing a ride saves money and the planet!  If you would like to access the document, please send Katie Esmonde an email (kesmonde@terpmail.umd.edu) and write "Ride Share" in the title.

You may also consider taking Public transit from the airport to downtown via the Canada line. The trip takes under 30 minutes.
http://www.yvr.ca/en/passengers/transportation/public-transportation

Hotel

The conference hotel is the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver.
Hotel website: https://vancouver.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

Please book your rooms with the Hyatt Regency prior to October 8, 2018 by using the following link:
https://aws.passkey.com/go/nasss2018

You can also make reservations by phone: 1-888-421-1442 (North America) and 1-402-592-6464 (International) and inform them you're with NASSS.

Guest Room Rates

Hotel has confirmed the following Guest Room Rates, per night (Canadian dollars):
Single occupancy: $189.00
Double occupancy: $189.00
Triple occupancy: $199.00*
Quadruple occupancy: $209.00*
View room: Additional $30.00 per room per night
Balcony room: Additional $30.00 per room per night
Balcony view room: Additional $50.00 per room per night
Regency Club: Additional $125.00 per room per night
*Hyatt Regency will allow up to ten (10) triple/quadruple rooms at a reduced rate of $199.00 for triple and $209.00 for quad occupancy.

All room rates are subject to appropriate federal, provincial, municipal, and local occupancy taxes and fees in effect at the time of the conference. These are currently at 5% Goods and Service Tax (GST), 8% Provincial Sales Tax (PST), 3% Municipal Regional District Tax (MRDT), and 1.5% Destination Marketing Fee (DMF). Total taxes and fees equate to 17.5%.

Thursday  11/1- NASSS Movie Night: Dr. Brian Wilson and  Centre for Sport and Sustainability (CSS) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will be hosting a documentary showing followed by a short reception. The event will take place from 6-7:30pm in Plaza C (the Plaza Ballroom). The documentary is titled 'Mount Gariwang: An Olympic Casualty'.The trailer for the documentary and additional information can be found here. The event includes a film screening, a brief Q&A with the film’s producers, Liv Yoon (doctoral candidate at UBC), Dr. Brian Wilson (UBC), and Jordan Wade (Storyhero Media) , and  a reception featuring snacks and a cash bar.  Download this flyer for more details.

Friday 11/2: Run with the Presidents! : Following the precedent over the past two years, our Past Presidents, Cheryl Cooky & Theresa Walton-Fisette, our President Elect, Akilah Carter-Francique, and current President Joshua Newman would like to invite you for a run (walk or roll!) along the water front in Vancouver! There’s a great park  (Stanley Park) very close to the Hyatt Regency. We’ll take an out and back route through the city, so you can turn back whenever it suits you. Or, you can extend once at the park.  In order not to conflict with the conference schedule, we will meet in the lobby at 6 am, Friday morning. All paces and abilities welcome. Right now, the temperatures are forecast to be in the 40s F with a bit a rain likely, so dress accordingly.

Saturday 11/3- NASSS Social Night: The BC Lions football team is playing a home game. Tickets are priced at $30 per person. Special seating, access to pre-game warm-up, and souvenirs are a part of the ticketing price. Attendees will need to provide their own transportation to and from the game, which will be played at BC Place. BC Place is approximately 1.2k/.75 miles from the Hyatt Regency Conference Hotel.

To Purchase tickets for the game: 

Receptions: As in the past, there are two receptions included in your registration fee: the Opening Reception (charcuterie and dessert buffet) on Wednesday October 31 and the President’s Reception (cocktail fare) on Friday November 2. Both receptions will have a cash bar.

Saturday Lunch: The Members' Lunch will take place on Saturday, November 3rd. This plated lunch is part of the registration fee but is limited to the first 315 attendees on a first-come, first serve basis. All those wishing to attend must register for the lunch when completing their conference registration.  If you’re attending the Members’ Lunch on and would like to request a special meal, please send an email to william.bridel@ucalgary.ca no later than Sunday October 28 and your request will be passed on to the hotel.

Your registration fee also includes complimentary coffee breaks. There will be coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon on Thursday and Friday and in the morning on Saturday. These will be served on the 2nd floor, outside the Georgia Ballrooms.

Graduate Students are also invited to attend the graduate student luncheon on Thursday, November 1 at 12:15 pm. The luncheon is free for all graduate students who are attending the conference. See you program for the room information.

 

The NASSS Conference is a great place for grad students to meet each other and to interact with faculty in their field. The NASSS grad reps organize several programs to help graduate students get the most out of the conference.

You can also contact grad rep Katie Esmonde ) or Sophy Chan ( 15swsc@queensu.ca) with any questions about the programs.

Grad Student Room Share:

Sharing a room can help with your expenses and allow you to meet other students. NASSS Grad Reps help interested grad students meet others who want to share the cost of a hotel room.

If you are interested in Room Share, please send an email Sophy Chan ( 15swsc@queensu.ca) with the subject line "Graduate Student Room Share".  Send her a brief note and she will send you a link that will enable you to connect with other students who are seeking rooms.

Take a Student to Lunch

This program is a valuable way for grad students to connect with faculty during the conference. Information will be posted as it is available.

Graduate Student Lunch - Thursday 11/1
For this year's Luncheon, we will be holding a series of networking sessions where small groups of students have the opportunity to converse with various faculty members about different themes that interest them! Be sure to come prepared with a list of questions and with your business cards. This will be a great way for you to get acquainted with some of the NASSS faculty and to have some of your questions about grad school + beyond answered!  All students registered for the conference are welcome to attend the Luncheon! (No sign-ups required!) . Click HERE for more information on the networking luncheon..

Graduate Student Social

I am writing to let you know that the Graduate Student Representatives will be hosting a Graduate Social Night on Thursday, November 1st. The social will take place at Steamworks Brew Pub on 375 Water Street and will start at around 8:30 PM.  Jesse, our incoming graduate student rep, will be waiting at the lobby of the hotel at 8:15PM to walk over anyone who is interested in coming. It is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. All students, or students at heart, are welcome to join. This is an informal social. You can come and go throughout the night as you are available. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Sophy (15swsc@queensu.ca).

For more information on Graduate Students or to explore a list of graduate programs, visit our grads page.

Technology:

  • All breakout rooms for the concurrent sessions are equipped with a projector and screen. Participants will need to supply their own laptop or connect with other presenters in their session to use theirs. Mac users: Please bring a VGA adapter to connect to projectors.
  • Session organizers and/or presenters are also encouraged to bring speakers should more volume be required for audio and/or video in presentations.
  • All breakout rooms have wifi, as does the main meeting area.
  • Graduate student volunteers will be helping with trouble shooting at the beginning of each concurrent session and there will be an AV technician onsite.
  • Also please note that one of our conference presenters is deaf and requires speakers to wear a special microphone while they’re presenting and for audience members to use if asking questions during a session in which the participant is presenting. The mic simply clips on and transmits a signal to the participant; nothing is recorded. Thank you all in advance for your assistance and support.

Meeting Rooms:

Please note that the meeting rooms are on three different floors in the hotel: the 2nd, 4th, and 34th. Floor plans have been included in the Conference Program and a separate handout will be available at the registration desk onsite.

The following list of activities/sites to check out was put together by NASSS member Dr. Rob Lake.  The activities are fun, interesting, free, within walking distance from the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and have a social justice theme.

Davie Village (Davie St. between Burrard and Jervis cross-streets):This is the heart of Vancouver’s gay community. It’s truly wonderful, and full of awesome but reasonably priced restaurants, bars and nightclubs, alongside bookstores and fashion outlets. Take a “selfie” at the rainbow crosswalk, and if it’s sunny (which happens in Vancouver sometimes), find yourself an outside patio at a bar for people-watching.
Directions from the Hyatt: Walk south-west on Burrard Street until you get to Davie St, then look north.

Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art (639 Hornby St): This is the only public gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Indigenous Northwest Coast art, featuring the work of the famous and talented Bill Reid, of mixed Indigenous/Scottish heritage. This gallery is free if you’re indigenous but costs $13 if you’re not.
Location: Just a block and a half south of the Hyatt Regency. You can’t miss it (apparently), unless you walk right past it (like I did), in which case you will.

Chinatown (Pender St and Columbia St - and surrounding area): This is the largest Chinatown in Canada and the 2nd largest in North America behind the one in San Francisco. It’s free to walk around but everything fun will cost you - i.e. eating, drinking and the world famous Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. This would be a great place to unwind after your presentation!
Location: A couple blocks north-east on Burrard and about 8-10 blocks south-east on Pender

Stanley ParkNamed after the same Lord Stanley who donated the famous ice hockey trophy, this is Vancouver’s largest urban park and certainly one of the best places to visit as a tourist. There are beaches, trails, a scenic seawall, flower gardens and playgrounds. If you have a couple hours to spare, I’d recommend renting a bike from one of a number of bike-rental places and taking a leisurely ride around the seawall (the views are amazing, and there are a bunch of historical landmarks to check out en route). Renting a bike might cost $10 an hour, or considerably less if you know the owner of the place.
Location: Just head north for about 10 blocks.

Other places to visit:

  • Gastown: Bars, restaurants and a cool steamclock that whistles every 15 minutes
  • Granville Island: Bars, restaurants, a micro-brewery, and art galleries
  • English Bay: An awesome beach and a fun Chinese laughter monument that cannot possibly fail to make you laugh.
  • Granville St. - theatres, bars and late-closing (3am) night clubs

Business meeting minutes and other important documents can be found on our documents page: