We were honoured to speak with Broadcast Journalist at Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi & OMNI Television Producer & Reporter, Amrit Gill on Monday April 19th! We chatted about her journey to broadcasting and sports and how devoted to learning her craft and passion for storytelling and journalism as a kid in the school yard. Amrit also shared her experience learning Punjabi much later in life and the types of challenges she faced not just learning a new language but also the different circumstances she faced and continues to face as a woman in media. Amrit Gill is a digital content coordinator and host on "Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition." She became the first woman on HNIC: Punjabi Edition six years ago. Her work focuses on telling stories that include recognizing individuals whose trials and tribulations in hockey have been vastly underrepresented. Alongside working in sports journalism, Amrit also has a background in radio and television news. Her current role also includes producing national and local newscasts daily on OMNI Television. Topic List 1. Journey/Learning your Roots 2. Different Circumstances for Women in Media 3. Racial Diversity in Sports 4. Personal Projects and Last thoughts 5. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
Happy International Women’s Month SportTokerz!! To kick off our female empowering roster for March, we had THE Social Media and Digital Content guru, Madison Koekkoek join us on March 1st! Madison not only brought her redhead ginger spice spunk to our virtual studio, but also an incredible amount of expertise and knowledge in the sports industry. Madison shared compelling insight on the inner workings of managing sports social platforms, sports media, storytelling, marketing, and digital expertise based on her experiences at major networks and professional sports leagues. Madison offered refreshing openness and honesty handling all of the tough questions and unique perspectives as a woman working in the industry and her passion for mental health. Big topics we discussed were women empowering women in the sports media sphere, athletes as humans first and their stories being done justice, owning the message, the direction diversity and inclusion standards are headed, indigenous advocacy and acknowledgment, and transparency. *Disclaimer: The WNBA Gear that Prof Walz is showing to our Live audience in the beginning of the episode was the orange t-shirt and orange hat. Laurel is commenting on the discrepancy in orange hues between the two pieces. Madison’s past roles and experiences range from social media & digital content at Hockey Canada, CBC, CityTV, USports and she brings media, storytelling, marketing, digital expertise to the table from working in — minor hockey, the NHL, NFL, and CFL.
🎧🎙On Monday Feb 22nd, we were excited to have Founder of Flex For Access, Author, & Personal Trainer, Jess Silver, along with Award Winning TV Broadcaster, Certified Nutritional Practitioner & Author, Joanne Smith. This episode, we focused on Dis/Ability in Sports and Elevating Athletes! Both Jess and Joanne provided compelling insights - Jess spoke about taking a step further from an advocacy-only-outlook and elevating it by working towards creating spaces of opportunity. Joanne discussed the broadcast scene and her work to elevate athletes with physical challenges in mainstream media. Jess taught us her vocabulary as she prefers to speak about disability using the phrase ‘physical challenges’ instead - always putting the athlete first. With the rich conversation taking us over time (as it always does) we pick one thoughtful Rapid Fire question to close the show. Laurel asks, “What advice would you give to up and coming student broadcasters, writers, social media, and content creators, when they are going to be covering the Paralympics in terms of how we could be communicating better?” Both Jess and Joanne do not disappoint in their answers. See our topic list below: Spotlight Speaker Intro 1. Dis/Ability Physical Challenges In Sports 1. 2. Flex For Access & Moving On, CBC 3. Public Speaking, Educating & #AuthorsOfInstagram 4. Rapid Fire Q - “Go!”
This past week, we had the privilege of speaking with On Air Sports Expert Scott MacArthur! We spent some time diving into the recent news surrounding Kyle Beach and the toxicity found within hockey culture. Listen in as Scott and Prof Walz dive into what this means for hockey culture, some of their own personal experiences within the sport industry and how we move forward from here. This open, honest and raw conversation is a great way to kick off our new season!
This episode provided a dive deeper into the current, cutting edge work that Dan is producing and everything basketball both on and off the courts🏀🏆 Dan Gladman is an Award-winning Sports TV Producer. He was awarded the Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Sports Event for my work spearheading and producing Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals on TSN in Canada. This was the culmination of 10 years in the creative role as the Toronto Raptors game broadcast producer, and 18 years as a loyal employee of MLSE. In his career he has produced nearly 1,000 NBA and 100 MLS game broadcasts on TSN and Sportsnet. SportTokz celebrated it's season finale and will be taking a break for the summer! Don't worry, we'll be back in session for the fall semester as we prepare for Season 4 to launch September 2021! Disclaimer: This episode was recorded April 26, 2021
We are coming at you with another Office Hours feature this week hosted by Dan "The Coach" Berlin and TSN Sports Anchor Kayla Grey joins him in the virtual studio! Kayla is an award-winning journalist and currently an anchor for Sportscentre on Canadian sports network, TSN. Kayla became the first black woman to ever host a flagship sports-highlight show in Canada when she made her Sportscentre debut in 2018. On this episode of Office Hours, Kayla delves deeply into her craft and shares her thoughts on staying true to herself. It’s Kayla like you’ve never seen or heard before! We also have an Office Hours first as our executive producer, Chelsea Vern, hosts a Rapid Fire Q'z segment to discover Kayla's interests and hobbies, not just in sports.
Dan "The Coach" Berlin is back with another Office Hours episode as we take a break for the much needed long weekend. We were excited to welcome TV Producer Dan Gladman to our virtual studio and the experience, achievements and awards he comes with is just outstanding. Dan Gladman is a Canadian Screen Award-winning TV broadcast producer. Dan was in the production truck the day the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Finals and he's got the championship ring to prove it. His production experiences extend into many other sports including; NHL | MLS | CEBL | Pan Am Games | Olympic Sports. Dan is currently the Host and co-producer of Gym Ratz & Jointz podcast. Dan G. sits down with our Dan B. to discuss his secrets behind a successful live production.
On Monday March 29th, we were excited have Attorney, Agent & PR Specialist—Professional Sports & Sports Broadcasting, who represents both athletes and members of sport media, Emily Staker (@emily_staker), join us on SportTokz for our second LIVE stream on Twitch! 👏 Her work in the NFL agency paired with experience representing media talent and influencers has provided her with the skills to provide all necessary legal counsel and negotiation services, while also procuring advantageous sponsorship and endorsement opportunities on all forms of media, including social platforms! 💪 She also is a host on the Throwing Shades Podcast, focused on harnessing the honesty and vulnerability of GALvanize to discuss her experiences and events that impact the industry and themselves. We took a dive into sports business from a legal/agency perspective and discussed the important role lawyers & agents play in the broadcast media and social media side of sports. Topic List 1. “Sports Industry Being a Stinker? Call Emily Staker” 2. Influencer Sports Journalism & Broadcast 3. The Next Generation of Women in Sports 4. Galvanize 5. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
Wow, has it been a year already?! March 23rd marked the 1year anniversary of when Prof Walz and Prof Joe created SportTokz with SportProfz as a way to connect with students and sports industry pros as the pandemic settled in. One year later... we were honoured to have 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, Motivational Speaker, Broadcaster, and Co-Host of Her Mark Podcast, Cheryl Pounder, join us Monday March 22nd! In this episode, we chat about her Olympic career and what it was like to be a face of growth in women's hockey. We also dive into her experiencing broadcast & podcast life, where she thinks the industry is in terms of equality and the work sports media & professional organizations need to do to continue a progression forward. We also tackle the NCAA Madness that unfolded last week and what these actions said about the state of women's sports. Along with dominating on the ice, Cheryl Pounder dominates off the ice as well with her confidence, passion and experience on International stages as an inspiring Motivational Speaker! Cheryl is a hockey analyst for TSN. She was also the colour commentator for the coverage of the women’s hockey tournament at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics for both TSN and CBC. Now alongside Kate Beirness, the 2 of them are making their mark on female empowerment with the launch of Her Mark Podcast. Topic List 1. Olympic Achievements 2. “Her Mark” on Broadcast Media & Podcasting 3. NCAA Madness 4. Professional Women’s Hockey: It’s About Time 5. Rapid Fire Q'z - "GO!"
Oh Canada, we dive into the world of figure skating and the realities of the powerful sport. We were thrilled to have Canadian Coach & Choreographer, and Co-Host of #ThatFigureSkatingShow, Asher Hill join us this past Monday, March 15th, 2021. He was on Battle of the Blades (BOTB) mastering the art of BFF on ice and placed 2nd in the competition with hockey player partner, Jess Campbell. The Profz get to ask him a bunch of questions about his experience staking & coaching a professional hockey player in figure skates, the immediate chemistry & friendship with his partner and how BOTB helped repair his relationship with the sport. Now he is dominating the sports industry as a Canadian Coach & Choreographer, and Co-Host of #ThatFigureSkatingShow on CBC Sports YouTube! Asher sheds light on racism in figure skating and offers insight of what the sport can do to better encourage black youth to take figure skating or encourage diversity. We also discuss what it was like growing through his skating journey alongside his sister, Acacia Hill, and the work she is doing as a coach to build youth skaters from the roots up with her black owned skating school, Brampton Hill Skating Academy (https://bhsacademy.ca/) Asher Hill from Scarborough has been figure skating since he was three years old. He's competed in world championships and international events for Canada. He is the 2008 Canadian National Junior Champion and 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy Bronze Medalist. His love for his sport led him to a career as a licensed figure skating coach. As a skater and coach, he says he's constantly faced with racism and has always been painfully aware of the colour of his skin, which is why Asher is vocal to bring change to the world of sport. Topic list 1. Battle of the Blades 2. Figure Skating Heartbreak & Comeback 3. Race on the Ice 4. Put Me in Coach! 5. Rapid Fire Q’z
Happy International Women's Day/Month!! On March 8th we celebrated IWD with CBC Digital Sport Producer, Sarah Jenkins, along with Freelance Writer and PlayxPlay Announcer, Victor Findlay. We took a deep dive into the sports industry through the eyes of recent graduates and compare/contrast the transition from an academic environment to their professional experiences. Both Sarah and Victor have achieved great heights in their careers already with so much room for growth and domination in sports! 🙌 As former Profz of these amazing students, we couldn't be more proud! Sarah is a Digital Studio Producer at CBC Sports. Her work ranges from producer, leader, and creative specializing in digital content, video production and social media. Victor is the OHL Steelheads Broadcaster for Sauga960am - CBC Sports. His work ranges from writing, pxp commentary for radio, news breaking, and video editing. He was Sportsnet’s youngest play-by-play commentator in 2018! Both Sarah and Victor are Ryerson Grads! See our topic list below: Topic List 1. Hall of Student Fame - Experts in their field 2. Olympic Production 3. IWD: Women in Sports 4. “Gig Economy” 5. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
We were proud to host SportTokz in two languages, English & Punjabi, on February 8th with Spotlight Speaker, Parminder Singh, Host and Commentator in Punjabi at National Basketball Association (NBA)! We discuss Parminder's amazing career in sports and his experiences studying at some of the most prestigious universities in North America such as U of T, University of Wyoming, and HARVARD. We also chat about identifying a Need with a new segment - Punjabi Speaking Canadians - by building a brand and ignoring the obstacles of "nay sayers". Today vs. when he co-started Punjabi Hockey Night in Canada. Tune in for inspiring insight and moments between Parminder and some of our viewers that you can't help but smile for. See our topic list below: Spotlight Speaker Intro 1. Early Career 2. The Start of Punjabi Hockey Night in Canada / Broadcasting 3. Flipping the Switch on Traditional Practices in Sports 4. The Growing Sikh and Punjabi community in Sports 5. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
We had some duel #SportProfz and #SportTokz action on Monday February 1st as we hosted an exclusive episode to launch Laurel Walzak and Joe Recupero’s new book, “Sport Media Vectors: Digitization, Expanding Audiences, and the Globalization of Live Sport”. The Profz discussed how the book came about and dove into the fascinating topics their chapters address. We have also invited one of the chapter authors, Erik Denison, all the way from Australia to join us and discuss his chapter and specifically about prejudice reduction strategies, and diversity education. We're focusing on how pride games have potential, but the approaches taken globally to these events need to be refocused to drive meaningful change to sport. Erik Denison is a researcher with Monash University's Behavioural Science Research Laboratory, conducting world-first studies examining ways to change discriminatory behaviours in children's sport, using randomized, and controlled designs. Before joining Monash, Denison was a senior marketing and communication strategist and led the health and life sciences practice at a large agency. See our topic list below: Spotlight Speaker Intro 1. Erik Denison: Chapter 8 "Do LGBT Pride Games Stop Homophobic Language in Sport" 2. Joe Recupero: Chapter 5 "What are the Major Strengths and Gaps in the Research Literature's Treatment of Gender and Masculinities Intersecting with the Sport media industry" 3. Laurel Walzak: Chapter 4 “Exploring Sport Fan Expectations 4. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
Dan "The Coach" Berlin is back with another Office Hours episode - the first of 2021 and first for Season 3! We invite Harnarayan Singh to talk about his rise in the business and discusses the journey of finding his voice. They also dive into how he views himself as a minority and putting all the doubters to rest. Born and raised in small-town Alberta, Harnarayan Singh has risen through the broadcast ranks as a prominent media personality in hockey, calling games on Hockey Night Punjabi. As the NHL aims to grow the game in new markets and diversify its fan base, Harnarayan symbolizes the power sport has to unite people. He is the Play by Play Announcer of Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi, and just did his first ever game on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 calling the Edmonton Oilers’ vs. the Vancouver Canucks in English for an English broadcast, and he was the first Sikh person to ever do it! *This episode was recorded January 14th, 2021*
For another #SportProfz edition of the show, we were excited to have Senior Writer/Head of Features - The Athletic Canada, Author, and Ryerson RTA Sport Media instructor, Dan Robson join us on Monday January 25th! He provided such interesting insights and thoughtful answers to all of our audience questions. We dove into the responsibility sports writers have to provide a platform for athletes, coaches, and people working in sport to have a voice. We discuss the toxicity in hockey culture, online bullying, and the representation of women in sports and how important it is for writers to be an ally and help bring awareness to these issues. With a master's in journalism from Carleton University, Dan Robson took his talent to many corporations from the Toronto Star, CBC to landing his first senior position as a writer at SportsNet. with this passion, he also wrote many sports-themed books. Today Robson is the head of features at the athletic Canada and is a part-time instructor at Ryerson University for the RTA sport media program. See our topic list below: Topic List 1. Toxic culture in hockey 2. Allyship 3. Online Bullying 4. Representation of women in Sports 5. Dan The Writer 6. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
Welcome back SportTokerz! We hope you had a safe and wonderful holiday break and enjoyed the SportTokz Office Hours episodes while we were away. We are back to our regular scheduled programming and starting SEASON 3! Thank you so much for your continued support in our show and we are looking forward to this semester's roster of speakers. To kick off 2021, we had UCLA Softball Coach & NCAA Champion, Kirk Walker join us on Monday, January 18th and he provided such interesting insights to the scope of coaching elite athletes and the show embodied great culture AND chemistry (You'll get the inside joke once you listen). Kirk's optimism and coaching experience is remarkable and we were all inspired by his passion and enthusiasm for the game. See our topic list below: Spotlight Speaker Intro 1. Coaching/teaching in a person’s blood 2. Secrets/strategies to Winning 3. Team Chemistry vs Team Culture 4. Athletes/coaches coming out 5. Rapid Fire Q’z - “GO!”
Dan "The Coach" Berlin is joined by RTA Grad & On Air Personality, Ailish Forfar. Ailish is the host of Sportnet’s new digital interactive show “NHL Chatroom” live on Sportnet’s Youtube and Facebook channels weekly with Steve Dangle.
Dan "The Coach" Berlin invites Adam Schefter who is an NFL Insider for ESPN to the show! Adam has over 8 million twitter followers which makes him a pretty big deal. We did a deep dive into how to obtain sources and interviewing skills too.
We welcome Thomas Drance, Senior Writer with The Athletic, covering the Vancouver Canucks to the virtual studio and did a deep dive into gaining access to athletes as a reporter and communications professional.
Dan 'The Coach' Berlin along with his co-host David Singh welcomes Sportsnet National Reporter, Arash Madani! In this episode, they discuss the nuances of reporting on professional sports. Get ready for some great insights!