DeGroote makes a clean sweep at the MBA Games!

Leah Rosenthal | Hamilton, ON | January 11, 2012

The DeGroote School of Business is tops in Canada after sweeping the competition at the 2012 MBA Games in Edmonton, Alberta this past weekend. DeGroote claimed first place in all three division of the national competition: spirit, athletics and academics.

The DeGroote team was on a mission to win. After competing in the 2011 MBA Games and finishing in seventh place, MBA students had high hopes for 2012. Co-chairs Renee Lachance and Alex Paton began the planning process one year ago, setting up a committee and recruiting a team of 40 participants. Over the course of the past year, this student run team secured more than $20,000 dollars in sponsorship, held fundraising events and sought guidance from faculty members in order to set themselves apart from the competition. Their efforts certainly paid off.

"There was a buzz in Edmonton around DeGroote and how strong we performed throughout the competition” says Lachance. "There was nearly a 20 point difference between us and the second place team. I am so proud of our team’s hard work and dedication, and have never been more proud to be a part of the DeGroote community."

The MBA Games began at Queen’s University in 1988 and were held at Queen’s for the first seven competitions. Every year since 1997 the Games have been hosted by various schools across the country. Generally the winning school has the honour of hosting the Games the following year and in 2013 the MBA Games will be held at the DeGroote School of Business with over 600 people from across Canada slated to attend. DeGroote last won the Games in 2007.

In 2011, a new component to the Games was the Spirit of the Games award. This award is given to the team that demonstrates the highest degree of spirit throughout all competitions as judged by the teams themselves.

And DeGroote certainly had spirit. Both Lachance and Paton believe that the MVP of Spirit was participant Stephen Charko who at one point in a particularly brutal game of dodge ball had his glasses shattered, face cut and nose bleeding and yet did not leave to get stitches until the game was finished.

Placing first in the competition showcases the strength of DeGroote's MBA program which has increased enrolment since opening its satellite location, the Ron Joyce Centre, in Burlington, Ontario in September 2010. For Paton, winning after a year of hard work was a life lesson.

"I am taking away inspiration from this journey," says Paton. "It has cemented in my brain that if you really hit the pavement and commit to something 100% and believe in it wholeheartedly – it will pay off in the end. Winning the 2012 MBA Games has proven to me that if you work hard, good things will come your way."

For more information on the MBA Games visit their website.