Six-foot-eight-inch Gabe Osabuohein sprinted down the court, leaped into the air and slam dunks the ball in the hoop. Buzzers go off and smoke shoots from the top of the backboard as thousands of Calgary students cheer for their Calgary Surge.

May 15, 2024 marked the first ‘Be Well’ school day game in a partnership between the Calgary Surge and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). Thousands of, grade seven and eight, students from schools across Calgary attended the event at the WinSport Event Centre to bolster the CBE’s junior high program.

Arts performances complemented the event with a DJ, dance groups, and musical acts. The Calgary Foundation provided these acts as a main sponsor for the game and plan to connect artists with the Surge for the season.

“This event is about showing up for each other. All of these young people, they’re in grade seven, they’re in grade eight. That’s a challenging time of life. Getting to know yourself, getting to know your community, socially emotional learning, all that’s happening, said Ken Lima-Coelho, volunteer with The Calgary Foundation on their board of directors.

This event was created to go along with the CBE’s Student Well-Being Framework. The recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how challenging learning is for students when their physical and mental health is at risk. This model takes lessons from that time and applies them now. It’s prioritizing student well-being and taking into account that a student must be in good health to properly learn and succeed.

What is the Student ​​Well-Being Framework?

CBE’s definition of well-being goes far beyond physical health and acknowledges many other factors go into a student’s happiness. According to the policy, wellness can be broken down into eight co-dependent categories: physical, social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, intellectual, and occupational.

The model also takes from the Indigenous Education Holistic Lifelong Learning Framework. Designed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, this definition of wellness depends on the health of the four main human attributes: spirit (to be), heart (to belong), body (to do), and mind (to know). These elements must all be fulfilled for a person to be happy by this definition.

The CBE defines wellness as a broad multi-dimensional concept that requires a more holistic approach to achieve. CBE’s own model also breaks down their system into four key categories that work together in order to create a culture of well-being. Those being students, employees, schools/workplaces, and communities. These different elements depend on each other and treat wellness as a prerequisite of learning. At the same time they can be broken down further as to no use broad strokes and generalizations.

The Calgary Surge and the ‘Be Well’ Game

“We initially reached out to the CBE and just said, what problem can we solve for you or in what capacity could we provide?” said Jason Ribeiro, Vice-Chairman and President of the Calgary Surge.

The Calgary Surge has notably been part of the Calgary community both to spread awareness of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and to give back to the community that fosters them. Their players go to multiple schools involved in the ‘Be Well’ game before the event.

“I think every success that (Surge Chairman) Usman (Jutt) and I have had has been as a result of community. I think when you want to look at giving back to the community that bleeds over into all facets of your life. The Surge is no different. It’s about reflecting, entertaining and uniting the city through the power of basketball and the arts,” said Ribeiro.

The ‘Be Well’ game was created in line with the values that the CBE framework outlines. The game had a very clear focus on inclusion, diversity and community. Multilingual signs were used to highlight the importance of the concept. They used sport and the event as a whole as a form of enrichment to strengthen students’ sense of connectedness with their community.

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

Education director for the CBE, David Dyck, said they need many community partners to support this initiative and having the Calgary Surge has been great for the students.

“Whether it’s a team sport or an individual sport, there are aspects of teamwork and collaboration. That highlights how important it is to have good communication, be respectful with your teammates and self-regulate. How do you handle the disappointment? You know, a missed shot, a missed call. All of those things are life skills that we all use throughout our lives,” said Dyck.

The Calgary Surge begin their season May 21, 2024 versus the Edmonton Stingers. All Calgarians can see the game at the Saddledome. Tickets can be bought here.