Faculty of Kinesiology

Sara-Lynn Knockwood was a graduate of the Master of Business Administration in Sport and Recreation Management (MBA SRM) in 2016. This program is a partnership with the Faculty of Management and Faculty of Kinesiology where students are exposed to the principles and concepts that relate to the business of recreation and sport. I had the opportunity to talk with Sara-Lynne and catch up on what she is doing and her pathway through the MBA SRM program.

Sara-Lynne grew up in Nova Scotia and self-identifies as Sipenkne’Katik First Nation and grew up off the reserve. As one of four, she was heavily involved in sport where she competed in multiple sports. However, the sport she excelled was Taekwondo, where she competed at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG)[1], and local, provincial, national, and international levels of competitions (Pan American Games and World Championships). Sara-Lynne was recognized for her achievements in the sport when she was inducted into the Mi'KMAQ Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. In talking with Sara-Lynne she indicated she would have never been able to compete at this high level without the tremendous support from her community.

In addition to competing as an athlete, Sara-Lynne did her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology at St. Francis Xavier University and then moved on to UNB's graduate program MBA SRM. When asked "why UNB and the MBA SRM?"; Sara-Lynn responded that people would ask coming out of a Kinesiology degree if she was going to go into occupational therapy or physiotherapy or a similar field. Her response was often, "I don't know anything about that, but I am happy giving back to my community and working in the sport." As such, she was attracted to and passionate about giving back to her community and working in an administrative background. Sara-Lynne has worked as an Aboriginal Sports Project Coordinator and Youth Mentor for Mi'kmaw Family and Children Services. Sara-Lynne described the MBA SRM as a unique program that would provide her with the skill sets needed to continue working in the sport and recreation and her community in a capacity as an administrator, and Sara-Lynne went on to say that the MBA SRM program was the right fit for her.

After graduation from the MBA SRM program, Sara-Lynne decided it was the right time to start a family and move back to Nova Scotia to live within her community. In 2019, an opportunity to work as the Manager of Sport Delivery for NAIG 2020 in Halifax, which ultimately was postponed until the summer of 2023. She described the opportunity as a "divine intervention" where it was the perfect timing to take on this role. Because NAIG was postponed till 2023, Sara-Lynn's position changed when she was promoted to the Director of Sport and Venue for NAIG 2023 where she has teams reporting to her about their preparation for venues and the sports being offered. Sara-Lynne explained that her leadership style is such that she looks to empower her team to make decisions, but keeps in close contact regularly, as the games are quickly approaching; she is proud of the work she and her team are doing.

What does the future hold for Sara-Lynn? She was honest by saying she really didn’t know. Her focus was on the “sprint” to the start of the games and making sure they go off without a hitch. It is also important that she remain active in her community and to further indigenous populations as it’s her passion. Certainly, Sara-Lynne’s passion for community building and working with the indigenous population came through in our discussions and she is a strong leader with the motivation for making a difference.

[1] Athletes for NAIG participate in 16 different sports with over 5,000 athletes and 756 nations. There is an anticipated over 3,000 volunteers that will be involved in the games. The Games were developed to share and reconnect through culture and sport in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Dartmouth and Millbrook First Nation.  (https://naig2023.com/)