For the second time in history, Canadian athletic directors made the trek across the border to share their knowledge and a Bonnyville teacher is among them.
Heather Bartling is the athletics director and physical education teacher at Bonnyville Centralized High School. Also a member of the Alberta Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (AIAAA), she travelled the United States to represent Canada and present at the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) in Nashville, Tennessee Dec. 9 to 13.
“Heather is one of our (AIAAA) main presenters and she has presented across Canada at different conferences and special development workshops for other athletic directors on how to effectively run programs throughout their school,” said Kelle Hansen, president of the AIAAA.
The annual NIAAA conference provides a platform for athletic directors to share their knowledge, ideas, and courses, such as Bartling's Canadian-made course about creating a strong athletic handbook for their programs. It provides a different perspective than those working and living in the United States.
“It's really a guidebook into the different things that an athletic director has to do from the start of the year to the end of the year,” explained Hansen, adding part of that handbook is creating a philosophy and direction for their athletic program.
Bartling has been working with the AIAAA for several years writing curriculum and being a part of the process, and had been taking courses through the Canadian IAAA. It was during one of those courses that she was invited to present in the US for the first time.
“That was pretty monumental,” said Bartling, adding at the time, the U.S. wasn't too open to the idea of having Canadians present at their conference.
Bartling worked with Hansen, and together they presented to 90 athletic directors.
“We had the opportunity to present our first Canadian built course on how to build a strong athletic handbook, and it was one of the top courses at the conference, and I think the NIAAA realized us Canadians had something really good to offer,” said Hansen.
“The feedback from this course was really good,” explained Bartling, adding it was because of this she was invited back again this year.
Even while she is presenting she is constantly learning.
“You learn so much about how you present, and it applies to your teaching too because you see the different ways that even adults learn,” she described. “The networking opportunities there are massive in terms of things you can bring back to your school and how you can change things that are going on in your school.”
Attending the conference also means having the opportunity to meet with fellow athletic directors who also face similar challenges.
“We are all dealing with the same issues, it doesn't matter what your budget is, it doesn't matter whether you are a big school or a small school, you are all having the same issues. Seeing what solutions they come up with and having an opportunity to share your solutions really validates what you do.”
“When you have a good solid person doing really good work within your school, that message needs to get put out there, and some of the ideas that she has had have been really well received, and not only here in Alberta, but nationally,” Hansen emphasized.
It's during her time at the conference that Bartling takes advantage of putting Bonnyville on the map for those who may not know where the small Alberta town is located.
“It's really cool to have the opportunity to show them that we do really amazing things too even though we are a smaller area and maybe not as well known,” Bartling said, adding it also shows that their students have opportunities as well, even without the big budget to back them.
