The Junior Bisons experience

We strive to be leaders in providing quality, sport-specific training programs to young athletes. Our programs and club teams offer high-performance, holistic instruction, training and competition opportunities that develop, enhance and promote positive relationship, personal development and leadership skill development. 

Junior bisons girls sit smiling together on the bench

 

Junior Bisons values

Mission

To be the instructional and high-performance organization of choice for players and coaches who seek and promote personal and team development skills, while raising the level of awareness and competitive play in junior high, high school, club and league environments. 

  • History

    Founded by Joyce Fromson, the University of Manitoba Bison Children's Camps began in 1979 as outreach sports program for children in Manitoba.

    1. To expose the participants to the expertise of the province's top players, coaches and teachers from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management.

    2. Children attending the camps would become familiar with the University, thereby helping them in the transition from grade school to university.

    3. The public exposure of the program would result in positive support from the public toward the University as a whole.

    4. There was a perceived need for a different kind of children's summer program other than the traditional summer camps.

    5. The programs would provide a much-needed work experience for University of Manitoba students in their chosen area of expertise.

    In its first year of operation, 990 children aged 4 - 18 attended 17 different sport camps.

Supporting your athlete

  • Optimal experience

    Our goal is to ensure each participant:

    • feels welcome and comfortable
    • is safe
    • is engaged in activities
    • is enjoying their experience

    We understand the optimal experience may not be achieved for everyone at all times. Creating opportunities to learn from mistakes and experiences is part of the process. We facilitate learning opportunities for participants throughout the program who need support in reaching our desired experience. 

    If your experience doesn't align with our goals, we would value the opportunity to learn more and work together on a solution. Please reach out to our leadership team at 204-474-7279 or junior.bisons@umanitoba.ca to share your concerns.

  • Inclusion

    Everyone is welcome. We create environments where people are mindful of numerous forms of difference. This is achieved by considering and respecting each individual's:

    • sexual orientation
    • gender identity
    • socio-economic status
    • race
    • culture
    • ethnicity
    • religion
    • age
    • learning styles
    • level of abilities

    We do not tolerate any form of discrimination and will address all claims of such promptly and with seriousness. Our commitment is to ensure that every individual feels valued and respected, and we will take appropriate action to maintain an inclusive and equitable environment for all.

Subsidy

The Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation management understands that families with children with diverse needs often experience additional costs of living to accommodate required supports. We want to help. Apply for our subsidy to have a portion of your registration fees reduced. 

 

Subsidy program information

Health care

Understanding the unique health needs of each participant is critical to our ability to provide proper care. Prior to the program beginning, families have the opportunity to share personal information with us to ensure we are able to care for participants during the programs.

Specifically it is helpful for us to learn about unique health needs during both typical and physical activity settings.

  • Allergy aware environment

    We do our best to create an environment that is allergy aware but due to the size and diversity of the university we cannot guarantee that all spaces will be free of your child’s allergens. 

    Participants are expected to bring food that does not include nuts. Nut replacement products such as Wowbutter are permitted. In the event of a severe food allergy in your child’s group, you may be expected to avoid additional foods or ingredients.

  • Medication

    Any medication indicated on the participants personal information form will be required to be present at all times while attending programs. Participants who report to the program without associated medication may be asked to sit out of activities until it arrives. 

Safety

  • Photography

    Capturing moments helps us tell our story. Photos and videos are an important part of our business but not something that can be done without careful thought. In order to ensure we uphold the safety of our participants we:

    • Provide families with an opportunity to either agree or decline consent prior to programs beginning
    • Record and share this response with Junior Bisons employees
    • Follow a photography protocol
    • Store photos safely

  • Consent

    Prior to the first day of programming participants and/or their guardians have the option to agree or decline to our photography consent.

    This information is then shared with the Mini U Programs & Junior Bisons employees. Together we ensure their responses are upheld while under our supervision. 

  • Use of images

    We love to tell our story. Images are used on our web site, advertising materials, social media and administrative materials (signs, manuals, internal documents). 

Protection

When a child’s life, health or emotional well-being is at risk by something a person does or fails to do, the child is in need of protection. 

Our team understands what we are protecting participants from, how to identify potential issues and how we can offer support.

  • Types of abuse

    When an action, or failure to act, causes physical harm, could cause emotional disability or involves sexual activity, that is abuse. 

    • Emotional Abuse
    • Physical Abuse
    • Sexual Abuse
    • Neglect

  • Identification: the law

    We are required by law to report any suspicion or disclosure of abuse under Section 18 of the Child and Family Services Act of Manitoba. If we suspect anything, we keep a written record of all our observations and discussions.

    If our team suspects a child may not be safe, either because of the child’s behaviour or someone else’s, we are responsible for reporting it to Child and Family Services.

  • Identification: Communication with families

    When our team has concerns about the safety of a participant, we will discuss them with the primary caregivers indicated on the ‘personal information form’ whenever it is safe to do so. If the concerns are associated with a primary caregiver, we will discuss them with Child Family Services. 

Certification requirements of our team

All leaders of the program are required to submit criminal record, child abuse registry checks, as well as be certified in emergency first aid and CPR level C. 

Our team

The leadership team

Junior Bisons is supported operationally by the youth programming department within the Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management. Our team facilitates the coordination and supervision of programs, leadership and management of employees as well as the administration and customer service of the unit. 

Technical direction and expert coaching is provided by the Bisons sport coaches who provide leadership to our volunteer coaches and student athletes.Together we serve children, parents and guardians, employees, community partners and collaborate with University of Manitoba employees.

Meet the leadership team