Matt Edmonds

What is your NIRSA “Why”? (What does NIRSA mean to you?)

For me, the fundamental purpose of NIRSA is to broaden the positive impact of physical activity for post-secondary students.

As NIRSA members, we’re deeply familiar with the benefits of physical activity, so much so that it’s easy to forget just how essential it truly is. Beyond the immediate physical advantages, research shows that physical activity improves mental health (it’s clinically effective in treating depression with little to no adverse side effects), enhances our ability to learn (by boosting creativity, recall, attention, and understanding), and even extends our longevity. If all these benefits could be delivered through a drug, everyone would be prescribed it.

This is why NIRSA matters. By developing recreation professionals, sharing best practices, and advocating for the value of collegiate recreation, NIRSA ensures that students experience the full benefits of an active lifestyle.

I’m often reminded of a quote from a keynote speaker at one of my first NIRSA events at the University of Alberta in 2016. David Irvine, the speaker, was commending doctors and nurses, saying, “Those people are incredible, but what they do shouldn’t be called health care. They take care of people once they’re sick. That’s not health care—that’s illness care. It’s you people, the ones who help us stay active every day—you’re the ones working in health care!”

In my life, I always seek opportunities to make the greatest positive impact. Considering the enormous influence physical activity can have on post-secondary students across North America, the significance of NIRSA—and our contributions to it—are undeniable.

What are the current trends in collegiate recreation and higher education that you see impacting our work and the Association? How would you collaborate with the members in your region and the Member Network team to solve these issues?

When I reflect on current trends in collegiate recreation, three stand out: rising costs, anti-equity regulation, and physical activity as a learning strategy.

First, the issue of rising costs is well-known. Especially over the past three years of inflation, we’ve experienced tightening budgets and increased scrutiny on the return on investment in our work. But this challenge goes beyond departmental budgets; I often hear from students who are struggling with the high cost of being a student today. Between tuition, rent, and food, many students need multiple part-time jobs just to make ends meet, leaving them with little time—or disposable income—for physical activity. If we want our campuses to remain physically active, we must acknowledge how rising costs affect both our departments and our students.

Even when students can find the time and resources to participate, those from equity-deserving groups face a more hostile campus climate than in previous years. With the passage of “anti-woke” legislation across the US, universities’ ability to address issues of equity has been limited, leading to a chilling effect on recreation departments’ efforts to welcome marginalized communities. In Canada, we’ve seen provincial governments push anti-trans legislation in provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick over the past year. These political trends pose significant challenges to creating inclusive environments for all students.

Despite these challenges, there is good news. The cognitive benefits of physical activity are gaining recognition across higher education. Increasingly, physical activity is seen not just as a health intervention, but as a learning strategy. Reframing physical activity as an essential component of student success offers our leaders—and NIRSA—powerful, evidence-based leverage to advocate for the central role of recreation in the student experience.

As an industry, we must respond to these trends with renewed enthusiasm and advocacy. We have a responsibility to demonstrate our positive impact on students and to advocate relentlessly for recreation as an accessible resource for all students, regardless of income or identity. As a Member Network Representative, my goal is to ensure that our association and region are tireless in this effort.

How has your experience in your state, region, and/or NIRSA prepared you to serve on the Member Network? What unique skills or talents would you bring to the Member Network?

I’ve been fortunate to gain a wide breadth of experience in my decade-plus as a recreation professional. At McMaster University, the University of Alberta, and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson), I’ve held full-time roles overseeing Intramural Sports, Aquatics, and Summer Camps. Each of these roles has given me a unique perspective on how recreation impacts students, student-staff, and the broader community. Having worked at multiple universities, I have a broad view of the challenges facing campus recreation and the strategies being used to address them.

In addition to my programming portfolios, I’ve also led initiatives related to equity, diversity, and inclusion; student-staff training development; beginner-friendly recreation programming; and integrating physical activity as a component of mental health treatment on campus.

As a member of NIRSA, I’ve had the privilege of attending three Annual NIRSA Conferences, two regional Canada conferences (back when it was the Western Canada Campus Recreation Conference), and the NIRSA School for Early Career Professionals.

Having led recreation programs across three universities, I feel ready to contribute to the association in a more substantive way. My involvement in NIRSA has provided me with tremendous benefits—exposure to innovative solutions, connections with professionals across North America, and growth as a leader and recreation professional. My goal is to help more members in Canada experience these same benefits, so we can collectively enhance the impact of recreation on Canadian post-secondary students.