Excalibur Team archivse

This year’s Excalibur tournament (March 18-20) featured 27 teams from across Canada competing in the preliminary three event – 1st round semi-finals which took place last Friday. On Saturday morning, the top 6 teams were invited to compete in the final event and our University of Waterloo team was one of those six finalists. We felt great as we had achieved our team goal of progressing to the final round in the tournament. In fact, we were the only “podium” team from last year’s event to make it to the final round of competition. That’s indicative of the fierce competition featured at this year’s event.

UWaterloo’s team consisting of Alisha Ramji, Keri Martin and Marc Goral (supported and cheered on by Lisa Hallman - our backup teammate) peaked at just the right time. Our content and delivery were rock solid and they were simply brilliant in the QA portion of their presentation. However, they were not alone as several other teams also put in podium worthy performances.

In the end, although we were not selected to repeat our stand on the podium as a top three finisher, we certainly stood tall knowing we gave our absolute best. We took comfort in knowing that we did not lose to anyone … we were simply bested by several teams who, on this particular day, came out a little bit ahead.

Even though we are the only non-business program school entry in the entire tournament, many of the coaches from the other teams came up to us following this year’s tournament and said they have come to learn that uWaterloo team entries are extremely competitive and command respect. Those comments were certainly gratifying to hear.

- Len Luksa

The Department of Psychology congratulates the team and coach Len Luksa for your dedication, commitment, and the countless hours of practicing and coaching to build a very competitive team worthy of making it to this year’s fiercely contested finals.

The Department of Psychology is delighted to announce that the 2010 Excalibur Team of Amanda Briganti , Sara Cleland, Alexandra Sleghel and Jimmy Huynh proudly accepted the 2nd place award at this national competition. Our HRM instructor Len Luksa is the team coach and worked with the group throughout the winter term, accompanied them to Montreal, and was cheering loudly when this big win was announced!

On March 19 and 20, HR management and industrial relations students from across Canada met in Montreal to compete in the 24th Excalibur Tournament. This tournament is the event of the year for future HR professionals. It also remains extremely popular, as this year 69 students from 23 universities came to match wits in this challenging competition.

"The Excalibur Tournament reflects the Ordre's intense interest in the future of the profession. We are proud to present this event, which is vital for the upcoming generation, and to focus attention on the major role HR management plays in organizations," explained Florent Francoeur, CHRP, President and CEO of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agrees (CCHRA).

Excalibur is an exhilarating experience for students that gives them a preview of the real working world. This year, they analyzed an actual business case from Cascades Inc. during the final event. Throughout the Tournament, participating teams are required to analyze a number of case studies and their work is evaluated by some 30 jurors.

"There's on doubt that these highly talented students, who prepared for the Tournament over a number of weeks, will be ideal recruits for Canadian businesses," said Francoeur.

The first Excalibur prize, together with a $3,000 scholarship, was won by the team from Concordia University.

The third prize, including a scholarship of $1,500, went to the team from University of Saskatchewan - Edwards School of Business.

Congratulations!!

uWaterloo's Excalibur Team Competes

On March 14 and 15, Danielle Rochon, Cristina Lau, Nhu Nhat Nguyen, and (alternate) Amanda Briganti, students from the Human Resources Management program, competed in the prestigious Excalibur Tournament — the Canadian University Tournament in Human Resources. Held annually, this event allows students to compete in front of business executives, key figures in the human resources community as well as academics. This year’s event had 70 students from 23 universities. The tournament involves a series of case competitions based on real-life work situations, and judged by panels of business people and HR professionals. The Waterloo team members had been working since January with coaches Len Luksa (adjunct professor and HRM management team member) and Sean Schofield-Hurwitz, a former Excalibur competitor, and HRM managers from a number of local companies provided expert advice to the students as part of their preparation. The students’ hard work was rewarded as the Waterloo team won third prize and a $1,500 scholarship. This is the first time the Waterloo team has reached the finals.

The Psychology Department congratulates the team on this extraordinary accomplishment and extends a sincere 'thank you' to coaches Len and Sean for their support, dedication, and expert coaching. You have made us all very proud. As coach Len said, "You are winners and have created a life memory, not only for yourselves but for all of us".

University of Waterloo HRM students proudly participated in the 2006 Excalibur Canadian University Tournament in Human Resources, held on March 24th and March 25th in Montréal, Québec. This annual national tournament involves a case study competition related to human resources issues and brings human resources management students together with university faculty and HR professionals. Waterloo’s six-member team was supported by the Department of Psychology and our students reported many outstanding benefits of blending classroom theory with practical and real business scenarios.

The 2006 team consisted of: Steve Risavy, Coach (MASc Industrial/Organizational Psychology), Zuleika Mohamed, Participant (3B Honours Arts and Business, Speech Communication, Human Resources Management Specialization), Sarita Patel, Participant (4A Honours Psychology, Arts and Business Co-op, Human Resources Management Specialization) Stephanie Mills, Alternate (3B, Arts and Business Co-op, Psychology), Sarah Renchko, Participant (4B Honours Arts and Business, Geography Major, Human Resources Management Specialization) and Sean Schofield-Hurwitz, Assistant Coach (4A, Honors Arts and Business Co-op, Hon. Psych Major, Human Resources Management Specialization, CS Minor)

The University of Waterloo was represented March 19th and 20th 2005 at the Excalibur Canadian National University Competition in Human Resources. The competition was held in Montreal and included the participation of 16 other Canadian Universities from across the country. The team representing Waterloo included Stephen Risavy (4B), Annie Tenenbaum (4B), and Sean Schofield-Hurwitz (3A). These three students are all Psychology majors with Human Resources minors or specializations. They were coached by Professor Patricia Rowe.

The University of Waterloo had a strong showing in their first year at the competition, yet were unfortunately, not named among the top six finalist teams. However, the students greatly benefited from the experience, as they were able to network with industry professionals, Human Resources Management and business professors, as well as other HRM students from across Canada.

Furthermore, the knowledge gained from the experience of competing in the Excalibur Competition will be useful for next year's competition as both Stephen Risavy and Sean Schofield-Hurwitz will be returning as advisors for next year's team (since a student can only participate once in the competition). A notice for interested students will be sent out before the end of the Winter 2005 term and interested students are encouraged to try out for next year's team.

Excalibur Benefits at a Glance

• Opportunity to compete in a highly professional HRM environment (cash prizes)
• Opportunity to establish contacts with a variety of students/professors/industry professionals
• Each group receives its own bilingual personal assistant
• FREE daily Breakfast, Lunch, and Cocktail parties are provided by the hosts