RTA Sport Media students give back to the community through Movember

Fourth-year practicum projects raise $100,000 over six years for various charities

By: Bhavya Malhotra

December 06, 2022

Two fourth-year practicum groups from RTA Sport Media produced charitable events including ‘Tackle The Stigma’ and the ‘Moustache Cup’ this semester to raise money for the annual Movember campaign.

To date, RTA Sport Media students Thomas Pocrnic, Anuj Bhasker, Paolo Gismondi, Giulius Ruffa, Tomas Coburn, Sarah Munro, Danny Dawood, and Tony Wang from ‘Tackle The Stigma’ and Isabelle Rossi, Matthew Davison, Ben Chandler, Spencer Packalen, Catherine Hong, Jasmine Yen, and Dani Brewer from the ‘Moustache Cup’ have raised over $50,000 to help fund health projects across mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Following in the footsteps of past practicum projects, student groups from RTA Sport Media have raised a combined total of $100,000 over the last six years for various charities, including SickKids Hospital Cancer Research, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and more.

RTA Sport Media Professor Joe Recupero explains how these projects are created with community care in mind. “The projects are a tremendous example of the altruistic nature of the sports community and our Sport Media program and how the students place a high priority on giving back,” he said. “We are not only creating great content creators but caring, compassionate citizens with an entrepreneurial drive."

Two fourth-year practicum groups from RTA Sport Media produced charitable events this semester to raise money for the annual Movember campaign. Courtesy of Sofia Gismondi, student at Toronto Metropolitan University

Tackle The Stigma

‘Tackle The Stigma’ was a student-created charity football tournament, in partnership with The Vaughan Touch Football League, Rogers and the Movember Foundation. On Saturday, November 5, 2022, 13 teams and more than 150 players came together in Vaughan, ON, to play in the Tackle The Stigma Charity match. The collaboration allowed the group to raise over $19,000 for the Movember Foundation, alongside producing a documentary that showcased the intersections between sports and mental health.

RTA Sport Media student Thomas Pocrnic co-founded the Vaughan Touch Football league in 2021 and was inspired to raise money and awareness for men’s mental health throughout Movember. Utilizing his network to his advantage, Pocrnic decided to hold a charity event for their practicum project.

As Pocrnic explains, “For our team, the highlight was definitely raising money and awareness for a good cause. Overall this was an enriching experience, and to see a community come together for a charity event in the way it did was incredible. This project showed the true values of sport - community, togetherness, and inclusion.”

The team in pink jerseys pose for a picture

‘Tackle The Stigma’ is a student-created charity football tournament. Courtesy of Sofia Gismondi, student at Toronto Metropolitan University

The team huddles with their white jerseys on

13 teams and more than 150 players came together in Vaughan, ON, to play in the charity match. Courtesy of Sofia Gismondi, student at Toronto Metropolitan University

Moustache Cup

The Moustache Cup was another student collaboration with the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) that highlighted two marquee hockey teams in the U-16 AAA division, the Toronto Marlboros and Toronto Jr. Canadiens, in support of Movember. The event took place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday, November 19, 2022, and helped raise over $32,000 for the campaign. The students used the Mattamy Athletic Centre’s Sportsnet Studio to broadcast live streams on CBC platforms to converse about the GTHL x Movember event and the topic of mental health.

RTA Sport Media student Isabelle Rossi, co-producer of the Moustache Cup describes that “the inspiration behind the project was that Hubberd Studios (their Practicum Executive group name) feels passionate about men’s mental health. Hockey doesn’t have the best reputation for fostering a healthy environment but the GTHL is partnered with Movember and makes the effort to change this.”

Rossi also explained that the group pitched an industry-standard multi-camera production and the overall event to them.

“We believed the GTHL and Movember deserved an industry-standard multi-camera production to showcase the talent in the GTHL and bring more awareness to Movember,” she said.

The Hubberd Studios picture, from the top left to right, is Ryan Sykes, Matthew Davison, Dani Brewer and Spencer Packalen. From the left to right sitting down, Ben Chandler, Catherine Hong, Isabelle Rossi, Jasmine Yen and Jeffrey Mather

Courtesy of Curtis Martin, Journalism student at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. The Hubberd Studios picture, from the top left to right, is Ryan Sykes, Matthew Davison, Dani Brewer and Spencer Packalen. From the left to right sitting down, Ben Chandler, Catherine Hong, Isabelle Rossi, Jasmine Yen and Jeffrey Mather

Event highlights

With the success of the Moustache Cup, Rossi recalls some of its main highlights:

Raising over $30,000 by the end of November 19.
Getting broadcasted on CBC Gem, CBCsports.ca, and the CBC Sports App, and being sponsored by Gatorade.
The behind-the-scenes crew consisted of all RTA School of Media students.
Having a representative of Movember come to speak on our broadcast.

The behind-the-scenes crew consisted of all RTA Media students. Courtesy of Curtis Martin, Journalism student at The Creative School

The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University

The Creative School is a dynamic faculty at Toronto Metropolitan University making a difference in new, unexplored ways. Comprised of Canada’s top professional schools and transdisciplinary hubs in media, communication, design and cultural industries, The Creative School offers students an unparalleled global experience in the heart of downtown Toronto.