UWindsor faculty and students will join conferees of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport in an effort November 1 to enhance Wikipedia’s entries on elite Aboriginal athletes.

Kinesiology professor Victoria Paraschak is organizing an “editathon” as a service activity prior the society’s conference. The event responds to a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:

We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.

The Department of Kinesiology and the Leddy Library are co-sponsoring the event, which aims to reach at least 151 entries in three Wikipedia categories:

• First Nations sportspeople, which currently has 113;
• Métis sportspeople, which currently has 23; and
• Canadian Inuit sportspeople, which currently has 5.

No experience with Wikipedia is necessary, although Dr. Paraschak asks that volunteers make a minimum commitment of an hour.

“Librarians will be available for assistance in locating references that can be used to write and substantiate the entries,” she says. “And individuals who are familiar with writing Wikipedia entries will be on hand to provide guidance.”

The Wikipedia Editathon on Elite Aboriginal Athletes in Canada will run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday in room 248, Human Kinetics Building. Signing up for the event will include the process of creating a Wikipedia editor account: register online here.