Lazaridis School students hit the books then the slopes in advance of the World University Games

Dec. 20, 2021

Two business students from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics were chosen to represent Canada and Wilfrid Laurier University at The World University Games in Lucerne, Switzerland this month, but unfortunately the games were cancelled due to the COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

Twin brothers Adam and Jacob Farber were set to compete in Alpine Snowboarding events at the games — something that Jacob said is the culmination of a life-long love of snowboarding and winter sports.

The games were the brothers' first opportunity for international competition since the pandemic began. They were both selected to compete in the Junior World Championships, but declined due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. Their next chance is the Junior Worlds taking place this April in Italy.

"We've been snowboarding at the Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood since we were four years old. Our dad is an Alpine snowboard racer too. He got us both into it when we were really young and we both just fell in love with the sport," Adam said.

It didn't take long after that for the brothers to realize they wanted to pursue competing in Alpine Snowboarding.

"I think probably when we were about eight or nine years old. Ontario has these snowboard competitions called Ontario Snowboard for all age groups. We started competing in those and me, my brother, and a bunch of our friends would travel and compete," Adam said.

Being selected to compete at The World University Games was a significant accomplishment for Jacob and Adam. The games are held every two years and celebrate international university sports and culture. Jacob and Adam were to be two of several thousand international student-athletes competing.

Training for races and studying towards their business degrees is a balancing act the brothers said they're able to manage thanks to the support of the University. Jacob and Adam are both second-year students at the Lazaridis School. Jacob is pursuing the Business Administration (BBA), and Adam is working towards a double degree in the BBA and Financial Mathematics (BA) program. Adam said they chose Laurier because of the BBA program's reputation — and it's also close to Collingwood, which is excellent for training.

"I chose Laurier and the double degree for co-op. Those co-op opportunities at Laurier are very enticing for student athletes like Jacob and I. In grade 12, we spent so much time practicing and competing that we didn't have time for work experience. It's been great coming to Laurier and having professors to help push us in the right direction," Adam said.

Jacob and Adam are looking forward to completing their degrees and continuing to train and compete in Alpine Snowboarding.

"I'd love to be able to balance work and snowboarding at the same time. It’s great to have the ability to train and focus on my education so I can apply my degree in the workforce when I leave Laurier," Adam said.