MALCOLM RADKE
News Writer

Business colleges from Victoria to Winnipeg are making their final preparations this week in anticipation of the biggest business case competition in Western Canada.

The annual JDC West Business Competition is set to take place this weekend at the University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business. This year marks the first time the event, which brings in over 600 students, will be held in Saskatchewan.

The event gives university business students the opportunity to show off their skills and expertise in an Olympic-style, weekend-long challenge. Each university sends a team of student delegates to participate in one of 10 academic competitions, one parliamentary debate, one athletic competition and one social competition. Each three-person academic team has three hours to analyze a case situation before presenting their recommendation to a panel of three judges and a full theatre of viewers.

Points are awarded and accumulated throughout the weekend, and the “Business School of the Year” award is announced at the Sunday evening wrap-up gala. The theme of this year’s competition is “Going Against The Grain,” a fitting title that incorporates the culture and heritage of Saskatchewan with the innovation and creativity of the business world.

Jay Brown, the captain of the U of S team, is excited for the event and knows what it would mean to the ESB if his team did well in the competition at home.

“To be able to showcase our students’ talents in our own building is a rare circumstance. Winning JDC West on home soil at the Edwards School of Business would be the ultimate dream.”
JDC West 2011 gives the ESB the opportunity to show off Saskatoon and Saskatchewan to the country’s business leaders of tomorrow.

“Hosting JDC West allows us to showcase what our city has to offer and why we are the talk of the world right now,” said Brown. “Many of these other students have never been to Saskatchewan and we are excited to show what we have to offer to the rest of Canada.”

This opportunity has not gone unnoticed by the university or the business community. On top of financial donations to both the U of S team and the competition as a whole, many professors and businesses have donated their time to coaching and mentoring members of the 50-person U of S team.

“The support of the business community and school have been massive. They have volunteered time out of their own busy lives to spend one on one time with our students to make sure they are ready for the competition,” said Brown.

The competition kicks off Friday afternoon and concludes late Sunday evening. Most of the event will be hosted at the university, with a few activities scheduled throughout downtown Saskatoon.