Adventure Studies Faculty

Jon Heshka, B.Sc., B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., LL.M.

Office: OM 1261
Telephone: 371-5839
e-mail: jheshka@tru.ca

Teaching

Jon teaches courses in business, law and risk management, marketing, and mountain rescue. His courses incorporate both theory and practice as professional-quality consulting work is often embedded into the curriculum. Examples include tourism audits and GAP analyses for BC Interior communities and a marketing plan for Yamnuska's Mountain Skills Semester Programme.

Experience

Jon's trajectory to Thompson Rivers University has been a bit unorthodox. He has worked as a climbing guide, trained and coordinated search and rescue, managed risk and sales in the US with a European-based manufacturer of outdoor equipment, advised recreation programmes on their exposure to legal risk, and earned Master of Education and Master of Laws degrees specializing in adventure education and sports law respectively.

His eclectic background includes stints playing semi-pro volleyball in Brazil, driving a taxi in Lake Louise, and researching wolves in the Rockies. He has also climbed and led expeditions from Alaska to Argentina, Tajikistan to the Tetons, Europe, and many points in between.

He trained and coordinated search and rescue for seven years for the Province of British Columbia with the Ministry of Attorney General / Justice Institute of BC and has performed mountain rescues above 15,000 feet on three continents. He has worked with Denali Mountain Rescue in Alaska and was a Canadian representative to the International Commission of Alpine Rescue.

Jon guided with Outward Bound and Canada West Mountain School, instructed fall protection and rescue to a myriad of clients including Golden Gate Bridge, worked in senior management with Petzl America, and continues to consult on risk reduction strategies and tourism development to the public and private sectors. Jon currently sits on the International Association of Sports Law sports safety committee and scientific committee.

Scholarship

Jon has published seven peer-reviewed journal articles, twelve non-peer reviewed articles, presented at 11 conferences, authored or co-authored 19 consultancy reports, supervised two students who won the Travel and Tourism Research Association's (TTRA) National Gordon Taylor Future Researcher's Award, and supervised two students who were each awarded $5000 by TRU’s Comprehensive University Enhancement Fund for their Research Learning Courses.

Jon's articles have been published in European, American, and Canadian law journals, Rock and Ice magazine, Marketing Magazine and seven newspapers. He also co-manages a blog entitled "The Sports Law Canary" which posts briefs relating to current sport law events; the site has been listed as one of the top 50 blogs for sports managers. Jon's speaking engagements have included presenting at conferences such as the World Congress on Wilderness Medicine, the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, and the US National Conference on Law and Higher Education. Jon co-authored the 2003 Public Avalanche Safety Program Review for the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, and has been an expert witness for the US Department of Justice.

A summary of Jon's accomplishments are noted below:

Recent Publications

• “Why ski helmets alone won’t reduce serious injuries” Op-Ed Article (9 February 2010) Ottawa Citizen (reprinted in the Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald and Windsor Star).
• “Rules and Rogues – VANOC’s approach to ambush marketers may keep the lawyers happy but the strategy is backfiring” (2010) Marketing magazine, 37.
• “A good sport” with Kris Lines (2010) 154/6 Solicitors Journal,13.
• "The Criminality of Doping in Sport" (2009, Vol. 8, Issues 1-2), International Sports Law Review Pandektis (Athens, Greece), 118-129.
• "Ski jumping through Olympic-sized hoops: An analysis of Sagen v. Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games" with Kris Lines (2009, Vol. 4), International Sports Law Review (London, UK), 92-99.
• "Swimming - Credibility Crisis or Tempest in a Teapot? Assessing FINA's competency to regulate high-tech swimsuits" with Kris Lines (2009, Vol. 16, No. 3), Sport and the Law Journal (London, UK), 15-25.
• "Critical Analysis: Has swimming got the balance right?" (July 7, 2009), British Association for Sport and Law (London, UK).
• "Gridiron Spirit - Cheerleading is a Contact Sport, Declares the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in Noffke v. Bakke 2009 WI 10," with Kris Lines (2009, Vol. 27, No. 1), Entertainment & Sports Lawyer (American Bar Association, Chicago, IL), 1, 33-35.
• "High Cost of Chasing Powder," Op-Ed Article (April 1, 2009), Kamloops Daily News.
• "Barbarity Rules NHL," Op-Ed Article (January 27, 2009), The Province.
• "From Fights to Bites: Hockey Violence is Out of Control" - Op-Ed Article (January 11, 2009), Winnipeg Free Press.
• “Falling in Line with the Law – Should adults who are injured after deliberately putting themselves at risk expect to be compensated?” with Kris Lines (2008), New Law Journal (London, UK), 1026-1027.
• “Law of the Land - Redefining Climbing Liability,” (2008), Rock and Ice (Carbondale, CO).
• “Assumption of Risk and Inherent Risk in Outdoor Education” (2007), Law Review Quarterly (Grass Valley, CA), 5-21.
• “Canada’s Legal Standard of Care for Outdoor Education” (2006), Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education 2005 Conference Proceedings (Georgetown, ON), 221-242.
• “Holding Strength of Ice Screws vs. Placement Angle” with Iain Stewart-Patterson (2004), Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education (Bloomington, IL), 8.

Consulting Projects

• “Supplemental Expert Witness Report re. DAE BMK Sung Ki Kwak, dba Shin Jin Hawaii Travel & Tour, Cynthia Hathaway, v. Norwegian Cruise Lines, Inc. and National Park Service” (2006) US Department of Justice (Honolulu, Hawaii).
• “Tourism Product Inventory and Gap Analysis” with Gilles Valade and Rob Hood (2005) Northwest Territories Arctic Tourism in partnership with Aboriginal Business Canada, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and the Government of the Northwest Territories.
• “Public Avalanche Safety Program Review” with Ross Cloutier (2003) BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
• “Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Review & Recommendations for the Development of an Activity-based Risk Management Tool” with M. Cruchet, J. Jackson, M. Merulla & P. Cruchet (2007) Girl Guides of Canada.
• “Activity Restrictions and Risk Management Practices – Off-Site Activities Procedures Manual” (2007) Calgary Board of Education.
• “Eco and Adventure Tourism Industry Inventory Study” (2003) Canadian Tourism Commission.

Conference Presentations

• “How Tort Law Operates in Recreation, Sports and Field Trip Environments” with William P. Hoye, 28th Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education (Clearwater Beach, FL), 2007.
• “Evolving Risk Management Practices in Canada”, Wilderness Risk Management Conference (Jackson Hole, WY), 2008.
• “Reflections on the Legal and Ethical Foundation of Outdoor Education”, Risk Management Conference for Outdoor Education in Canada (Ottawa, ON), 2007.
• “Universities Collaborating with Communities in Tourism Development” with Rob Hood Tourism Educators Conference (Victoria, BC), 2006.
• “Role of Standards, Certification & Accreditation in Outdoor Education” with Jed Williamson, Preston Cline and Shana Lee Tarter Wilderness Risk Management Conference (Snowbird, UT), 2005.

Service

• Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts’ BC Recreation Trails Strategy Advisory Committee
• Tourism Kamloops Board of Directors
• Thompson Rivers University Senate
• Thompson Rivers University Educational Programs Committee
• Thompson Rivers University MBA Steering Committee

 Other Highlights

• “Stupidnicity” – cycling 1400 km in 4 days then running a marathon with Terry
• Climbing in the Soviet Pamirs and South America with Mike
• Competing at Ironman Canada and Ironman Coeur d'Alene with Dave
• Climbing in the Tetons and exploring Huatulco with Wendy
• Climbing at Wasootch and backpacking with Tegan and Brock