When Professor White created IBECC in 1996, he thought that an ethics event should consist of more than intellectual discussion. It should also aim to do some practical good in the world. Since he was a runner, he decided to hold the LMU 5K/10K Run for the Bay as a fund-raiser and to donate the proceeds to a local charity. To encourage IBECC teams to participate, he created an academic/athletic biathlon, in which teams’ performance in the presentation and in the run/jog/walk were combined. The biathlon was suspended when we began holding IBECC in conjunction with the annual conference of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association instead of on the LMU campus, but we re-instituted it in 2016 and even had versions of it when we were online. We were pleased to continue it when we returned to an in-person competition in 2024 and we are holding it again in 2025.
This is an academic/athletic competition based on a team’s performance in the 25-minute presentation and the number of steps a team can log in 30 minutes either running, jogging or walking. Note that we use a complicated formula that gives teams of walkers as much a chance to win as team of runners, especially if they turn in a strong performance in the presentation and if everyone on the team participates. Click here for an explanation of the scoring. (Virtually every smart phone has a pedometer app built in or can easily download a free one.)
We hope that the biathlon encourages students to develop healthy habits early in life and appreciate the mind/body connection. Members of the top team will receive a prize, but, more importantly, the winning team will be able to designate a charity for a $500 donation from IBECC. As far as we know, IBECC is unique among ethics events in making a gift to a worthy charity. The 2024 winner from Stetson University named as the beneficiary The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia in DeLand, FL, whose mission is to alleviate hunger and homelessness.
Click here for a few words of encouragement from Annelle Kemp, a member of the team that won the first biathlon in 1996 and one of our judges.
Teams are encouraged to do the run/job/walk portion of the biathlon before they arrive at IBECC and send us the results before they arrive in San Francisco. It will also be possible to do the run/jog/walk on athletic fields on Embarcadero Path which isn’t far from 160 Spear Street or just by walking around San Francisco. Either way, you will have to fill out an entry form. You can download it here and fill it out ahead of time, or you can fill it out when you’re here. Entries close at noon on Friday the 11th.