The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSIC) athletes are making their mark on the PanAm Games in Toronto. As of July 16, half of the way through the competition, Team Canada is leading the medal standings with a total of 97 medals.

As expected, CSIC athletes have been great contributors to the results. Gold medal performances have come from Ashley Steacy in rugby, Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien in track cycling’s team sprint, Genevieve Morrison in 48kg wrestling, and a double gold medal performance by Lynda Kiejko in shooting. Silver medals have been won by gymnast Kevin Lytwyn on the horizontal bar and Andrew Schnell in doubles squash. The medal haul so far is rounded out with bronze medals earned by the men’s water polo team and roller speed skating’s Jordan Belchos .

Belchos is a rare two-sport athlete, who competes during the winter months in international events in long track speed skating. Belchos, a native of Toronto, was ecstatic with his performance in the 10,000m points race, saying, “It was such an honour to compete in my hometown. Travelling to and from the venues I passed by the rink where I had my first speed skating race and by the hospital where I was born. It really made things feel like they were coming full circle for me. I knew my Pan Am race would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I knew I was a long shot to win a medal but I never wavered in my belief that I could do something special in the race.”

Belchos has been living in Calgary for a decade and attributes much of his athletic success to his training environment, noting, “I'm privileged to be supported by the CSIC and train in the professional setting and environment that they provide. So many of the steps I've taken in my career have been under the guidance of many CSIC staff including Derek Robinson, Scott Maw, and Kelly Anne Erdman.”

With many events still to be contested, be sure to keep an eye on the rest of the CSIC athletes and all of Team Canada! 

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by Brittany Schussler: @bschussler

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto

The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary was thrilled with the news that Calgary-born athlete Mike Soroka had been drafted to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. Soroka, a right-handed pitcher, was picked in the first round, 28th overall.

The draft comes at a busy time in 17-year-old Soroka's life, with his graduation from Bishop Caroll High School occurring on June 19. When asked about the current changes in his life, Sororka is still focused on baseball, saying that his goal has always been to be a professional pitcher. He emphasized that pitching has always "been what I've loved to do...throw on the mound and be in control. That's just something that I enjoy."

Soroka has been an athlete training at the CSIC since November 2014, when he began working in the high performance weight room with Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Osmond and using the on-site cold tubs to enhance his recovery. Osmond had previously worked with a baseball team that Soroka had played on, and based on that experience Soroka knew that Osmond's expertise would help him reach the next level of his career. Their work together has paid off, with Soroka noting that all of his training was "very well monitored. I've had other trainers that tried to just bulk me up, but Chris was very focused on being functional. All his exercises were adaptived to baseball. I also liked that I sometimes wanted to push the weight up but Chris was focused on consistency and solid improvement."

After working one-on-one with Soroka, Chris Osmond is not surprised at the Braves' decision to draft him. Osmond describes Soroka as ambitious and focused, saying, "It was a pleasure working with Mike. His determination to be a better athlete physically and mentally was evident during every training session. I'm extremely happy to see all of his hard work paying off."

As Soroka gets ready to fly off to Atlanta for medical assessments and what he hopes will be his official team signing, he is noticeably excited, saying, "It's been a whirlwind with many ups and downs, but I now have to focus on what's to come." From everyone at the CSIC, "Good luck Mike!"

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto

The Sport Performance Laboratory has been upgraded thanks to a generous donation from a party who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Sport Performance Laboratory is a critical component of the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary’s success because it is where much of the athletes’ training and monitoring takes place. Rosemary Neil, Director of Development and Strategic Programs at the CSIC, says that the $100,000 lab upgrade is “vitally important to gathering detailed information for athletes. We couldn’t function without it.”

Barry Heck, WinSport’s President and CEO, was instrumental in working with the anonymous foundation to secure the donation and make the improvements needed.

The majority of the donation was used to install a fume hood in order to properly ventilate gases. With the upgrades, the lab is now classified as a level 2 laboratory, meaning it can deal with biohazards. It also has procedures in place to handle pathogens, bringing it to a safety standard that is acceptable by Health Canada.

One of the main functions of the new equipment is to enable athletes to do the hemoglobin mass test, a protocol that uses carbon monoxide. A poisonous gas, carbon monoxide requires proper ventilation equipment, including a fume hood. The test is important to CSIC athletes because it has a high correlation with an athlete’s VO₂ max, allowing the sport scientists to monitor and track an athlete’s development. These protocols, enabled by the lab upgrades, will increase the effectiveness of athletes’ training programs by allowing for the use of altitude or heat.

As very few labs in Canada have the ability to do these types of protocols, this technology is yet another way that Rosemary Neil says the CSIC will remain on “the leading edge, because we are able to perform these tests to help monitor and evaluate athletes.”

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by Brittany Schussler: @bschussler

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto

Quand Dave Holland a commencé à prendre des photos d’événements sportifs pour l’album de finissants de son école secondaire, il ne soupçonnait pas qu’on pouvait en faire une carrière. À son grand bonheur, il a pu faire de sa passion d’adolescent un métier et il est maintenant photographe attitré de l’Institut canadien du sport de Calgary.

Ce n’est qu’en 2009, lorsque son ami Jason Sjostrom lui a appris que l’ICSC recherchait un photographe, que M. Holland a sérieusement songé à se consacrer à la photographie. Il a saisi l’occasion et choisi de braquer son objectif sur les athlètes dévalant la piste de bobsleigh pour affiner ses compétences. La qualité de ses photos lui a permis de réaliser le rêve de sa vie en 2014 : être photographe officiel lors des Jeux olympiques d’hiver de Sotchi.

Autodidacte de formation, M. Holland a perfectionné son art en étudiant le travail des meilleurs photographes sportifs. II avoue encore fonctionner « largement par essais et erreurs. Mais tout est question de pratique. Ça m’aide beaucoup d’être sans cesse plongé dans le monde du sport. » Sa passion première est de photographier les meilleurs athlètes en pleine compétition. Il estime que son poste actuel à l’ICSC est avantageux autant pour lui que pour son employeur et se considère privilégié de côtoyer quotidiennement les athlètes. Voici d’ailleurs ce qu’il en dit : « Je suis reconnaissant chaque jour pour mon travail. Je ne peux imaginer un autre endroit où j’aimerais mieux être. Les athlètes et le personnel de l’ICSC m’inspirent : leur quête d’excellence me pousse à donner le meilleur de moi-même. » Cliquez ici pour voir la vidéo

Il dit être fier de « plusieurs clichés, parce que je sais tout ce que les athlètes ont accompli pour atteindre leur niveau », mais a une affection particulière pour l’une de ses photos, qui a remporté la médaille d’or dans la catégorie Reportage lors de la toute première Coupe du monde de photographie. Le cliché montrait le skieur alpin canadien John Kucera dévalant les pistes de Lac Louise. M. HolIand savait qu’il avait une bonne photo à l’instant même où il l’a prise : son intuition a été confirmée lorsque sa photo a eu droit à une double page dans la revue Sportsnet.

Fidèle à la devise « Ce qui compte n’est pas ce que l’on amasse, mais ce que l’on sème », M. Holland a monté en ligne un catalogue complet de son travail. Jetez un coup d’œil au www.csicalgaryphotos.ca et www.daveholland.ca pour avoir un aperçu du remarquable travail de Dave Holland.

Institut canadien du sport de Calgary : @csicalgary
Rédigé par Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler
Photo de Dave Holland: @CSICalgaryPhoto