Elise Marcotte, Communications Lead at the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, had the privilege of being selected to attend the Seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama from April 10-11, 2015.

Marcotte earned this opportunity as a result of her appointment as Assistant Chef de Mission for the upcoming 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. In this role she will work with Chef de Mission Curt Harnett and Assistant Chef, Waneek Horn-Miller. This is a significant accomplishment for Elise, as the Games are the world's third-largest multi-sport event and the biggest ever hosted by Canada.

The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary athletes are utilizing an advanced training device, the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill. Primarily used by injured athletes to facilitate rehabilitation, the treadmill allows the CSIC's therapists to reintegrate the functional movement of running into the athletes' training.

The treadmill can be programmed by a therapist to a specific percentage of the athletes' body weight so that the loading on the musculoskeletal system is less than normal. For example, when an athlete is returning to training from a lower body injury they can use the Anti-Gravity Treadmill and start running while bearing only 50% of their body weight. As they improve, a greater percentage of their body weight can be introduced to increase the effective training load on the body. This allows them to run at a normal tempo and speed while still practicing good technique.

The CSIC has had access to the equipment since opening its new training facility at Canada Olympic Park last year. CSIC's athletes are privileged to have convenient access to this advanced equipment, as shown through its use by "return to training" high performance athletes. Members of the public are able to purchase passes in order to accelerate their own recovery while under the supervision of a physiotherapist.

Two advocates of the training device are track and field athletes Sam Effah and Natasha Jackson, who are both recovering from injuries in preparation for their 2016 Olympic Games qualifying competitions. Effah recently stated that the regular access to the treadmill has been "a major blessing." Jackson, who suffered a ruptured achilles tendon in 2014, believes that "the Anti-Gravity treadmill has been a great tool for my recovery... allowing me to gradually build back the strength in my achilles. It has allowed me to put my body through the motion of running. In addition, I am able to work my cardiovascular system in a similar way to how I would train on the track but at a much earlier stage in the recovery process."

CSIC physiotherapist Jennifer Delich has seen athletes from a range of sports, such as figure skating and alpine skiing, benefit from using the Anti-Gravity Treadmill for rehabilitation. She is convinced that "there is nothing else like it," and notes that it has already proven to be effective in "return to training athletes" for an array of injuries such as muscle tears, ACL reconstruction, and patella femoral pain.

The CSIC's use of the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill has proven to be an advantage for many athletes. With the Pan Am Games only months away, the ability to have injured athletes ahead of their expected healing process is a vital component in keeping the CSIC's athletes world-leading.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto

Chris Osmond, a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, has the difficult task of providing individualized services to athletes from a variety of sports. While the majority of the CSIC's strength and conditioning coaches work with groups of athletes who belong to a single sport, Osmond has taken on the role of coaching athletes who are not part of a training group.

Osmond typically works with five to eight athletes at time, all from varying sports. His athletes' levels range from junior national teams to the professional or Olympic level. Some of the athletes that he is currently coaching are modern pentathlete Joshua Riker-Fox, baseball player Mike Soroka, curler John Morris, and ice cross athlete Kyle Croxall.

Osmond enjoys the challenge of working with a diverse range of individuals. He says that in order to create the best plan for each athlete, "I educate myself about each sport. The programs I create are individualized based on assessments of movement, power and capacity to do work, together with my analysis of the sport and athlete."

After the initial assessments and testing are performed through the CSIC's High Performance Laboratory, Osmond creates a yearly training program (YTP). Once the YTP has been established, more detailed programming takes place with other coaching staff who will be involved in training a specific athlete. The training process includes establishing small cycles within the YTP that enable the coaching staff to focus on priorities that have been identified through the assessment process.

Joshua Riker-Fox's athlete-coach relationship with Osmond is still in the early stages. However, he already has a strong belief in Osmond's coaching style. When asked about Osmond, Riker-Fox says, "We started with a thorough review of where I am at currently and what my goals are moving forward. I really appreciate that Chris has worked with a variety of sports and athletes. He has an understanding of the asymmetric movement in the event of modern pentathlon. Chris is obviously experienced and shares the rationale behind what we do. I really enjoy Chris' expertise and the fact that I am learning so much from him. I feel stronger and it is obviously rewarding for me to see its impact. Chris is a great coach!"

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary athlete John Morris won bronze at the World Curling Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 5th when Team Canada defeated Finland. Morris was an integral part of the home team during the tournament, which took place from March 28th - April 5th, 2015. Morris, who was a member of the gold medal winning team at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, currently throws third on a team with Nolan Thiessen, Carter Rycroft, and Pat Simmons.

The CSIC facilities at Markin MacPhail Centre recently became Morris' home training centre. The facilities were on display from January 8th-11th, when WinSport hosted the World Financial Group Continental Cup for Curling. The tournament had both male and female curlers from all over the world. During the competition, many of the top curlers used the CSIC facility.

John, is studying nutrition and working as a firefighter in the Rocky View Municipality, is an athlete who benefits from having all of their athletic needs met in a centralized location. His training regime often consists of workouts in the gym followed by treatment from Kevin Wagner, the CSIC's Director of Physiotherapy. He concludes his routine in the athletes' kitchen where he can prepare his post work out shake while sharing his experiences and getting inspired by Canada's high performance athletes from a wide variety of sports.

The Simmons team started their run earlier this year with a unique story. They began the qualifying tournament, the Brier, with Morris being positioned as the team's Skip. After a tough start, Morris made the decision to move into a more familiar position as the team's Third and have teammate Pat Simmons take over as Skip. The decision proved to be ideal for the team, who proceeded to win the Brier and go on to win the World Championship bronze.

With their win at the Brier, the Simmons rink has automatically qualified for the 2016 Brier. Defending their title will surely be a part of the team's long-term plan to train and compete together with the goal of representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Korea. Morris is planning to make use of the CSIC's combination of facilities and services throughout the quadrennial and hopes to bring his team members to Calgary for training camps in order for them to make use of the facility's benefits as well.

The CSIC enjoys having a world-class athlete from yet another sport reaping the benefits that it has to offer while inspiring the athletes around him. Congratulations to John and the rest of Team Canada.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto