Picture this: a network of satellites zooming through space, in orbit high above Planet Figure Skating. They receive signals from “stars” on the icy surface below. The satellites then process these signals and transmit back key information to the surface, which is used by the stars to optimize and realize their best performance.

Kelly Quipp is one of the satellites. The Lead Exercise Physiologist at Canadian Sport Institute (CSI) Calgary and national Integrated Support Team (IST) Lead at Skate Canada heads a team of experts from many fields, including the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute (COPSI) Network, who work together to constantly assess, monitor, and enhance performance.

The stars, of course, are Canada’s best and brightest figure skaters, all vying for Olympic glory, passionately and persistently carving their blades into the ice with precision and artistry.

The cosmic link between the satellites and the stars is relatively new. “This is a sport untouched by sport science,” remarks Mike Slipchuk, High Performance Director at Skate Canada. “We are bringing in new concepts, ideas and methods with things like strength and conditioning that we haven’t used in the past, different ways of training.”

In a sport that is so much about art, launching the national IST has helped to bring science to the fore. “It was an opportunity to leverage experts,” confirms Slipchuk. “And how we can make it work in figure skating.”

It has been a slow, but effective development at Skate Canada. Not only is the sport decentralized across the country, every skater is like a planet unto themselves, each with its own coach and, in many cases, IST. “There are different ways to get athletes to their optimal performance, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” explains Slipchuk. “It’s tailored to individual athletes and events.”

Training primarily out of the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) in Toronto and Institut national du sport du Québec in Montréal, all of Skate Canada’s stars rely on a vast and connected network of satellites to maximize every aspect of their preparation.

The key attribute is the constant relaying of signals between local and national IST members, like therapists, nutritionists, physicians, strength and conditioning coaches, and others, who support the team with a wide array of tools, including initiatives like the injury and illness monitoring system implemented by Quipp, where skaters provide weekly health updates.

The strong core of advisors that make up the national IST fill many roles, in some cases as full-fledged IST members with direct impacts on a skater’s training and performance, in others as advisors who provide support more peripherally. “We’re like central command,” says Quipp. “Athletes and coaches know we’re here to support them, we’re not going to bother them if they have a good thing going.”

Take Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles, Canada’s top ice dance duo: The Olympic-bound bronze medallists from the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships have built up their own bespoke IST, comprised of experts in many fields, some of whom are independent providers and others that are part of the COPSI Network.

The pair worked closely with Quipp starting in September 2019, where she advised on their training, both on and off ice, helping with testing and implementing optimal training sequences. “They learned a lot from that process,” says Quipp. When the pandemic hit, Gilles and Poirier felt comfortable taking the reins and Quipp now helps primarily with testing, results and relaying any issues to the local team.

A key member of that local IST is Meghan Buttle, Physiotherapist at CSIO and working with Skate Canada and as the IST Lead at Skate Ontario, and a former ice dancer. Buttle has been the pair’s main therapist since 2016 and sees herself as the ‘eyes on the ground’ for Poirier and Gilles. “Paul and Piper are the drivers of their own team,” she says. “But I can provide additional insight by monitoring and sharing signals with the Network when necessary.”

Nick Robinson, an independent strength and conditioning coach, has also been working with Gilles and Poirier since 2016. He says what sets the pair apart is their experience, maturity and focus. “They work seamlessly together and with their team. They are very capable of relaying important issues and it’s rare that anything gets too bad,” he says.

As one of the many satellites in constant orbit around Planet Figure Skating, those are just the kinds of signals Mike Slipchuk wants to receive. “We just want to make sure everyone has what they need.”

Once that happens – once all those signals have been received and processed and transmitted back – the lights go dark and the satellites know it’s time to zoom out and let those stars shine.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by: Kristina Groves @kngrover

Photos by: Dave Holland @DaveHollandPics

December 16th, 2021

About the COPSI Network
The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSI Network) provides world-leading training environments to elite athletes and coaches across Canada. The team of experts delivers sport science and medicine, coaching, research and innovation, education and Game Plan services to power podium performances and help Canada win more medals. The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network includes four Canadian Sport Institutes (Pacific, Calgary, Ontario and Québec) and three Canadian Sport Centres (Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Atlantic).

-30-

Media Contacts:

Annie Gagnon, Director, Marketing & Communications

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

c: 613.262.9644

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Noah Wheelock, General Manager, Operations & Communications

Canadian Sport Institute Pacific

c: 250.220.2534

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jean Gosselin, Director, Communications & Marketing

Institut national du sport du Québec

c: 514.757.9092

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Laura Albright, Senior Advisor, Communications & Marketing

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

c: 647.395.7536

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jaime Lammerding, Communications Coordinator

Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan

c: 306 975-0830

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sarah MacNeil, Communications & Project Lead

Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic

c: 902.595.0485

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jessie Davis, Marketing & Communications Specialist

Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba

c: 204.891.5441

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 21, 2021

CALGARY, ALBERTA Small- and medium-sized firms working to develop and commercialize new sports or health technologies will benefit from increased testing, validation and research services offered through the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSI Calgary)—thanks in part to federal funding being provided through Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan).

CSI Calgary is expanding its operational capacity to provide quality product testing to small- and medium- sized businesses that develop innovative sports and health products. Testing and validating products in order to meet and exceed safety and compliance standards is a critical step in commercializing new products for the sports and health technology sector. CSI Calgary is a non-profit organization dedicated to building, creating and educating athletes, coaches and sport-science processionals. The Sport Product Testing group at CSI Calgary supports the development of health and wellness products for general and athletic populations.

“We work within the health and sport ecosystem in Western Canada to help companies understand their products, make their products better and ultimately contribute to the success of the company.”

• Pro Stergiou, Business Development Manager for the Sport Product Testing Group

The group is focused on working with local companies and has previously worked with well-known brands such as Under Armour, Lululemon, and Polar.

The Government of Canada, through Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), is investing $315,000 over three years to enable the CSI Calgary Sport Product Testing group to expand its capacity to deliver services to companies within the sports and health fields.

“The Government of Canada’s investment towards the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary will directly benefit western Canadian companies as they commercialize new ideas and products for the sports and health technology industry. This initiative will help small and medium-sized businesses in demonstrating and preparing their products for market, allowing them to meet consumer demands and grow their product lines in this unique sector of our economy.”

• The Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

The CSI Calgary Sport Product Testing group will work collaboratively with companies on the validation and evaluation of sport and health technologies and apparel—including wearable technologies and related data analysis. The federal investment supports CSI Calgary’s focus on helping small- and medium-sized business in the sports and health sectors launch competitive new business ventures and products.

“As leaders in the field of high performance sport research and innovation, this funding will help us grow our product testing business and expand our scope of services. It will also help us support and develop local businesses who are working to offer new products in the global sports and health market.”

• Gary Davies, President and CEO, CSI Calgary

-30-

About Sport Product Testing

We objectively extract meaningful and relevant insights so that more accurate and usable products are available to consumers. With our thorough understanding of functional performance and consumer perceptions, we can provide services in all stages of the product development cycle for our clients.

About the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary provides world-class training environments in Alberta. With the support of our partners, we deliver leading sport science and medicine, coach education and life services to help Canada's high-performance athletes achieve Olympic and Paralympic podium performances. www.csialberta.ca

About Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan)

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) is the federal department that supports economic growth in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Its programs and services help businesses, not-for-profits and communities grow stronger. Its mandate is to support economic growth and diversification in the Prairie provinces and advance the interests of the region in national economic policy, programs and projects.

Media Contact:

Annie Gagnon, Director, Marketing & Communications

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

c: 613.262.9644

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Annie Goncin, Manager, Athlete Services & Digital Media

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

c: 647.767.6862

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Be nimble, be quick. Isn’t that how the old nursery rhyme goes? While Jack is busy jumping over candlesticks in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, we present lesson number one in the IST Lowdown: ISTs are nimble and ISTs are quick.

The Integrated Support Team (IST) – a collection of experts across a multitude of disciplines that collaborate to enhance performance, is an integral component of any high-performance sport program.

These experts are physicians, physiotherapists, coaches, sport scientists, nutritionists, sport psychologists, biomechanists and others, many of whom come from the four Canadian Sport Institutes (CSIs) and three Centres that make up the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sports Institute (COPSI) Network.

To say that ISTs are nimble we mean they evolve, adapt, and deal; to say they are quick we mean they troubleshoot and solve.

Take Freestyle Canada (FC), the National Sport Organization (NSO) for the four freestyle ski disciplines of moguls, aerials, halfpipe and slopestyle. In today’s warming climate, chasing snow has become a driving force in the program. By necessity, therefore, FC is decentralized, meaning the entire team is scattered across the country and the challenge is optimizing on-snow training and competition around the globe. How do they make it work?

To help manage the program’s complexity, FC relies on the expertise and support of three COPSI Network members: Pacific, Calgary and Québec. Adrian King, Director of Sport Science and Medicine and IST Lead at FC, says that because the team is decentralized they have created an IST across the country that is an extremely experienced, high level group of therapists, doctors and sport scientists.

King says that accessing experts through the CSIs helps from a quality control standpoint, too. “The CSI helps us bring in IST members that we know are vetted, quality people and practitioners.” These are the ones who evolve, adapt and deal – the nimble part.

Todd Allison, High Performance Director, Moguls and Aerials at FC, says the partnership with the COPSI Network also allows FC to seek expert guidance on short notice, use facility space for training and logistics, book lab space for testing and analysis, and have athletes access Game Plan services – Canada's athlete wellness program that strives to support national team athletes in living balanced and holistic lives.

“These things are over and above what we get from the IST,” explains Allison. “CSIs can basically service us wherever we are. They help troubleshoot for all issues that arise — if we have a problem, they can solve it.” That’s the quick part.

Let’s highlight a real-world example of quick and nimble. A phone call comes in to Andrew Kates, Strength and Conditioning Coach at CSI Pacific and a key part of FC’s IST. “It looks like we might not have a good warm-up facility at the Olympics in Beijing.” He is unfazed: “Yeah, so?”

Dealing with the unexpected is routine for Kates and the entire FC team, IST and athletes included. “We find fast, unique solutions for training all the time” explains Kates. “Sometimes we warm up in cafeterias and hallways.”

Kates is also nimble. His primary role is crafting and implementing off-snow training programs. The key skill he has fostered is carving out specialized knowledge from the halfpipe to understand and meet the demands of the sport. “There is no textbook for how to build a halfpipe athlete,” Kates explains. “I draw on knowledge I have from more traditional sports and use that experience to see how new things will apply to this niche sport.”

For Kates, that means constantly adapting and refining his training programs, and innovating by building his own data and monitoring solutions to track every single jump.

But the next step highlights the real power of the IST, and is one of its hallmark traits – sharing information and knowledge across disciplines within the IST to help make better decisions and plans to enhance athlete performance. Because FC is decentralized, Kates can tap into the expertise of other experts in the COPSI Network.

“This collaboration is essential to providing an optimal performance environment”, says Lu Bonnett, High Performance Sport Advisor at Institut national du sport du Québec (INS Québec). FC relies on INS Québec to meet needs and standards in data collection, and facilitates sharing knowledge with the IST that directly benefits athletes.

It’s not always seamless and communication can be a challenge, but it’s a way for experts to rub heads together and collaborate, which advances the sport to higher levels of performance. Build knowledge, share, improve, repeat.

So, there you have it: IST takeaway #1. WECAN be nimble and quick – COPSI Network experts create specialized knowledge, share that knowledge with each other and thrive in a complex, decentralized sport.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary

Written by: Kristina Groves @kngrover

Photos by: Dave Holland @DaveHollandPics

December 16th, 2021

About the COPSI Network
The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSI Network) provides world-leading training environments to elite athletes and coaches across Canada. The team of experts delivers sport science and medicine, coaching, research and innovation, education and Game Plan services to power podium performances and help Canada win more medals. The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network includes four Canadian Sport Institutes (Pacific, Calgary, Ontario and Québec) and three Canadian Sport Centres (Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Atlantic).

-30-

Media Contacts:

Annie Gagnon, Director, Marketing & Communications

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

c: 613.262.9644

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Noah Wheelock, General Manager, Operations & Communications

Canadian Sport Institute Pacific

c: 250.220.2534

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jean Gosselin, Director, Communications & Marketing

Institut national du sport du Québec

c: 514.757.9092

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Laura Albright, Senior Advisor, Communications & Marketing

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

c: 647.395.7536

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jaime Lammerding, Communications Coordinator

Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan

c: 306 975-0830

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sarah MacNeil, Communications & Project Lead

Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic

c: 902.595.0485

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jessie Davis, Marketing & Communications Specialist

Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba

c: 204.891.5441

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calgary, March 17th - In the moments just before the 2021 Scotties women’s curling final began, Val Sweeting glanced up and saw her family waving. The sight of them made her heart smile.

It’s a common habit – an athlete scans the crowd to find their most beloved supporters – and catching a glimpse of them offers a brief but poignant reminder that they are loved.

Except this time, they weren’t in the stands. The stands were empty and silent, and Sweeting’s family was on a big screen.

Despite the unreality of the moment, where her family was 2-D instead of 3-D, seeing them live still meant the world to Sweeting and offered a hint of normalcy in an environment that has been anything but normal over the last few weeks.

Sweeting, who plays third for Team Einarson from Manitoba, likens the experience of being in the curling bubble as ‘eat, sleep, curl’. “The first few days in quarantine were tough but once competition started everything was fine,” she says.

In fact, for Sweeting, it was the time leading up to entering the bubble that was the hard part.

Coming off a season where she finally won the Scotties with Team Einarson, after a string of heartbreaking losses as skip for Team Alberta, Sweeting had to grapple with losing the opportunity to play as Team Canada at the world championships due the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was carrying around a lot of baggage,” remembers Sweeting. “I had to take steps to deal with that.” To that end, Sweeting leaned on specialists and books to help her dive into the work she had to do to get into a better place mentally.

Having that self-awareness is key to helping athletes adapt to challenging situations says Clare Fewster, CSI Calgary Mental Performance Consultant and Canadian Certified Counselor. “In general, the pandemic has challenged our well-being, and more for some than others,” explains Fewster. “For that reason, the bubble could be more difficult for some than others.”

Fewster, who is available for mental health support to curlers throughout the duration of bubble, says that the biggest piece is being able to anticipate the situation and then build a toolbox and resources to manage the situation successfully.

“Like any practice in building self-awareness, what can you do?” asks Fewster. “Work at understanding your thoughts, emotions, behaviours and triggers. Talk to others who are in it and have done it.”

Sweeting says she brought her own food and prepared yoga and TRX workouts in her room during the quarantine period, and also connected frequently with her family online and relaxed by watching TV or reading. “Small hotel spaces can be difficult. Simple things like moving furniture around or opening the window for fresh air can be helpful strategies,” says Fewster.

“Athletes are resilient humans in general,” says Fewster, but adds, “Everyone has lived a different COVID life and experienced different impacts.” The heightened stress of bubble protocols and new situations could trigger some with mental health issues she says. This highlights the need to prepare more in advance and utilize available mental health supports.

The hard work Sweeting put into preparing for the season in the bubble was fruitful. “By the time I got into the bubble I had come to terms with everything,” she says. Having a clear mind helped propel Sweeting and Team Einarson to a second straight Scotties victory and earned them another chance to play as Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships.

“It’s all about adapting and rolling with it,” says Sweeting. “Just take a deep breath and keep moving on.”

The Canadian Mixed Doubles Championships begins this Thursday, March 18th. https://www.curling.ca/2021mixeddoubles/

To learn more about the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, visit www.csialberta.ca

Written by: Kristina Groves Photo by: Dave Holland

Media Contact

Annie Gagnon - Canadian Sport Institute Calgary 613-262-9644 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.