The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary is really excited to unveil our new video. The CSIC is extremely proud of the expertise of our staff, facilities and services that we provide to Canadian athletes. This video aims to share our successes through a behind-the-scenes look at the services and tools that the CSIC has provided to athletes since its inception over 20 years ago.
Many of the ways that the CSIC continues to power podium performances are shown in this 60 second video. Keep your eyes peeled for glimpses of elite athletes in their day-to-day quest for gold including bobsledder Jesse Lumsden doing strength training in the high performance weight room; speed skater Ivanie Blondin using sport science initiatives through physiological testing on a specialized skating treadmill; lugers Alex Gough and Sam Edney benefitting from biomechanic and performance analysis; and curler John Morris's attentiveness to nutrition and recovery benefits using the athlete kitchen and lounge.
The CSIC has been home to many winter and summer athletes who represent Canada. To date, CSIC athletes have won a total of 421 medals in competitions at World Championships. At Olympic and Paralympic Games our athletes have won 143 Gold, 146 Silver and 132 Bronze. We believe that this should be celebrated!
Call to action:
Please feel free to share this video by tagging athletes and sports federations that you recognize on your social media platforms and websites using the link: http://youtu.be/hkbDDNEfwW0.
We hope that both you and your fans will find it as inspiring as we do.
#PoweringPodiumPerformances
For athletes, coaches and federations, here are some sharing ideas:
Check out @CSICalgary's awesome new video of Olympic and Paralympic athletes behind the scenes. #PoweringPodiumPerformances http://ow.ly/R0dcT
Work behind performances! The day to day training of National Team athletes @CSICalgary #PoweringPodiumPerformances http://ow.ly/R0dcT
This is what I do! @CSICalgary #PoweringPodiumPerformances http://ow.ly/R0dcT
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
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 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) has implemented a rule change in female bobsled competition. The rule change states that the maximum weight of a team’s sled will need to be reduced from its former weight by a total of 15 kilograms for the upcoming season. It will then be reduced by another 15 kilograms for the subsequent season. This change aims to increase the level of competition among nations with the hope that it will encourage a wider range of body types to be involved in the sport.
The Canadian bobsled athletes and staff, who are based out of the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSIC), believe that the rule change will have a positive impact on their team. Speed and Strength Coach Quin Sekulich notes that the weight reduction makes the sport more inclusive and that it “will make things easier on the recruitment side to find fast Canadian girls who weigh 155-165 pounds instead of 170-180 pounds.”
Two-time Olympic Champion Kaillie Humphries is confident that the changes will be positive for her sport. As one of the only women in the world who pilots both a women’s two-man team and a men’s four-man team, she knows that she will need to make adaptations in the way she pilots her sled. She says, “Overall, this is great news for me on the women’s side. However, as a pilot this poses a challenge because of the difference between an extremely light women's two-man sled and a very heavy four-man sled. By lightening the overall weight by a drastic amount, we become more susceptible to skidding and sliding around, which makes the sled harder to control.”
Continuing to develop the sport of women’s bobsleigh by increasing the depth of competition is an important goal, and the main reason for the rule change. Humphries hopes that the new rule, “Does the job it is supposed to do and will get more women participating in the sport from all over the world. Next season will be exciting.”
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Brittany Schussler: @bschussler
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary’s (CSIC) Athlete Development Project achieved its first international success on November 8 when Kirsti Lay won a silver medal at World Cup #1 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lay joined the 2014 World Championship silver medalists to start off the season after being a competitive track cyclist for only two years.
Lay, a former speed skater, was forced to retire from skating in 2012 due to injury problems. Knowing that speed skaters have a long history of moving successfully to the velodrome, CSIC Athlete Development Manager Paula Jardine approached her about transferring her skills to the bike through the Athlete Development Project. The program is an initiative of the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary whose objective is to identify and fast track the development of targeted athletes into national team programs.
Lay is grateful for the opportunity to accelerate her progression as an elite athlete in another sport, saying, “Being a part of the CSIC’s development program really gave me the first step into track cycling and allowed me to see my potential in this sport. Under the guidance of Dr. David Smith, Director of Sport Science, coach Phil Abbott, and the entire sport science lab, I had a successful transition from speed skating. They identified my cycling weaknesses and continually tested and monitored my training to give me the best chance of performance. Without them, I would never have tried cycling."
CSIC is pleased to have more representation on the medal winning cycling team than their Athlete Development Project athlete. Lay joinedanother CSIC rider, Allison Beveridge, to team up with veteran track team members Stephanie Roorda and Jasmin Glaesser.
Despite being just 21-years-old, Beveridge has been a CSIC athlete for five years and has both World Cup and World Championship medals to her credit. She knows how fortunate she is to have grown up in a city where she has the opportunity to work with the Canadian Sport Institute, saying the “CSI has helped me over the past five years to provide me with a training environment in Calgary, a city that is not always ideal for riding. The services they offer have helped me make the jump onto the elite national team and continue to help me develop as a rider and athlete. Recently I have started training with a strength coach out of the CSIC that has helped me become a more balanced athlete both on and off the bike.”
The team’s next stop is World Cup #2 in London, England at the beginning of December, while their major focus for the season is on winning another medal at the World Championships in Paris in February.
To find out more on the Athlete Development Project please contact Paula Jardine, Athlete Development Manager, at (403) 819-1960.
Stay in the loop!
Writer Brittany Schussler: @bschussler
Photo Credit: Dave Holland @csicalgaryphoto
Kirsti Lay: @layk88
Allison Beveridge: @Not_Alli_Bev
Le projet de perfectionnement des athlètes de l'Institut canadien du sport de Calgary (CSIC) a connu son premier succès international le 8 novembre. Kirsti Lay a en effet remporté une médaille d'argent à la première manche de la Coupe du monde à Guadalajara au Mexique. Lay s'est jointe aux médaillées d'argent des Championnats du monde de 2014 pour amorcer la saison après être devenue cycliste sur piste de compétition depuis seulement deux ans.
Ancienne patineuse de vitesse, Lay a été forcée à la retraite en 2012 à cause de blessures. Sachant que les patineuses de vitesse passent souvent aisément au vélodrome avec succès, Paula Jardine, directrice du perfectionnement des athlètes de l'ICSC, a suggéré à Lay de transférer ses aptitudes du patinage au vélo grâce au projet de perfectionnement des athlètes. Le programme, initiative de l'Institut canadien du sport de Calgary, vise à dénicher des athlètes ayant le profil approprié et à en accélérer le perfectionnement au sein des programmes des équipes nationales.
November 18, 2015
Thirty-eight participants were #PARATOUGH at the first ever Paralympian Search held by the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSI Calgary) on November 14. The event offered individuals with a physical disability or visual impairment the opportunity to test their athletic potential in a high performance environment with the hope of becoming a future Paralympian.
Representatives from Wheelchair Basketball, Alpine Canada, Cross Country Canada, Cycling Canada, and Hockey Canada were inspired by the athletes’ determination as they were put through a series of tests by staff from the CSI Calgary. Tests included anthropometric measurements, wheelchair or running sprints, vertical jumps, medicine ball tosses, grip strength, and endurance using an arm ergometer or velotron bike.
Jason Poole, Director of Performance Services at the CSI Calgary, declared the event to be an exceptional day for Paralympic sport. He emphasized, “The CSI Calgary is happy to collaborate with the CPC to identify potential athletes and to show them a path into sport. The Paralympian Search is a great initiative with many different partners including the CPC, the National Sport Organizations (NSOs), and the COPSI Network.”
Athlete Ambassador Matt Hallat, a three-time Paralympian, fuelled the athletes’ determination by kicking off the event with a rousing speech. He was impressed by the number of people who bravely tested their athletic skills, saying, “It’s amazing how many people showed up. Paralympian Search is great because people across the country can get into sports and be active for life.” Also present were current athletes such as cyclist Brayden McDougall, a 2008 and 2012 Paralympian, who was able to challenged himself in the testing environment.
Catherine Gosselin-Després, Executive Director of Sport for the CPC, was also impressed with the number of attendees and their desire to participate in sport. “The next step is to provide the test results to the NSOs,” she said. “They will make the decision to either invite the athletes into a high performance program or provide them with other options for participation based on the profile identified throughout the testing phase. Everyone who attended will be contacted and will be getting a response from us and an opportunity to continue in sport.”
The Paralympian Search plans to continue on to Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. CPC is also hopeful that they will be able to add more venues in the coming year. Don’t miss the chance to see if you are #PARATOUGH. Visit paralympic.ca/paralympian-search to register for future events and find out when the CPC is in a city near you.
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSI Calgary) congratulates Kelly Anne Erdman on her recent publication, an accomplishment she deems to be, “The greatest achievement of my career.” Erdman has been a source of knowledge in Canadian athletes’ lives for over two decades. Always up-to-date on cutting-edge research, Erdman has been a Performance Dietitian at the 2012 and 2014 Olympic Games as well as the 2011 Pan Am Games.
Erdman began working at the CSI Calgary in 1994, paving the way in the field of sports nutrition. An Olympian in track cycling, Erdman continues to be aligned with the CSI Calgary, working predominantly with the speed skating team and Hockey Canada as the lead dietitian for both the women’s and sledge hockey programs and consulting with the men’s team. She also consults with a variety of sports including luge, heptathlon, and nordic skiing.
For her recent publication, Erdman was hand-picked by Dietitians of Canada to be a co-author on the February 2016 position paper titled Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Position of Dietitians of Canada, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American College of Sports Medicine. The publication is an in-depth report on the role of nutrition as a critical piece of high performance sport and shares the authors’ expertise by outlining evidence-based current recommendations for athletes’ nutrition.
As one of three authors who spent a year and a half re-writing the paper based on current evidence, Erdman’s co-authors were American D. Travis Thomas from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Australian Louise M. Burke representing the American College of Sports Medicine. As science and sport are always evolving, this is the third time the paper has been re-written to update the information. Last published in 2011, the joint position paper will go through its next re-write in 2019.
Erdman says that this re-write is more focused on the need for athlete nutrition to be customized. She believes that it is critical for athletes and their support teams to be aware of how an athlete’s nutrition needs vary on a daily basis. When asked the one piece of advice that she would give to her fellow Sport Dietitians, Erdman stresses that she believes in tailoring the message, customizing it for each athlete’s needs.
Ultimately, it is evident that Erdman loves what she does and is an integral component to the success of Canada’s athletes. While the CSI Calgary knows that Erdman is very deserving of this recognition, she humbly emphasizes, “It was a huge honour for me to represent sport dietitians in Canada, and I would not have been given the opportunity to work on this piece of literature had I not been affiliated with a high performance institute such as the CSI Calgary.”
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Brittany Schussler: @BSchussler
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
It takes a concerted effort to discover new athletic talent – an area that has often been overlooked in the Canadian sport system, which relies more on the progression of young athletes from the grassroots level up to high performance. In its second year, RBC Training Ground is building momentum across the country, attracting thousands of athletes for qualifying events. In Alberta alone, approximately 400 athletes will participate in four qualifying events.
To date, three regional qualifiers in Alberta have been completed, in Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Okotoks, with one more on April 8 in Edmonton. The top male and female athletes from these qualifiers will compete at the CSI Calgary in the regional final on May 6.
The RBC Training Ground program offers young athletes an opportunity to participate in a series of talent identification events testing for power, strength, speed and endurance. The idea is to find talented athletes and provide them with an opportunity to try a new sport in which they might be well-suited to excel.
Kayla Dodson, 24, was the top female athlete from the Grande Prairie event. Dodson played CIS women’s hockey for five years while she was studying sport science and now works for the Alberta Sport Development Centre as a strength and conditioning coach in Grande Prairie
Dodson isn’t sure what sport she would excel at but says she would like to try sprint track cycling. She knows it’s a long road to the Olympics and that very few athletes make it. Still, she says, “it’s every athlete’s dream to be an Olympian.”
According to Joshua Riker-Fox, RBC Olympian, 2008 Modern Pentathlon, RBC Training Ground fills a missing piece in the sport system in Canada. “It’s quite amazing that RBC has been able to step in and help fill this big gap,” he says. “I have to believe that by providing this opportunity athletes will present themselves, especially in sports that are less technical. This is a great opportunity to identify athletes early on.”
That is certainly the hope of many National Sport Organizations (NSOs), 11 of which are involved in the program, including Cycling, Rowing and Athletics. They’re all looking to find athletes with potential in their sport. Ultimately, CSI Calgary staff will connect with representatives from the NSOs to compare athlete performance data with NSO standards to try and identify additional athletes with potential in a specific sport.
For Miranda Sallis, Performance Services Manager at CSI Calgary, seeing all the partners coming together to work on a common goal has been a positive experience. “It has been exciting to work with the regional Alberta Sport Development Centres, the Canadian Olympic Foundation, and RBC to attract potential new talent to high performance sport,” says Sallis. “The response to the program is very encouraging.”
When Dodson was attending school in Australia she recalls seeing talent identification programs at the grade school level, testing for athletes with potential. “It’s a different world over there,” she says. “I remember thinking ‘I wish Canada had something like that.’” Now it does – RBC Training Ground.
For all those undiscovered athletes out there looking for their own chance to shine, take heart and take a chance – sign up for RBC Training Ground. You never know where you might end up.
Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
05/04/17
