Speak with the Experts
The Sport Performance Speaker Series is offered at all three CSI Pacific campus locations, with additional remote access by webinar.
Find Out More About SPSS
- Gain the tools, knowledge and skills you need to reach the next level of your sport performance
- Engage with other athletes, coaches and sport professionals in a multi-sport environment
- Gain access and know-how from world leading sport performance professionals and athletes who have reached the highest levels of sport
- Bonus: They are free and available to everyone, including the general public!
Please note that attendance at all live Speaker Series events is limited to Canadian Sport Institute or PacificSport registered athletes, coaches, and parents of registered athletes.
Invited coaches are encouraged to bring their registered athletes. Non-targeted athletes may be eligible to attend with their coach on a case-by-case basis. In such situations, please contact the event organizer.
To find out if you are eligible to register for Canadian Sport Institute Pacific:
Check EligibilityMiss a previous Speaker Series session? Don’t worry! You can access recordings of them on demand via our Athlete Services team.
Find out more about previous events and request them on demand here
Have an Interesting Story to Share?
Do you have an interesting story that others can learn from? We’d love to have you as one of our athlete or coach interviews!
Contact Kendra Stoner and let us know why you think it’d be a great learning experience.
Recent & Upcoming Sport Performance Speaker Series Events
March 18
Physiology: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S): How it can impact all sports and all athletes
Guest Speaker: Trent Stellingwerff, Senior Advisor, Innovation & Research, CSI Pacific & IST Lead, Athletics Canada
6-7pm
Live Online Only
March 24
Mental Performance: Dealing with COVID-19: Mental Well-Being for High Performance Sport Performers
Guest Speakers: Sharlene Hoar & Christie Gialloreto, CSI Pacific Mental Performance
6-7pm
Live Online Only
March 27
Physiology: Detraining & Performance Residuals
Guest Speaker: Trent Stellingwerff, CSI Pacific, and Stuart Phillips, McMaster University
12-1pm
Live Online Only
April 8
Nutrition: Fueling on a Plant-Based Diet: Is it the key to high-performance?
Guest Speaker: Genevieve Masson, CSI Pacific Dietitian
6-7pm
Live Online Only
April 14
Strength and Conditioning Under Quarantine
Guest Speaker: Mary Claire Geneau, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, CSI Pacific
4-5pm
Live Online Only
May 14
The Human Athlete: Maximize Your Performance by Leveraging Your Athlete Identity
Guest Speakers: Laura Dowling, Personal & Professional Development Coach & Facilitator & Mercedes Nicoll, 4x Winter Olympian
6-8pm
Live Online Only (In Person TBD)
Event Description
Joanna (Jo) Irvine, Registered Dietitian, obtained her undergraduate degree in nutrition from the UBC and is also a graduate of the specialized Sport Nutrition program from the International Olympic Committee. Over the past several years she has been working with the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific providing nutrition support to a variety of teams including Canada Soccer, Cycling Canada, and Swimming Canada to help optimize athletes’ performance during both training and competition. Aside from her passion for work and drive to stay current with sport nutrition research, Jo enjoys being active and outdoors with her very energetic family.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, Sean Hayes was a competitive ski racer in his early teens. He brought his love of sports to the streets, where he picked up a skateboard and landed his first sponsor at 16. Sean traveled the world competing and doing demonstrations, as well being featured in many magazine interviews and cover shots. His keen interest in sports led him to enroll in the Sports Science program at Douglas College while recovering from a surgery. During this time he also took on the role Team Manager for DC Shoes (canada). 
Danelle holds a PhD in Social Psychology and an MA in Sport Psychology from The University of Ottawa, as well as BSc in Psychology and a BA in French from the University of Washington. For her doctorate, Danelle looked at how coaches and athletes communicate about training in endurance sport and how such communication affects athletes’ self-determined motivation. 
Currently In her fourth year as the Canadian Sport School Victoria Lead Coach, Jennifer has a strong coaching background that involves working with athletes at various levels: Youth, NCAA, CIS, Professional, and Olympic including a NCAA and World Champion. She has a BA from the University of California at Berkeley where she double-majored in American Studies and French while competing in NCAA Division I Track & Field. Her passion is working with high school and young elite athletes to help give them a strong foundation for success at the next level.
Sharleen has been supporting elite and aspiring performers through her work as a mental performance consultant for 20 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from University of Waterloo and a Masters of Science in Applied Sport Psychology from University of Idaho before completing her Doctorate in Sport & Exercise Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Sharleen is a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.
Ethan Carmichael Denum, 19, of Coquitlam, BC, passed away surrounded by family and friends on Saturday January 7, 2017, after a year-long battle with cancer. As a baby, he was eager to make an appearance and entered the world seven weeks early on January 29, 1997, at Royal Columbian Hospital. He had a short, but meaningful and accomplished life. If he wasn’t at the pool playing or refereeing water polo, he could be found travelling the world with his family, playing his favourite video games, eating or cooking in someone’s kitchen, or filling screens with an endless number of witty posts on social media. Perhaps his most notable accomplishment was the network of good friends he nurtured, many of whom the Denums consider family. We will miss his extra big hugs, fierce loyalty, positive attitude, and his unlimited capacity to love – this, above all, was his greatest gift.
After spending 13 years as a competitive short track speed skater and seven years as a competitive soccer player, Natalie is no stranger to the world of high performance sport. In addition, she also has experience in the world of athlete career transitions. With a Master’s Degree in Athletic Counselling as well as several years of field and firsthand knowledge, Natalie brings a winning combination of personal passion and professional expertise to Game Plan.
Melissa is a graduate of Mercyhurst University of Erie, Pennsylvania where she completed her Masters in Exercise Science and Athletic Therapy. While completing her Master’s, she led the Division I Mercyhurst University women’s ice hockey team throughout her four years. During her graduate studies she worked as an assistant athletic therapist for a variety of varsity teams at the University including: Division II Men’s Basketball, Women’s Field Hockey, and the Men’s and Women’s Rowing Crews.
Rebecca graduated from the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics program at Monsah University (Melbourne, AUS) in 2010, and following this successfully completed the Sports Dietitians Australia course in 2011. Rebecca is also a graduate of the International Olympic Committee Diploma of Sport Nutrition. Following her education, she completed a 2 year sports nutrition fellowship at the Australian Institute of Sport from 2014 to 2016, and it was after this that Rebecca brought her expertise to Canada.