CSI Pacific-affiliated Paralympians
Find out more about CSI Pacific-affiliated athletes that are competing in PyeongChang. Content courtesy the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Canada Snowboard and Alpine Canada
Find out more about CSI Pacific-affiliated athletes that are competing in PyeongChang. Content courtesy the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Canada Snowboard and Alpine Canada
Born: January 23, 1992
Birthplace: Richmond, British Columbia
Hometown: Squamish, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
Alex Cairns was named to the Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team for the 2016-17 ski season. In 2014, Cairns was named skier of the year by the Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing. Born with Spina Bifida, Cairns began skiing in 2007 at the age of 17 in Whistler, BC. During the 2014-15 season, he came 16th in the giant slalom at World Championships. In the 2015-16 season, at the World Cup Finals, he placed tenth and 11th in the giant slalom and 11th in the downhill.
Born: June 11, 1999
Birthplace: Houston, Texas
Hometown: Gatineau, Quebec
BIOGRAPHY:
Alex Guimond from Mont Tremblant, joined the Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team for the 2016-17 season. Competing in the standing category, Guimond placed ninth in a giant slalom and 13th in the slalom in the 2015-16 season. Guimond had a breakout 2016-17 season and landed on the World Cup podium for the first time.
Born: September 17, 1999
Birthplace: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Hometown: West Vancouver, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
Mollie joined the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team in 2016 after showing promise on the Europa Cup circuit. She claimed a second-place finish in a Europa Cup giant slalom race, along with a first-place finish in an IPCAS race.
Born: July 3, 1996
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
BIOGRAPHY:
Latimer began skiing at Craigleith Ski Club near Collingwood, Ont. at the age of two. She was born with a congenital amputation of her right arm below the elbow and while her sister and cousins were already out on the slopes, Latimer was anxious to join them. She advanced quickly through ski school and started ski racing in the Nancy Greene Development League at age seven. Until joining the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team, Latimer raced in the able-bodied program at Craigleith. Latimer competed in the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games, racking up top-10 in four categories: super combined, slalom, giant slalom, and downhill. As well, during World Cup Finals in the 2015-16 season, she consistently place top-ten in all disciplines. Latimer had her career-first podium in the 2016-17 season, landing on it in both slalom and giant slalom disciplines.
Born: June 2, 1996
Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
BIOGRAPHY:
Jack Leitch joins the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team as Mac Marcoux’s guide, previously racing with the Alberta Ski Team.
Born: November 30, 1992
Birthplace: Victoria, British Columbia
Hometown: Duncan, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
A former prospect athlete who moved up to the national team in 2011 after forerunning at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games, Luscombe has recorded eight top-10 finishes at IPC World Cup and world championship events since his first World Cup season (2012), and he became the men’s Canadian giant slalom champion in 2013. He had his leg amputated after contracting necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) as a child and competes in the standing category. In the 2015-16 season, Luscombe skied to a career-first podium finish. Luscombe, who calls Duncan, B.C. home, enjoys fishing and being outdoors in the off season.
Born: June 20, 1997
Birthplace: Sault-Ste Marie, Ont.
Hometown: Sault-Ste Marie, Ont.
BIOGRAPHY:
Marcoux burst onto the IPC World Cup scene in 2013, as an eager a 15-year-old. He scored three World Cup podium finishes and earned a silver medal at the World Championships in La Molina, Spain in 2013. Skiing in the visually impaired category, he became a three-time Paralympic medalist when he, guided by Robin Fémy, won gold in giant slalom and then bronze in the downhill and super G events at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games. At the time of this outstanding success in Sochi, Marcoux was the youngest member of the Canadian Paralympic Team. In the 2015-16 season, Marcoux walked away with a Crystal Globe in the super G and downhill disciplines. Marcoux has continued to follow up his success and captured the downhill Crystal Globe in the 2016-17 season setting himself up for success at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. The 2016-17 also included fresh challenges for Marcoux as he welcomed a new guide, Jack Leitch. Their strong partnership made for great success on the circuit.
Born: February 23, 1984
Birthplace: Edmonton, Alberta
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
BIOGRAPHY:
Kurt Oatway has been skiing since he was five-years-old and started racing with the Nancy Greene Program when he was six-years-old and continued to race competitively until the age of 16. In 2007, while on a field school with the University of Saskatchewan in Utah, he fell from a rock outcrop sustaining a compression fracture of the T12 vertebrae resulting in an incomplete spinal cord injury. He began sit skiing in 2010 as apart of his continuing rehab, and reconnected with his skiing roots. Joining the Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team in 2014, he has since went on to claim numerous IPC World Cup podiums and has had consistent results throughout his career. He also went onto win the IPC World Cup Downhill Crystal Globe for the men’s sitting category for the 2015-16 season.
Born: April 22, 2000
Birthplace: Preston, Great Britain
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
Joining the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team in 2017, Mel has shown her tenacity in all disciplines by claiming top-ten finishes in super-G, slalom and giant slalom. In the 2016-17 season, Mel captured a fourth-place finish in giant slalom, seventh and ninth-place super-G finishes and a ninth-place slalom finish. Mel is also a student-athlete at Canadian Sport Institute Pacific’s Canadian Sport School
Born: December 22, 1994
Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
BIOGRAPHY:
Alana Ramsay from Calgary, Alta., began skiing at six-years-old. Ramsay had a career-best 2015-16 season, landing her first podium finishes. Due to her incredible breakout season, she was named the female para-athlete of the year at the 2016 Canadian Ski Racing awards. During the 2015-16 World Cup Finals, she placed top-four in all events, hitting the podium in giant slalom, slalom and super G. She followed up her breakout season with a fantastic 2016-17 season, including four podiums at the IPC World Championships. She also landed five World Cup wins throughout the year.
Born: March 19, 1993
Birthplace: Edmonton, Alberta
Hometown: Spruce Grove, Alberta
BIOGRAPHY:
Schornstein raced against able-bodied athletes until he was a teenager. Competing in the standing category (he has congenital paralysis of his right arm), Schornstein was a consistent top-10 IPC World Cup finisher in 2012/13, and was the men’s Canadian slalom champion in 2013 after battling back from a knee surgery that kept him from competing in the 2012-13 IPC World Cup circuit. At the age of 17, he had four top-15 finishes at the 2011 IPC world championships. In the 2015-16 season Schornstein placed seventh in the slalom race at World Cup Finals, and consistently stayed in the top 15 across all events. Schornstein plays volleyball and helps out with the family mechanical contracting business in his hometown of Spruce Grove, Alta.
Born: –
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia
Hometown: Pemberton, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
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Born: January 15, 1991
Birthplace: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Hometown: North Vancouver, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
After being encouraged to try cross-country skiing in 2014, Emily demonstrated immediate potential and is now in her third official season on the national team as a development skier, and her fourth full ski race season.
Emily earned her first world championship podium in February 2017 as she helped Canada to a historic bronze in the 4×2.5 kilometre cross-country relay at the Para Nordic World Championships in Finsterau, Germany. It was the first ever world championship medal in the relay for Canada. In total she raced in six events at both the 2017 and 2015 world championships.
Introduction to Cross-Country Skiing:
Emily was introduced to cross-country skiing in the summer of 2014 by the HollyBurn Cross-Country Ski Team coach, Jake Weaver. After that she was introduced to the B.C. Para-ski coordinator, Tony Chin. Emily attended the annual Para-nordic camp in Canmore, and things seemed to fall into place from that moment on.
Age: 29
Birthplace: Oshawa, Ontario
Hometown: Oshawa, Ontario
BIOGRAPHY:
Entering his second straight year on the national team, Andrew Genge only has one goal on his mind : A gold medal at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games. After suffering a stroke at the age of 15 following a horrific Rugby tackle, “Genger” was back on his board only 5 months later, and hasn’t looked back since.
Genge burst onto the competition scene in 2016, where he took home the bronze medal at his first ever para-snowboardcross World Cup event at Big White Ski Resort in Kelowna, BC and took home second place at the Sports Experts Speed Nation Nationals in Chantecler, QC. Self describing his riding style as “chill yet competitive” Genge was named to the national team for the first time in 2017, and he continued to impress with another World Cup bronze, a 4th at the PyeongChang 2018 official test event World Cup, and a pair of top ten finishes at the Big White 2017 World Para Snowboard Championships.
When not riding, he can be found in the gym or on his mountain bike, preparing for his next time on snow.
Age: 20
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec
Hometown: Saint-Sauveur, Quebec
BIOGRAPHY:
Montreal born Sandrine Hamel is definitely a rising star in the Para Snowboard world. Trying snowboarding for the first time at the age of 8, she quickly became hooked to the feeling and adrenaline the sport provided her. Born with a double major scoliosis, she also suffered a paralysed right leg during corrective surgery. When not on snow, you can find Sandrine putting in work in with the punching bag to stay fit.
A member of Quebec’s provincial snowboard team, Sandrine has already garnered some impressive results on the World Cup circuit as she looks to continue to improve and reach her first Paralympic Winter Games.
Age: 25
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Mantoba
Hometown: Arnprior, Ontario
BIOGRAPHY:
In 2014, John Leslie competed at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, his first Paralympics, and posted Canada’s best snowboard result with a seventh-place in the men’s snowboard cross. It was the sport’s official debut at the Games.
Leslie headed to Sochi in a strong position, having won his first career IPC World Cup medal, a bronze, on January 18, 2014 at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Leslie followed that exhilarating milestone by winning a second IPC World Cup bronze medal the very next day, also at Copper Mountain.
At the 2017 World Championships at Big White in B.C., in January 2017, Leslie placed fifth in the banked slalom, his best result in three world championship appearances.
Leslie is currently living in Whistler with his girlfriend Emilie and dog Zak and training full time for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, to be held in South Korea. Leslie has noticed an incredible progression in Para-snowboarding since he started competing, with the sport making appearances at the X Games, Dew Tour, and having the added discipline of banked slalom included in the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games schedule.
A proud product of the small town of Arnprior, Ont, he trained with the Ottawa Akademy Club and Arnprior District High School teams at Mount Pakenham. Leslie raced able-bodied snowboard events for four years with Arnprior District High School. After graduation, his high school coach suggested he try Para-snowboard.
In 2014, he was one of the featured athletes for Petro-Canada’s Face-to- Face TV ad campaign. In 2017, was featured in King Snow Snowboard Magazine “the Drive” series and was a featured athlete as part of CBC Sports’ “Beautiful Bodies” segment.
Leslie has a below the knee amputation, a result of a cancer diagnosed when he was 10.
Age: 27
Birthplace: Wawa, Ontario
Hometown: Wawa, Ontario
BIOGRAPHY:
What do you do when your local hill finally starts renting snowboards, when it was previously a mountain full of skiers? For Wawa, ON’s Colton Liddle the choice was obvious. A recent amputee, Colton made the decision to move to Squamish, BC full time to pursue his Paralympic dream as well as his hobbies of hiking, biking, and climbing.
Coming off a challenging 2016/2017 season, Colton looks to improve his World Cup ranking continue to put in the hard work to make his Paralympic dream a reality.
Age: 22
Birthplace: Barrie, Ontario
Hometown: Barrie, Ontario
BIOGRAPHY:
Alex Massie has already tasted international success in his Para snowboarding career and hopes to make his biggest impact yet at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Massie has practiced snowboarding since his youth but a wakeboarding accident in 2011 resulted in him losing his left leg below the knee, which changed his plans.
Before the accident, hockey was the focus. He spent nine years playing hockey at the “A” and “AA” levels, winning a couple of York Simcoe championships along the way. He was also on the school football team at Barrie North Junior High.
Massie returned to snowboarding after his accident and adapted so well to his prosthetic leg that he decided to pursue a competitive career in the sport. In addition, in 2013, Massie returned football with the Barrie North Collegiate Sr. Wildcats and was a starter on the offensive line.
In 2014, Massie won gold at the Alberta Provincials and the Canadian Para- Snowboard Championships. In 2015 he completed his first full competitive Para-snowboard season.
Massie has consistently maintained himself among the world’s top five, including bronze medals at the 2015 world championships and X Games. In 2016, he captured two more bronze medals at IPC Snowboard World Cup events in Trentino, Italy and again at Big White. To top this, he took silver at the X Games.
In January 2017, Massie was fourth in snowboardcross and sixth in banked slalom at the 2017 world championships held at Big White, B.C.
Age: 38
Birthplace: Weyburn, SK
Hometown: Weyburn, SK
BIOGRAPHY:
Curt Minard burst on to the Para snowboard scene in Febuary 2016, taking home the gold medal in his first ever snowboardcross and banked slalom races, in a pair of NorAMs at Big White Ski Resort, BC. From there, Minard went on to win the Canadian National Championship in 2016, doing so with a broken shoulder to boot. A year later, he defended his national title as a member of the Para NextGen program.
Minard lost a portion of his left hand and wrist in an electrical contact accident in 2008. He was electrocuted with over 14400 volts of electricity with approximately 5 Amps of current, which is about 500% more than most humans can withstand before their bodies shut down. He also had many complications in the hospital, including a bursting artery in his left arm and a pulmonary embolism, both of which almost took his life.
In his first full season, 2016-17, Minard finished sixth overall on the World Cup circuit. He competes in the Upper Limb (UL) category.
Minard served noticed he can contend for a medal at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games when he won the bronze medal in the Snowboardcross on the PyeongChang course at the World Cup final in March 2017, to conclude the 2016-17 season. Minard also posted two top-eight finishes in January 2017 at the Big White 2017 World Para Snowboard Championships.
Age: 32
Birthplace: Edmonton, Alberta
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
BIOGRAPHY:
Michelle Salt was a member of Canada’s first ever Paralympic Games snowboard team that competed at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games. She was the only Canadian in the women’s competition and placed ninth in the snowboard cross. She first joined the national team a year earlier.
Salt lost her right leg above the right knee in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in June 2011. Upon losing her leg, Salt became determined to one day participate in the Paralympic Games. She says, “Snowboarding has always been a passion of mine, so it made sense to turn that love in to a medal someday. It was such an incredible feeling to get back on the board after hearing it may never happen again.”
Salt has maintained herself among the world’s best since Sochi, with three fourth- place finishes at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships. She also concluded the 2015-16 World Cup season with four silver and three bronze silver medals.
When she’s not training, she enjoys other sports such as cycling, wakeboarding and kayaking. She also spends time speaking for STARS and Canadian Blood services as a patient/recipient.
Born: April 26, 1980
Birthplace: 100 Mile House, British Columbia
Hometown: Quesnel, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
James Gemmell, a defenceman, won a bronze medal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games as Canada defeated Norway 3-0 in the bronze medal match.
Gemmell was inspired to play sledge hockey after watching Canada win the gold medal at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy. Soon afterwards, he joined the B.C. Eagles club in Surrey. By 2008, he was on the national team and became the first British Columbia-born player to represent Canada internationally in sledge hockey. He made the team at a National Sledge Hockey Selection Camp in Milton, Ont. Gemmell made his debut at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge in 2008 as Canada won the gold medal.
Born: May 25, 1962
Birthplace: Fort St. John, British Columbia
Hometown: Armstrong, British Columbia
BIOGRAPHY:
Ina Forrest played vice-skip for Canada at the 2017 World Wheelchair Curling Championships in PyeongChang, South Korea in March 2017, as Canada took fifth spot at the tournament. The Canadians advanced to the tie-breaker against eventual champion Norway for a berth in the semifinals, but lost the game 5-4. Still the result was a two spot improvement on its showing at the 2016 worlds.
Their fifth place at the 2017 World Championships earned Canada a berth at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Canada has won three consecutive Paralympic gold medals in wheelchair curling: 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Forrest played vice-skip on Team Canada’s wheelchair curling team that won gold at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games. It was her second consecutive Paralympic crown after a triumphant debut at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games.
Forrest, one of the world’s most decorated wheelchair curlers, was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame at a banquet during Brier week in Ottawa in February 2016.
Forrest has been curling since 2004. In 2006 she was named to the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team that finished fourth at both the 2007 and 2008 World Wheelchair Curling Championships. In 2009 she and her team won the World Wheelchair Curling Championships and Forrest secured a place for herself for 2010.
She has competed at nine straight world wheelchair curling championships.
Obtaining anti-doping knowledge is critical to the success of any high performance athlete, coach, or service provider. This course will cover basic anti-doping concepts from the perspectives of Dietitians, Medical Doctors, Physiologists, and even former athletes to provide learners with a solid foundation of what to look for when navigating this complicated field.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
Securing financial support in most sports does not come easy. This course presents strategies and solutions for athletes to approach, connect, and close the deal with external organizations to help fund their athletic goals.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
A quality nutrition plan is essential to long-term development and ensuring athletes are fueled to perform their best. The Sport Nutrition course teaches high performance athletes and coaches the fundamental principles for creating a comprehensive diet plan regardless of the training and/or competition phase.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
This course teaches athletes and coaches the importance of recovery to the overall training program within high performance sport. The concept of recovery includes nutrition, rest (physical and mental), hydration, and sleep which are all presented in detail through the modules collected within the Applied Performance Recovery course.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
This course provides an overview of some of the most common mental barriers, and how athletes and coaches can power through them. Covered are concepts such as motivation, anxiety, stress, and consistency and include strategies for using each to an athlete’s advantage.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
This course offers a collection of modules introducing athletes and coaches to the principles of Strength & Conditioning (S&C). Beginning with an overview of developing a S&C program and how it is applied to a high performance sport context, the course narrows into specific concepts such as periodization and physical testing.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
Hear from some of Canada’s most experienced and successful high performance athletes, and how they got to the top of their sport. This course features presentations from Olympic, Paralympic, and World Champion athletes covering everything from dealing with sport/life balance to competing at an Olympic Games.
To obtain this certificate, score 100% on the following tests:
The CSI Pacific Podiumcast is a collection of one-on-one interviews between our Athlete Coach Services team and a variety of high performance athletes, coaches, and support personnel.
Listen to each and learn from Canada’s best as they share their wisdom and sport experience with the intention of passing on their expertise and guiding the next generation of great Canadian talent.
Our Podiumcast is sponsored by Endur – A Canadian Performance Sock Company
ADVANCED PRACTICE PLANNING
PISE – 329A/B
Wednesday, May 29th – 8:00am-12:30pm
Cost: $150
Note: Performance Planning is a recommended pre-requisite for this module
For individual training sessions to effectively contribute to the overall objectives of an annual training plan, a coach must understand the outcome of each training session and how their cumulative effects will contribute to athletic development. The Advanced Practice Planning module examines the impact of daily training sequencing and the manipulations that can affect training outcomes.
After completing this module, coaches will be able to:
Think you have learned enough in one of our subjects to show your expertise? Earn a Canadian Sport Institute Pacific Sport Education Certificate by completing all requirements listed!
1. Watch the designated presentations for your course
2. Take the follow-up tests and a earn a grade of 100% on each (you will receive an electronic completion certificate whence you have passed)
3. Submit the required completion certificates to Drew Todd, Athlete Services Lead (dtodd@csipacific.ca)
Occasionally, CSI Pacific plans individual presentations that build on one another creating a mini-series in a particular subject that allows the speaker to go deeper on the topic.
Watch all four parts in our two currently offered mini-series: Mental Performance and Nutrition.
The Sport Performance Speaker Series offers numerous workshops, webinars, and education events throughout the year. Where possible, presentations are recorded and repurposed for additional engagement on-demand.
Here you will find more than 50 such presentations, across eight high performance disciplines, to help educate and support elite athlete development.
Event Description
In this session, athletes will start to plan out their individual competition needs, based on what a competition schedule looks like for their sport. This session will also look at situations where athletes are travelling to competition, or where there may be a lack of access to familiar foods, and how best to adapt their competition nutrition plan.
Speaker Bio
Genevieve Masson works as a Sport Dietitian at Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, supporting elite athletes from a variety of sports including: freestyle skiing, ski cross, snowboarding, luge, cross-country skiing, biathlon, wrestling and softball. Gen enjoys helping the athletes perform at their best through nutrition-based interventions and research.
Genevieve Masson works as a Sport Dietitian at Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, supporting elite athletes from a variety of sports including: freestyle skiing, ski cross, snowboarding, luge, cross-country skiing, biathlon, wrestling and softball. Gen enjoys helping the athletes perform at their best through nutrition-based interventions and research.
PREVENTION AND RECOVERY
PISE – 330A/B
Friday, May 31st – 9:00am-5:00pm
Cost: $180
After taking this workshop, coaches will have the knowledge needed to:
PSYCHOLOGY OF PERFORMANCE
PISE – 329A/B
Thursday, May 30st – 8:00am-5:00pm
Cost: $180
Completing this workshop will allow coaches to:
LEADING DRUG-FREE SPORT
PISE – 329A/B
Wednesday, May 29th – 1:00pm-4:30pm
Cost: $110
After taking this module, coaches will be able to:
MANAGE A SPORT PROGRAM
PISE – 330A/B
Wednesday, May 29th – 8:00am-12:30pm
Cost: $150
As coaches begin to take on more responsibility, they are expected to plan and execute tasks that go beyond the delivery of daily training and the management of the daily training environment. The Manage a Sport Program module provides coaches with the opportunity to plan and interact with program budgeting, setting staff and team expectations, arranging team travel, building athlete agreements, and reporting on athlete/team progress. This module is perfect for any club head coach, provincial team coach, aspiring team manager, or technical administrator.
After completing this module, coaches will be able to:
DEVELOPING ATHLETIC ABILITIES
PISE – 329A/B
Monday, May 27th – 1:00pm-5:00pm
Tuesday, May 28th – 8:00am-5:00pm
Cost: $205
After completing this module, coaches will:
*Includes two-hour online pre-workshop session.
PERFORMANCE PLANNING
PISE – 329A/B
Monday, May 27th – 1:00pm-5:00pm
Tuesday, May 28th – 8:00am-5:00pm
Cost: $200
In order to achieve peak performance, an athlete’s training program needs to be periodized according to the demands of their sport as well as their individual development needs. The Performance Planning module allows coaches to reflect on the structure of a yearly plan and appropriately sequence training and development priorities so as to achieve peak performance.
After completing this module, coaches will be able to:
*Includes two-hour online pre-workshop session.
COACHING AND LEADING EFFECTIVELY
PISE – 329A/B
Sunday, May 26th – 9:00am-4:00pm
Monday, May 27th – 8:00am-11:30pm
Cost: $190
This module gives coaches the skills needed to:
MANAGING CONFLICT
PISE – 329A/B
Saturday, May 25th – 12:30pm-5:30pm
Cost: $150
This module will allow coaches to:
MAKE ETHICAL DECISIONS
PISE – 330A/B
Saturday, May 25th – 8:30am-12:00pm
Cost: $110
By successfully completing this workshop, coaches will be fully equipped to handle virtually any ethical situation with confidence and surety. MED is one of the NCCP’s cornerstone workshops, and leaves coaches with no doubt as to what to do when the going gets tough.
Upon completing this module, coaches will be able to:
*Optional for completion of Sport Performance Coaching Certificate
Harry Jones plays for the National Rugby 7’s team. He captained Canada’s team at the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship in Japan. He also competed for Canada at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels while also playing in the Canadian Rugby Championship for the BC Bears.
Harry is an extremely consistent player on Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team and played in all 10 tournaments during the 2017-2018 season before competing at the Commonwealth Games.
Harry and the National 7’s Rugby Team are currently training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’.
In this Athlete Interview, Harry discusses being in a leadership position on a high performance team, the balances of being an athlete and thinking about the future after sport, and what it’s like battling with injuries during season and overcoming not only the physical aspect of being injured but the mental battle too.
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.
Since 2011, Dr Trent Stellingwerff serves as the Director of Performance Solutions / Innovation & Research at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific (Victoria, Canada).
In this role, he directs 15 different major research projects across different sport performance discipline areas, with 6 PhD to Master’s students involved. He is also the Director of Sport Science & Sports Medicine for Athletics Canada. His primary sport and research focus is via his physiology and nutrition expertise primarily to Canada’s National track and field team.
Prior to this, Trent was a senior scientist in Performance Nutrition for PowerBar at the Nestle Research Center (Lausanne Switzerland). Trent has more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the areas of exercise physiology, skeletal muscle metabolism and performance nutrition and supplementation. Furthermore, he has co-authored 7 book-chapters focusing on the role that nutrition can play in supporting elite athlete performance.
In 2010, Trent was a lead author and presenter for the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Consensus Meeting in Nutrition. Over the years, Trent has attended 3 Olympic Games, 4 Commonwealth Games and 5 World Championships.
Riley Pickrell is a track and road cyclist based in Victoria, BC. Riley is a high school student at Claremont Secondary School as well as at the Canadian Sport School in his grade 12 year. Prior to competing in Cycling, Riley formerly competed recreationally in most seasonable sports including hockey, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, water and alpine skiing and short track speed skating. In 2011 Riley sailed with his family to New Zealand and back. After returning, Riley began competing in cycling.
Over the past 4 years, Riley has competed in five age group National Championships, winning a total of 36 national medals on the road and track. This past summer Riley competed at the Tour De L’Abitibi, a Junior World Cup Stage Race and the Junior Track Cycling World Championships. At the Tour De L’Abitibi Riley Competed for team Canada winning 3 stages and 2 additional podiums. A month later at Junior Worlds, Riley finished the Scratch race in 4th.
Riley shares his ideologies on school balance, the training and social benefits of the Canadian Sport School, an individual’s “happy place” and the personal gains found from selflessness training.
Anastasia is passionate about storytelling, capturing moments and generously sharing her expertise with creatives and business owners as a partner, collaborator and mentor.
As an entrepreneur’s daughter, she’s often felt that business was in her blood and she feels lucky to have waded through a lot of creative confusion early in her career. Anastasia credits her decision to be the photographer she wanted to be, not the photographer she thought she had to be, with defining her authentic photography style and providing so much personal and professional fulfillment.
Later in her career, building a network of people with shared values and interests and being relentlessly loyal, generous and curios opened up a new passion in her for mentoring women. In 2016, she launched two new women-centered businesses.
In reflecting on your profession over the last 2 years of incredible growth, the same thought kept coming back; the thought that she could link the exact path of people and moments that moved her ahead in her career and life to actual experiences or meaningful conversations. Anastasia knew she wanted to pass that on. She wanted to talk and connect, inspire and encourage. With Anastasia Creative, she helps businesses create authentic content and tell fearless stories to connect them with the people who will appreciate their work the most. Talking about branding and values with anyone who will listen, is what inspires her the most.
It’s likely you know at least one person who speaks in hashtags and live posts everything from their training to meal prep. It’s less common to find people actively using social media as a tool to boost their productivity, deepen their creativity, and enhance their careers.
Whether you spend all your time on social media, or avoid it altogether, you may be overlooking an effective tool to plan for success and connect with your community.
This workshop is designed to give you the tools to put Instagram to work for you whether you are a pro user or just need it broken down into simple steps.
We will cover everything from crafting your Instagram bio, to clarifying your visual values, and appealing to your prospective target market…. That is… after defining them.
YOUR INFLUENCE WILL SOAR WHEN THE FIRST PERSON YOU INFLUENCE IS YOU.
This session will focus on putting it all together when it matters … performance on demand. Mental performance strategies and concepts for tapering, travel, managing ‘threats’ to performance, and executing the competition plan will be addressed so to allow for ‘success by design’.
This session will allow the athlete to refine the topics presented in the 2nd workshop (Establishing the Mental Performance Building Blocks). Establishing competition plans & objectives, combined with increasing specificity, complexity, and adversity in training will be explored in relation to helping the athlete refine their mental performance routines and abilities.
This session will help the athlete identify the mental performance building blocks and create the blueprint to set the tone and course for the season to allow for ‘success by design’. Strategies around self-awareness, motivation, lifestyle management, injury & health management, focused & purposeful training, developing mental performance routines, and characteristics of excellence will be explored.
This session will explore the challenges and strategies that athletes can face when moving into the off season, including reduced training loads, changes to daily routines, lack of structure & accountability, and involvement in other life / social activities. Strategies around debriefing and decision-making to maximize the benefit of the transition phase with health, wellness, and performance as part of the framework.
Bruce has worked as a mental performance consultant in a variety of contexts for over 20 years. Sport, Health & Injury Rehabilitation, Education, & Business.
Sport: Bruce has worked with teams and athletes ranging from Olympic / National to Provincial / Regional, and down to grass-roots local youth sport participants. Through this he has enjoyed being part of the fabric of success at all levels, and being a part of Team Canada at a variety of major events, including the Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, and numerous World Championships and other international events.
With over 450 medal performances at international events by athletes he has supported, Bruce has an excellent background in helping athletes and teams excel and achieve optimal performance. Areas of focus include mental preparation routines, mental resiliency, team dynamics, injury management (mental performance perspective), performing under pressure, performance consistency, high-performance lifestyle routines, and athlete wellness.
One of the best ways to learn in sport is to hear the stories and lessons from the athletes that came before. Brittany Waters represented Canada over a ten year career on both the women’s rugby 15’s team and the 7’s team, bringing home world cup silver medals in each world cup event.
Join us this July 26th at 6pm to hear anecdotes and personal points of view from an athlete that went as far as she could go in her sport. Brittany is now taking her experience as an athlete and transferring her skills into becoming a very successful coach for the University of Victoria; also hear how her experience as an athlete has helped to shape her coaching philosophies and what she looks for in her current athletes.
Do not miss this chance to learn from a very real experience!
Brittany Waters is the head coach of the University of Victoria (UVIC) Women’s Rugby Program. Brittany recently retired from the National Senior Women’s Team this past September after a ten year career with the program. Brittany has competed in five World Cups, including the 2013 7s World Cup and 2014 XVs World Cup where Canada earned silver medals.
Brittany first started playing rugby at UVIC in 2005 and played out her five years of eligibility there. She returned to UVIC in 2012 as an assistant coach while training with the centralized 7s program. In 2015 Brittany took over as head coach and has since helped lead the team in winning two CanWest Championships and a National 7s Championship.
Coaching at UVIC and playing rugby at the National level simultaneously for over three years has provided Brittany with a greater understanding of the athlete/coach dynamic. This experience has provided her a unique look at both the athlete and coach perspective, and has helped her to become a better athlete and coach.
With increased stress on the body comes the risk of illness and possibly injury. This session will focus on ways nutrition can help protect you and help with your recovery from injury or illness.
This session will outline dietary strategies for athletes to help them match their increased training demands. The focus will look at adjusting carbohydrate, protein and antioxidant rich foods to maximize energy availability and training adaptations to support health and performance. Although this session will focus on food first solutions, discussion will look at situations where a tested sport supplement may be necessary
This session will explore the challenges that athletes can face when moving into the off season, when training load is significantly reduced. Nutrition strategies addressed will include periodizing nutrition, optimizing satiety, mindful eating practices, and recognizing hunger cues. Recommendations from this session can also be used during taper periods before competition.
Ashley is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialists in Sport Dietetics, with a degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from Acadia University, and a Masters in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Sydney, Australia. Over the past several years Ashley has been working at the Canadian Sport Institute in Victoria, working closely with the National Men’s and Women’s Rugby 7’s team as well as with Triathlon Canada and within the National Mountain Bike program through Cycling Canada.
Beyond the performance support she provides athletes, Ashley is dedicated to their short- and long-term health. While immersed in rugby, she took a keen interest in the role of nutrition on brain health and concussion recovery. She has developed post-concussion recovery protocols for both rugby players along with other high risk athletes. Ashley is currently involved in a research project alongside Texas Christian University examining the role of DHA in sub-concussion injury risk in elite men’s and women’s rugby players.
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).
An amazing opportunity was given to Sean when he was given the opportunity work for Plan B Skateboards, and he took his experience to California to manage the worlds most elite team of professional skateboarders. He worked with athletes such as Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez, Colin McKay and many more. His role expanded as he took more responsibilities, executing athlete, and brand marketing initiatives internationally.
In 2010 Sean left his role as Team Manager to focus on his ever growing passion for high-performance coaching. Since then the athletes he’s worked with have won X-Games gold medals (Ryan Sheckler), Dew Tour Championships (Ryan Decenzo), and broke the Guinness World Record for the highest ollie (Aldrin Garcia).
His experience with elite athletes, global marketing strategies, and a social media savvy complemented his transition into the literary world, where he wrote his first book Five Weeks in the Amazon, following a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Sean can now be found spending his time between British Columbia and California, coaching Canada’s top professional skateboarders as they pursue their dreams to be the best skateboarders they can be.
Breanne Watson is a former four-year letterwinner and four-year starter for the Washington Huskies…member of back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams as a junior and senior…ended her career with 861 career points, 492 rebounds…three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection…tallied 36 career double-figure scoring games which ties for 26th in UW history…named MVP of two regular season tournaments in her career – the 2004 WBCA BTI Classic and the 2006 Basketball Travelers Husky Classic…averaged 10.0 points in all NCAA tournament games played…represented Canada at two World University Games in Daegu, South Korea (2003) and Izmir, Turkey (2005)…upon graduation from Washington, Watson went on to have a successful professional basketball career in Europe.
Currently, as Associate Athletic Director at Simon Fraser University, Breanne provides leadership to Canada’s only NCAA school. In this role Breanne oversees 30 full and part-time coaches, 17 varsity sports and 400+ student athletes – in addition to managing responsibilities for day to day operations, varsity budgets, event scheduling, presentation and team travel.
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.
For over a decade, Danelle has worked as mental performance consultant with several national sport teams via the Canadian Sport Institute – Calgary, and currently through the Canadian Sport Institute – Pacific. Along with teaching sport psychology part-time at Camosun College, Danelle works collaboratively with parents, individual athletes, teams and coaches on mental preparation strategies for optimal performance and wellness in sport.
As an athlete, Danelle grew up competing in soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track and field. She is a three-time Xterra World Championship Medalist, a former Professional Mountain Bike Racer and NCAA Division One Collegiate All-American in Track. During her off-road triathlon career Danelle competed for the Luna Pro Team between breaks to give birth to her now 10-year old daughter and 7-year old son. Competing into motherhood, Danelle has also been an advocate for mom’s to stay active and even competitive after having children.
In her spare time, Danelle enjoys blogging on topics related to motherhood, sport and performance psychology at www.danellekabush.com. She currently resides in Victoria BC, Canada.
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.
As a coach, Jennifer holds the following certifications: