Rowing Canada Aviron – RCA recently announced that the Sport Law & Strategy Group (SLSG) submitted its final report and recommendations for the long term National Training Centre (NTC) and Facilities strategy.
 
The NTC & Facilities Strategy Review also provided valuable information to RCA’s High Performance Leadership Team and Senior Coaches for determining the optimal training environment for National team athletes from 2018-2020.

The guiding principles in determining RCA’s Short Term NTC Strategy (2018-2020) are:

• Train the ‘Best with the Best’ – in priority boats with the best chance of medal success
• Develop a ‘critical mass’ of athletes in training 
• Program proximity – maintain transparency and consistency in National Team selections (same day, same location, same environment, against benchmark crews) 
• Ensure alignment to the NTC Review key criteria and recommendations
• Develop appropriate transition timelines for athletes 

The High Performance program held two athlete-briefing sessions on April 12^th in London, Ontario and Victoria, British Columbia to discuss and share decisions relating to the 2018-2020 Short Term NTC Strategy.

In summary, the key decisions and timelines are:

From the 8^th of October 2018:
2018 Senior Sport Canada Athlete Assistance Program recipients (Senior carded athletes) will be required to train from a designated NTC in the Victoria, BC region (Elk Lake, Shawnigan Lake & Quamichan Lake).

From the 1^st of January 2019:
2019 Senior Sport Canada Athlete Assistance Program recipients (Senior carded athletes) will be required to train from a designated NTC in the Victoria, BC region (Elk Lake, Shawnigan Lake & Quamichan Lake).
 
Note: 2019 Athlete Assistance Program Senior Carded Athletes will be confirmed through National Rowing Championship (NRC’s) performances in November 2018.
 
Senior Carded Athletes will be centralized in the Victoria region and training in the daily performance environment in the lead up to Tokyo 2020. RCA will assist athletes during the relocation and transition phase. Relocation support is available for carded athletes through Sport Canada.
 
With respect to High Performance programming in London, ON, RCA’s NextGen HUB at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) will continue to operate from the Lake Fanshawe Boathouse with dry-land training conducted on UWO’s campus. As part of the support for that program, RCA will continue its ongoing 4-year lease of the Fanshawe Lake boathouse. RCA’s High Performance Program continues to focus its attention and commitment in growing its overall footprint in Ontario, which significantly increased in 2017 through the introduction of RCA’s NextGen Strategy and the rollout of three NextGen HUBs within Ontario. 
 
On April 20-21, 2018, the RCA Board of Directors will review the SLSG final report and discuss strategies to address the long-term (2020 & beyond) NTC Plan. The outcomes of these discussions will be communicated to the NTC athletes, key stakeholders and the rowing community.
 
Iain Brambell
High Performance Director
Rowing Canada Aviron