Canadian Sport Institute Ontario – TORONTO (July 7, 2016) – Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) would like to congratulate the 26 rowers nominated to the Canadian Olympic Team for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Twelve of the 26 rowers, and 3 alternates, named to the Olympic Team are from Ontario:

• Will Crothers, Kingston, ON
• Rob Gibson, Kingston, ON
• Susanne Grainger, London, ON
• Jennifer Martins, Toronto, ON
• Natalie Mastracci, Thorold, ON
• Conlin McCabe, Brockville, ON
• Cristy Nurse, Georgetown, ON
• Nicolas Pratt, Kingston, ON
• Tim Schrijver, Thedford, ON
• Lesley Thompson-Willie, London, ON
• Eric Woelfl, St. Catharines, ON
• Carling Zeeman, Cambridge, ON

Alternates

• Ashley Brzozowicz, Omemee, ON
• Matthew Buie, Duntroon, ON
• Kate Sauks, Owen Sound, ON

CSIO works closely with Rowing Canada Aviron and it’s National Training Centre in London, ON, the home of the Women’s National Team and Lightweight Class programs. A world-class daily training environment, CSIO staff are embedded in training program offering services to the following Rio-bound athletes:

• Women’s Eight
  • Caileigh Filmer
  • Susanne Grainger
  • Natalie Mastracci
  • Cristy Nurse
  • Lisa Roman
  • Christine Roper
  • Lesley Thompson-Willie
  • Antje von Seydlitz
  • Lauren Wilkinson

• Women’s Single
  • Carling Zeeman

 

• Women’s Pair
  • Jennifer Martins
  • Nicole Hare

 

• Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls
  • Lindsay Jennerich
  • Patricia Obee

 

• Lightweight Men’s Four
  • Brendan Hodge
  • Maxwell Lattimer
  • Nicolas Pratt
  • Eric Woelfl

CSIO staff are a vital part of the athletes integrated support team (IST), providing sport science and sport medicine services to the National Team programs in London. The athletes and their coaches have access to CSIO expert practitioners including Ed McNeely and Jordan Clark (Strength and Conditioning, Physiology), Christine Dziedzic (Sport Nutrition), and Will George (Biomechanics and Performance Analysis).

CSIO through its Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative, or OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program has provided six of the rowers with support during various stages of their career development pathway. These rowers are:

First Name	Last Name	Events	OHPSI (NEXTGEN – Ontario)
Carling	Zeeman	Women’s Single	2011
Eric	Woelfl	Lightweight Men’s Four	2011
Jennifer	Martins	Women’s Pair	2011
Pascal	Lussier	Men’s Quad	2012
Maxwell	Lattimer	Lighweight Men’s Four	2011, 2012
Tim	Schrijver	Men’s Four	2011

OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) is a program designed by CSIO and funded by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS), to provide sport science and sport medicine services to athletes who are best capable of achieving future international success on senior national teams in targeted winter and summer sports. The OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) investment also contributes to funding athlete participation in training camps, international events, coach and technical leadership support and enhancing sports’ daily training environments.

CSIO has provided ongoing assistance to rowing through coaching and technical leadership support to Row to Podium Coaches Carol Love, Paul Beedling, and Brent Figg; ROWONTARIO High Performance Director, Mike Purcer; as well as previous support for the newly named U23 National Development Coach, Phil Marshall. Through the OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program rowing has received enhanced sport science and medicine support program for targeted athletes including Biomechanics and Performance Analysis, Physiology, Sport Nutrition, and Strength and Conditioning services. OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) has also provided funding and leadership support for equipment purchases, training and training camps; as well as competition support to enhance race experience and international exposure.

QUOTES:

“CSIO continues to be a major partner in Rowing Canada Aviron’s continued drive to be a top performing Olympic sport. Over half of this year’s recently announced Olympic Team athletes have been touched by the great support and expertise that CSIO practitioners provide. From nutrition, to strength and conditioning, physiology, biomechanics and so on, CSIO is integrally involved in the preparation of our athletes for the Games. The success of any athlete involves a lot of background support and the CSIO is a major provider of that support.  Just as importantly, CSIO is also supporting our NextGen Row to Podium program to discover and prepare the next generation of Olympians. The support network being provided by CSIO in that space encapsulates their commitment to the future of high performance sport in Canada.”

Peter Cookson

High Performance Director, Rowing Canada Aviron

“The OHPSI program (NextGen Row to Podium) has been a true game changer for our sport in the Province of Ontario. The quality of Ontario athletes being named to the National and Olympic teams continues to increase each year and this is evidenced by the number of medals received at the 2015 Pan Am Games Regatta and the number of Ontario athletes going to Rio in 2016. Just as important as athlete impact, is the impact on our coaching development programs. In 2007, ROWONTARIO, in partnership with CSIO, was able to hire Phil Marshall as the provincial coach through the PEP program, the pre-cursor to OHPSI. Through the OHPSI program, in partnership with Rowing Canada Aviron, ROWONTARIO and CSIO, Phil was promoted to National Development Centre – Ontario Lead Coach, and in 2016 was named as one of the Olympic Team coaches going to Rio as coach of the

Women’s Pair. CSIO support for our athletes and coaches, has been, and will continue to be, a critical component of our success on the international stage.”

Derek Ventnor

Executive Director, ROWONTARIO

“CSIO is extremely proud of the partnership with Rowing Canada Aviron and ROWONTARIO. At the Senior National Team level and the High Performance Athlete Development Team level, this collaboration is often described as a “best in class” performance partnership.  The ground-breaking Row to Podium program that had its launch in Ontario is a fantastic example that highlights true system alignment and a commitment to international excellence for quadrennials to come. Congratulations to the Rio bound athletes and coaches, and congratulations to all of the other coaches and support staff that have worked tirelessly to assist the athletes in their quest for the Olympic podium. All the best in Rio!”

Tommy Wharton

Director, High Performance Sport, CSIO

“CSIO wishes to congratulate all of the rowers named to Team Canada for the Olympic Games. We are very proud of our partnership with Rowing Canada Aviron; ROWONTARIO; the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Sport Canada; and Own the Podium, and of having our staff working closely with the women’s and lightweight class programs. We look forward to cheering on the athletes at the Games!”

Debbie Low

Chief Executive Officer, CSIO 

About Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) is a non-profit organization committed to the pursuit of excellence by providing world-class programs, services, and leadership to high performance athletes and coaches to enhance their ability to achieve international podium performances. CSIO offers athletes a range of sport science and sport medicine services including nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength & conditioning, mental performance, sport therapy and life services. CSIO also delivers programming and services to National and Provincial Sport Organizations and coaches to work towards building a stronger sport system in Ontario and Canada.

CSIO services approximately 700 high performance athletes and 250 coaches, at its main facility at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, its satellite location at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, and in daily training environments across Ontario. CSIO is part of a larger network of 4 institutes and 3 multi-sport centres across the country known as the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, working in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee. CSIO is further supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Sport Canada, Own the Podium, and the Coaching Association of Canada, along with the National and Provincial Sport Organizations within the sector.  www.csiontario.ca

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Media Contact:

Laura Albright, Senior Communications Coordinator

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario
Tel: 416.596.1240 Ext. 238

Email: lalbright@csiontario.ca

www.csiontario.ca