Canadian Sport Institute Ontario – TORONTO (July 4, 2016) – Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) would like to congratulate the 9 canoe/kayak athletes nominated to the Canadian Olympic Team and the 2 canoe/kayak athletes nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Team for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

Five of the nine paddlers named to the Olympic Team are from Ontario:

 

Sprint

• Adam van Koeverden, Oakville, ON

• Mark Oldershaw, Burlington, ON

• Kathleen (KC) Fraser, Toronto, ON

Slalom

• Cameron Smedley, Dunrobin, ON

• Michael Tayler, Ottawa, ON

The three sprint athletes – four-time Olympic medallist Adam van Koeverden, Olympic Bronze medallist Mark Oldershaw, and KC Fraser, named to the Olympic Team all receive integrated support services through CSIO. CSIO staff working with canoe/kayak include Chris Chapman and Andrew Cochran (Strength and Conditioning), Will George (Sport Biomechanist) and Christine Dziedzic (Sport Nutritionist).

 

On the Paralympic side, Erica Scarff of Toronto, ON is one of two paddlers named to the Paracanoe Team. At only 19 years of age, Erica is an emerging star in the sport having placed seventh and sixth at the 2015 and 2016 World Championships. Paracanoe is one of two new sports (the other is para-triathlon) added to the 22-sport 2016 Paralympic Games summer program.

 

CSIO through its Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative, or OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program has provided both KC and Erica with support during various stages of their career development pathway.

 

First Name	Last Name	Events	OHPSI (NEXTGEN – Ontario)
Kathleen	Fraser	K2 500m	2010, 2011, 2012
Erica	Scarff	KL 3 200m (Para)	2016, 2017

 

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 canoe/kayak through coaching and technical leadership support to NEXTGEN Ontario Coach Rob Stott and Ontario Canoe Kayak Sprint Racing Affiliation’s Technical Director, Ryan Blair, who is also a graduate of CSIO’s Advanced Coaching Diploma program. Through the OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program canoe/kayak has received enhanced sport science and medicine support program for targeted athletes including Biomechanics, Nutrition, Sport Medicine, Physiotherapy, Physiology, and Strength and Conditioning services. OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) has also provided funding and leadership support for training and training camps, as well as competition support to enhance race experience and international exposure.

 

QUOTES:

 

“Canoe Kayak Canada has a long history of producing Olympians from Ontario and this year is no different. Getting athletes to the Olympic level is no random exercise, but fundamentally based on the expertise of a coach-led support team. We have been very fortunate to have been supported by CSIO at both the NextGen and Podium levels with significant guidance in the areas of strength and conditioning, nutrition and sports medicine. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our relationship has been the new collaborations through NextGen and OHPSI. Partnering on coaching, facilities and now new areas like performance analysis has made for a highly productive relationship with not just CSIO but, by extension, Ontario’s Canoe Kayak Sprint Racing Affiliate. We suspect that this “performance partnership” will only yield more Olympic nominations in the future.”

 

Scott Logan

Sprint High Performance Director, Canoe Kayak Canada

 

 

“Canoe Kayak Ontario – Sprint is very fortunate to partner with the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, Canoe Kayak Canada and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in our OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program.  The program has supported our targeted athletes and coaches with leadership, professional development for our coaches, sport science and sport medicine, competition and training camps support. Ontario targeted athletes have had tremendous success at the Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships.  With the nomination of OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) supported athletes Kathleen (KC) Fraser and Erica Scarff to the Olympic and Paralympic Team we now can add the highest level of international competition to the list of athlete successes in the program.

On behalf of the athletes and coaches I want to thank the CSIO staff for your dedication in enhancing our potential for international podium performances.”

 

Ryan Blair

Technical Director, Ontario Canoe Kayak Sprint Racing Affiliation

 

 

“CSIO believes that through the integration of sport science and sport medicine into the daily training environment, and support through elite coaching and technical leadership there will be unparalleled opportunities for the next generation of international performers. Canoe Kayak is a sport with a rich history of medal performances by Ontario athletes, and this year’s Olympic Team is stacked with talent. All the best in Rio!”

 

Tommy Wharton

Director, High Performance Sport, CSIO

 

 

“CSIO wishes to congratulate all of the paddlers named to Team Canada for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We look forward to watching our Ontario athletes compete on the world stage and the debut of paracanoe in the Paralympic programme. We are very proud of our partnership with Canoe Kayak Canada; Canoe Kayak Ontario; Ontario Canoe Kayak Sprint Racing Affiliation; the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Sport Canada; and Own the Podium, and 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