Champion Article – Freestyle Canada

The five disciplines of Freestyle Skiing – Aerials, Moguls, Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air – excite spectators with their gravity-defying skills, but put athletes in situations with high-risk for concussion. In this environment, education and awareness around concussion prevention and management is critical. Learn more about how Freestyle Skiing Canada empowered their athletes through “a…

Tennis Canada’s Covered Courts Program – Driven By Data

Tennis Canada’s mission is to lead the growth of the sport in the country. That mission can only be accomplished with more individuals playing more tennis more frequently. However, to increase participation rates, one important barrier needs to be addressed – winter. Enter Tennis Canada’s Covered Courts Program. This article discusses how Tennis Canada leveraged…

Para Cycling

Para cyclists compete on bicycles (sometimes modified for prosthetics), tandem bicycles (for athletes with visual impairments), handcycles (used by amputee and paraplegic athletes), and tricycles (for athletes with impairments affecting their balance and coordination). Para cycling begins today at the Parapan American Games! Learn more about para cycling and follow the competition on the Canadian…

If you build it, those with vouchers will come

In 2015, the Town of Milton, Ontario, constructed the $56 million Mattamy National Cycling Centre, which hosted the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games’ track cycling competitions. The Mattamy National Cycling Centre is the only indoor 250m cycling track velodrome in Canada. Milton hoped that staging the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games would enhance the visibility of…

Wimbledon Tennis Balls

During Wimbledon, 53,000 tennis balls will be used. According to International Tennis Federation rules, every ball is hand-tested for its bounce, weight and compression, stored at 68°F, and replaced during a match after the first seven games, then every nine games. Used balls are sold, with proceeds going to the Wimbledon Foundation. Click here for…

Carbon Fibre Bikes

Listening to your friends boasting about their carbon fibre bikes, and wondering what all the fuss is about? Carbon fibre has revolutionized bike frame design, enabling the manufacturing of frames that are lighter, stronger and in more complex shapes. This video from the Global Cycling Network (GCN) explains the science behind the material and takes…

Compression stockings

Designed to apply pressure to the lower legs and enhance blood circulation, compression stockings are a relatively new technology in sport performance. A study measuring agility and lower limb muscular endurance amongst female athletes after a soccer match found the compression tights reduced fatigue-related muscle damage. This suggests compressing stockings could provide a significant performance…

Winning bias and uniform colour

Does the colour of your uniform bias your chances of winning? In judo, a white judogi has been commonly considered a disadvantage because it was thought to be more visible, allowing athletes in blue to better evaluate and anticipate the movement of their (white) opponent. However, research now suggests that a winning bias is attributed…

Curling Brush Head Technology

In 2016, after a season of controversy, the World Curling Federation (WCF) and Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) investigated the effects of curling brush head technology on ice surfaces and their potential effects on where stones come to rest. During three days of testing, the NRC’s ice and materials technologies experts analyzed various manufacturers’ broom…

Snow-making Science

With unreliable weather and the holiday season approaching, Canada’s approximately 275 ski areas may be putting their snow making equipment to work. Mounted high on towers or kept mobile on wheels, snow guns are capable of spraying 100 gallons per minute of snow across the slopes. Learn more about the science behind making snow in this article about Lutsen Mountain in…