LTAD/ Competition Structure

1. LTAD/ Competition Structure May 2, 2008 Presentation to the Synchronized Skating Community Hélène Gagnon

2. Our History • 1957 – “Precision” skating was born • 1976 – First international Participation of Canadian teams • 1977 – Canada host first International competition • 1982 – 500+ Teams in Canada!!! • 1983 – First Canadian Championships – and the first National Championships in the World! • 1994 – Short program introduced for Senior (1995 for Junior) • 1994 – First international competition sanctioned by ISU – hosted by Canada. • 2000 – First official World Championships in Minneapolis (Canada = Silver) • 2003 – Canada Hosts the World Championships in Ottawa (Canada = Bronze) • 2007 – Canada Hosts the World Championships in London (Canada = Bronze) • 2008 – We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the National Championship

3. Sport Canada Mandate: All sports must develop a detailed LTAD which is designed with the principles of athlete centered development. When design is completed, a sport-specific system of competition must be established that matches the competitive needs of developmental athletes at key stages. Competition is defined as sanctioned, scheduled competition which contributes to standings or a ranking or qualification and / or leads to a championship. This would not include exhibition games or competitions of less importance which do not affect ranking, standings or qualifying.

4. What is LTAD? Building the Future (the 6 pillars of LTAD) Sport Canada has tasked all NSO’s to review: • Participant/athlete development • Competition structure • Coaching • Leadership • Sport facilities • Sport medicine and sport science

5. The LTAD stages can be categorized as follows: The GENERAL Sport Canada Model: The first 3 encourage physical literacy/ fundamentals) and sport for all: 1.   Active Start 2.   FUNdamentals 3.   Learning to Train The next 3/4 focus on excellence: 4.   Training to Train 5.   Training to Compete 6.   Training to Win The final stage encourages life-long physical activity: 7.   Active for Life • See LTAD illustration of an individual’s participation in lifelong physical activity, emphasizing the transition from the first 3 LTAD stages to either excellence, life-long participation in the same sport, or remaining active for life in another activity.

7. Skate Canada’sLTAD Model: Active for Life Active for Life

8. Who fits where?Singles/ Pairs/ Dance:

9. Who fits where?Synchronized Skating: Synchronized Skating is categorized as a LATE SPECIALIZATIONsport

10. LTAD: Learning to Skate OVERVIEW: • Focused on FUN • Learning basics of all disciplines • Well structured program and an introduction of skills is the main focus. Competition is of little importance • Currently: CAN Skate programs/ Pre-Juvenile level

11. LTAD: Learning to Skate ASSESSMENT: • Synchro in the CAN Skate program is not well used in the country • Pre-Juvenile represents 22% of all Synchro teams in Canada • Pre-Juvenile teams in every section • Programs need to be shortened and simplified to allow for reasonable cost to participation while maintaining balance between other sports and other disciplines

12. LTAD: Learning to Train OVERVIEW: • Continued balance between skating and other sports • Multi-discipline within skating – still doing STAR Skate • Introduction to good training practices – on and off ice • Single peak season – one major competition • High training/ Low performance schedules • Low focus on ranking, high focus on skill development

13. LTAD: Learning to Train ASSESSMENT: • Currently: Festival Juvenile, Festival Pre-Novice • Every section has some teams within the categories in this level • Good level of training time allows for continued skill development in other disciplines and other sports

14. LTAD: Learning to Compete OVERVIEW: • Implement training programs to optimize skill development • Major fitness development • Most growth spurts fall in this category of training • Sport Specific training 6-9 x’s per weeks (including complementary activity) • Beginning to have more focus on synchro specific goals • Balance between training and performance • Single/ double peak

15. LTAD: Learning to Compete ASSESSMENT: • Currently Competitive/ Festival Novice, Festival Open, Festival Junior, Competitive Adult, some Festival Adult • Generally program in these categories is aligned with the athlete development model • Confusion with the Festival and Competitive Novice categories • Athletes at this level seem to be training at appropriate amounts of time • Current balance between Performance & Training matches the guidelines • More teams in these categories would assist development

16. LTAD: Training to Compete OVERVIEW: • Sport Specific work – focused on the synchronized skating discipline • Specific training 9-12 x per week • Overall on-ice and off-ice focused training • Advanced mental skills • Multiple peaking competitions • Season with more performance opportunities than other levels

17. LTAD: Training to Compete ASSESSMENT: • Currently: Competitive Junior, Competitive Senior • Performing at the same rate as those in “Learning to Compete” – should be performing or competing more at this level • Should be accessing more ice time at this level then current practice • Off-ice programs are well-rounded in the current teams

18. LTAD: Learning/ Living to WIN OVERVIEW: • Total focus on high performance • Fine tuning of physical capacity • Development of advanced skills • Integrates all aspects of training and performance enhancement • Multiple periodization • Sport specific training 9-15 x per week • High focus on performance in yearly plan

19. LTAD: Learning/ Living to WIN ASSESSMENT: • Currently – absent from program • Theoretically this should be the focus of the World Team • Club structure currently limiting the ability of coaches and athletes to access all the enhancement programs required to dominate and focus on winning on the world stage • Insufficient mechanism to bring together the athletes & staff with the skills and commitment necessary to train at this level – we have the people, they are scattered.

20. LTAD: Active for Life OVERVIEW: • Focus is on physical activity – regardless of age or skill level • This works better if the athlete has gone through programs in at least “Learn to Train” in any sport • Place for athletes moving from competitive sport to recreational activities • Participants transfer from one sport to others • Level of competition depends on the participant

21. LTAD: Active for Life ASSESSMENT: • Currently Festival Pre-Novice and all of the Adult categories • Goals and objectives of these categories are not clear • Age categorizations are not completely consistent • Adults have great difficulty in accessing ice time

22. LTAD: Summary Assessment

24. Revising the Program Healthy Athlete Development in Synchronized Skating

26. NO CHANGES NEXT YEAR! CHANGES WILL BE EFFECTIVE 2009-2010 !!

27. Role of Competition in LTAD • Ultimately the goal is to create athletes with the skills necessary to compete – but competition should not interfere with skill and athlete development • Generally in sport it has been noted that “Competition is a good servant but a poor master” in athlete development

28. Role of Competition in LTAD • Important issues about competition structures in all sport in Canada: • Competition structures are EXPENSIVE • Traveling from one end of Canada to the other is more than traveling all of Europe! How many parents do we bankrupt before they even know if their child has the passion or aptitude for success? • “Talent gets excluded” • Along the path from Learning to Skate to Living to Win – how many ways do we currently exclude talent? Do we exclude talent too soon? • Developmental athletes over-compete and under-train • Developmental outcomes are compromised for competition outcomes too early in development • Current systems tend to be about tradition more than about athlete development “This is the way we have always done it!”

29. Issues to be addressed(according to Sport Canada) • Competition to Training Ratios • Competition Structure • Qualifications to compete • Development of technical and performance skills

30. Competition/ Training Ratios • Sport Canada Recommendations Training/ Competition Ratios: § - “competing” includes competition focused training. • Needs to be validated for synchronized skating

31. DEVELOPMENT MODEL MAJOR CHANGES Maximum Team size will be at 16 except for the adults category I, II and III which will be at 20 The label festival and competitive are removed The two novice categories are merged together The test requirements are removed Open is now only one Free program

32. Remember: • Learning to Skate – focused on fun • Learning to Train – focused on developing skills • Learning to Compete – introduces competing “when it counts” but balances that with continued development of skills • Training to Compete – focuses on competing consistently • Learning/ Living to Win – focuses on being an adaptable athlete who can make the strategic and tactical decisions to win on the day.

33. LTAD: Revised Model

34. Ages & Team Sizes

35. Elements per level

36. Development Model

37. Development Model Learning to Compete & Training to Compete

38. REGIONALS 5 REGIONALS ARE CREATED Mountain: British Columbia/Yukon Section, Alberta/NWT/Nunavut Section Prairie: Saskatchewan Section, Manitoba Section Ontario: Northern Ontario Section, Western Ontario Section, Central Ontario Section, Eastern Ontario Section Quebec: Quebec Section Atlantic: New Brunswick Section, Prince Edward Island Section, Nova Scotia Section, Newfoundland & Labrador Section

39. HOW TEAMS QUALIFY FOR CANADIANS? The final result in each Regional event shall determine the competitors eligible to enter the equivalent Canadian qualifying competition Each Region is eligible to enter one team into each event at the Canadian qualifying event For every 15,000 registered associate members in the sections included in the Region, an additional team may be entered into each event at the Canadian qualifying. The number of sustaining members shall be determined by the membership year September 1 to August 31 of the year preceding the Canadian qualifying event For each team that place in the top five at theprevious Senior Synchronized Nationals event the Region of the team section will be granted an additional entry (or entries) into the respective Canadian qualifying round.

40. Example: • Plus – five more entries to allocated to regions by event according to the results of the previous Canadian Championships • Eg. If at 2010 Canadian Championships the results for the Intermediate category are as follows: • CO, (2) WO, (3) NL, (4) QC, (5) AB • Then the 5 additional entries for the next Intermediate category would be: Atlantic +1, Quebec +1, Ontario +2, Prairies +0, Mountain +1

41. TRANSITION YEAR Since the categories are changing from season 2008-2009 to 2009-2010 it would be impossible to put in the rule of the top five gets an extra spot for Canadian. For the 2009-2010 season only, each region will be allow 2 teams as a base (instead of the 1) into each event at the Canadian qualifying event.

42. NO CHANGES NEXT YEAR! • CHANGE PROCESS: • Consultation with the synchronized skating community has been on-going for over 12 months • Revisions to draft circulated in August, 2007 have been adjusted to address much of the feedback received, and the final LTAD analysis and development • Successful implementation relies on a FIXED model with at least 12 months notice to the community before implementation • Feedback from presentation at Nationals (January 2008) received and model have been adjusted to address some of the concerns. • Presenting final model to Skate Canada Board (April 12,2008) • NO CHANGES WILL TAKE PLACE FROM April 2008 UNTIL THE END OF THE 2009-2010 SEASON! The committee will accept feedback during the 2009-2010 season and will evaluate any revisions as necessary. • Suspension of the actual rules at the May 2009 Skate Canada Board • Amendments to be presented at the AGM of May 2010 CHANGES WILL BE EFFECTIVE 2009-2010 !!

43. MOVING FORWARD • In order for Canada to move to a system that is more athlete centered and encourages healthy development, we must all be willing to look forward, all accepting that everyone must compromise a little.

44. Discussion Points/ Questions? THANK YOU!