The Association of Canada’s National Team Athletes Building a stronger future for Canadian high performance athletes

1. The Association of Canada’s National Team AthletesBuilding a stronger future for Canadian high performance athletes June 12, 2009CIS Annual General Meeting

2. Overview of Presentation • Who is AthletesCAN? • What does AthletesCAN do? • Programs & Services • Partners • Building Partnerships • Bridging the Gap • High performance athletes excelling in Canadian Universities • Preferred Class Registration • Overview of Research & Survey Results • Next Steps

3. Who is AthletesCAN? • AthletesCAN is the association of Canada’s national team athletes and was the first fully independent and inclusive national athlete organization of its kind in the world. • All athletes who are members of Canada’s national teams or athletes who have retired in the past eight years from a national team, are considered members of AthletesCAN

4. Mandate As the voice of Canadian national team athletes, AthletesCAN ensures an athlete centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture. What does AthletesCAN do?

5. Programs & Services • Bell Athletes Connect Program • $10 million annually • Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund • $1 million since inception • Dale Carnegie Speaker’s Training • Free for senior national team athletes ($2000 value) • The Sport Solution • Free legal advice on sport related issues

6. Programs & Services • AthletesCAN Forum • Annual flagship event • The largest and most inclusive gathering of Canada’s national team athlete representatives outside of competition • Provides the opportunity to bring together Canada’s high performance athletes to network with others, share ideas, learn about the sport system and develop leadership skills through interactive workshops and panel sessions

7. Our Partners • Sport Canada • Canadian Sport Centers • National Sport Organizations • Multi-sport Organizations • CIS • Founding Partners • Bell Canada, Investors Group, Dale Carnegie Business Group • Sponsors

8. Building Partnerships Commonalities • Membership • Leadership • Achievement / Excellence / Community Involvement Potential synergies • Mentorship • Engaging CIS / AthletesCAN Alumni • Education • Leadership Manual, Forum

9. Bridging the GapHigh performance athletes excelling in Canadian Universities • Identified need for a standardized system providing early/preferred class registration for high performance athletes • High number of Canada’s national team athletes training in the NCAA system due to current support systems in place

10. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Preliminary Research Component • 52 CIS universities contacted via email • 35 universities responded • 2 universities refused to be surveyed

11. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Preliminary Research Component • 10 universities reported an early/preferred class scheduling system for varsity athletes • ONLY3 of which are currently incorporating high performance athletes registered with Canadian Sport Centre within those systems • 26 universities reported no early/ preferred scheduling system for athletes • 4 universities believe such a system is unnecessary due to understanding academic directors and professors • 6 universities are currently in the discussion/ implementation process

12. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Preliminary Research Component • 1 university reported an identification system that registers athletes into requested classes • 2 universities have athletes register with 4th year/graduate students • 2 universities pass information through coaches rather than written policy • 2 universities do not promote the system due to negativity from student body • 3 universities reported positive feedback and support for the early/preferred registration system • 1 university uses the system as a ‘selling feature’ for recruiting purposes • 1 university cannot open registration to athletes without opening the system to the whole student body due to technical capacity issues

13. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Survey Component - Scope • Level of competition, study and program • Training commitments • Time, location, travel • Current registration experience • Issues, effect on forecasted graduation date, training and competition schedule, area of study • Suggestions, areas of need

14. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Survey Component - Results • 87 respondents total • 69 respondents attending 24 CIS universities • 16% have experienced preferred registration systems as a high performance athlete while 30% have experienced these systems as varsity athletes • Level of Competition • Varsity (36%), International (96%) • 88% of respondents are studying at the undergraduate level • 33% of respondents are part time due to scheduling conflicts

15. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Survey Component - Results • Training time • Early Morning (39%), Morning (41%), Noon (12%), Afternoon (68%), Night (46%), Late Night (12%) • Class time • Morning (72%), Noon (64%), Afternoon (55%), Night (25%) • 60% of respondents can only schedule classes around training less than 50% of the time • 64% then experience training/class schedule conflicts more than 50% of the time

16. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Survey Component - Results • 58% of respondents say their forecasted graduation date has been delayed due to scheduling conflicts • 76% feel that preferred class registration is important to their high performance training and academic experience • 57% state that preferred class registration would influence their decision on which university to attend

17. Preferred Class RegistrationOverview of Research & Survey Results Survey Component – Results • Team can't all practice together due to class schedule conflicts • Last pick of classes due to part time status • Very few class time options as they often conflict with training • Classes available at a good time are usually full • Distance to training centers often increases likelihood of scheduling conflicts

18. Next Steps What can WE do? • Work together to create a best practice system for early/preferred class registration for high performance athletes • Promote as Canadian alternative to NCAA and win/win situation to student population and institution’s character in support of ‘well rounded’ excellence factor • Recognize the importance of CIS universities in an athlete’s high performance development both on and off the field of play (THE ATHLETE’S DO!) • Make high performance athletes a priority within your sport program • Represent an extremely valuable role model for current and potential student athletes

19. Next Steps What’s in it for you? • Higher retention of Canadian athlete ‘hopefuls’ • Reducing the # of athletes selecting NCAA programs • Raise profile and attractiveness of your institution for recruiting purposes • Provide your current and potential students with the most effective ambassadors - successful high performance athletes and products of your institution

20. THANK YOUwww.athletescan.com