For many years, high performance sport has lost large contingents of athletes to post secondary education.
Talented alpine racers, cross-country skiers and biathletes who weren’t identified by national team programs at an early age would frequently leave sport for college or university, bleeding depth and potential from the nation’s top teams.
However, a new pilot project in Canmore could stem the tide and give athletes a balanced approach while training in the Bow Valley.
Members of the Winsport Junior Cross-Country Ski Team are now able to further their education while pursuing their ski career thanks to a new partnership with Bow Valley College. Through the partnership, athletes aged 17-19 are able to upgrade high school marks, take correspondence university and college courses with local academic support and integrate their long-term training plans with long-term education plans and careers.
The six-person Winsport junior team is the first to create a formal partnership with the college, however, the program could also work with the Canmore Eagles, Biathlon Alberta Training Centre and other junior teams.
“We’re trying to create a mechanism. If athletes want to go to school at the University of Calgary or take online courses, teachers here can help. They can proctor exams and help with distance learning. Athletes can go in and get help with some of their programs,” said team head coach Eric de Nys.
When the Winsport team was designed, the goal was to create a location for athletes who had finished high school, but weren’t quite ready to graduate to a high performance training centre. It’s been a gap in the ski program for years, and when targeting teenage athletes, education was a must for the program.
“If the athletes choose to do it, it’s there. They can do one or two courses. It’s an important outlet from ski racing. If you have a bad training day or race, you have something else you can sink your teeth into, and come back the next day ready and excited,” de Nys said.
Through the use of an academic advisor, Bow Valley College staff will create education plans designed to work in sync with athlete training plans. Much of the work will be online, however, the college will provide assistance for students picking courses and completing work.
Other ski training centres have access to extra-curricular education, so this program will help equal the playing field, de Nys said. Thunder Bay skiers partner with Lakehead University, University of Alberta Augustana campus has Canada’s only biathlon program and the Nakkertok ski club in Ottawa has agreements with Carleton and the University of Ottawa. Alex Harvey, Canada’s top cross-country skier, is pursuing a law degree at Laval University while skiing on the world cup. Teenage athletes train three to four hours a day, so they should still have time for academic pursuits.
According to Winsport junior ski team chair Christine Hicks, the program fills several needs in the local athletic community.
“When athletes come to Canmore, a lot of them want to pursue post-secondary education while they’re here. They’re not sure where their ski or biathlon careers will be, and they don’t want to put education on hold. It’s important those athletes have opportunities to pursue, which also keeps them in the ski system,” Hicks said.
“A lot of athletes, particularly the junior athletes, need something else in their lives. It’s a healthy, holistic program … it helps them mentally, and helps them with their skiing.”
Canadian teams have a varied approach to education. Generally, carded athletes receive one year of paid post-secondary education for every year they’re on a national team. Alpine Canada, however, has begun to use the U.S. college system with several of its skiers.
Canmore’s Trevor Philp, for example, raced the world cup, Olympics and NCAA last year. de Nys said some cross-country skiers have gone that route, but haven’t returned to skiing at the top level.
The Bow Valley program is still in its infancy, so there are still many kinks to iron out, but thus far all sides are excited about the prospect.
“This year is a bit of a pilot project. We started with a small number of students because we wanted to make it manageable. The exciting part is the potential it has. If it continues to grow, there are all sorts of opportunities for post-secondary work. That could be video conference courses at the University of Calgary, or co-ordinating athlete courses in the city,” de Nys said.
Bow Valley College program co-ordinator Jane Neil said they’ve already had success with student athletes. One student interested in police work was connected to the local RCMP, and is now pursuing the required courses online.
“They’re great. They’re already well trained in setting goals. They are motivated. It’s great to have that age group in college. We now have 18 to 25 year olds in campus,” Neil said.
