LTAD CONFERENCE: CANADIAN SPORT SHARING Holiday Inn, Gatineau Ottawa January 2006

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1 LTAD CONFERENCE: CANADIAN SPORT SHARING Holiday Inn, Gatineau Ottawa January 2006 INTRODUCTION Richard Gordon (Scottish Swimming director of Coaching and Development) was invited to take part in and present to the LTAD Conference: Canadian Sport Sharing by Dr Istvan Balyi (world expert on LTAD). The purpose of this report is to outline the key discussion and findings from the conference. BACKGROUND On 5 August 2005 the Federal, Provincial and Territorial ministers with responsibility for sport in Canada announced the endorsement of LTAD as the way forward for Canadian Sport (Appendix I). Since this announcement a team of five experts have been pulled together to produce generic LTAD plans for able bodied (copy available on request) and disabled sport (copy available on request) in Canada and to advise and assist Canadian governing bodies to produce their own sports specific LTAD plans. The five experts are: Dr Istvan Balyi (World LTAD expert and advisor to Pacific Sport Centre) Richard Way (High Performance expert) Charles Cardinal (former Volleyball National Coach and University Volleyball Coach) Colin Higgs (Academic and expert in disability sport) Steve Norris (Academic, Canadian Swimming Board member and high performance advisor to Canadian Skiing first sport to produce LTAD plan in 1997) The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), following an invitation from Sport England, worked with Dr Istvan Balyi in 2002/3 to produce the swimming LTAD plan. This was endorsed by British Swimming in 2003 and formally supported by Scottish Swimming in Since this time, both the ASA and Scottish Swimming have progressed to looking at ways of implementing the swimming LTAD framework through club development, teacher/coach education and the competition framework. OUTLINE OF THE CONFERENCE Approximately 15 delegates attended the two day conference. There were representatives of 47 Canadian governing bodies, several multi-sport agencies i.e. Canadian Commonwealth Games, Sport Canada and various disability bodies, and the Provincial and Territorial Governments. 30 sports are currently going through the LTAD planning process, which began in mid 2005, and it is planned for a further 15 supports to start the planning process. There is approximately $500,000 over three years for the planning process. Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 1

2 It appears to be widely acknowledged that Canadian Sport is strong on planning, but weak on implementing these plans. The programme for the two days was as follows: Day 1 - Welcome and Introduction - Sport Canada update - Richard Key: LTAD gathering momentum progress so far - Sports reports basketball, athletics, cycling, rowing, volleyball, swimming - Keith Tomlins (England and Wales Cricket Board): English Cricket s LTAD plan - Sports reports speed skating, snowboarding, diving. - Wrap up Day 2 - Colin Higgs No Accidental Champions (disability generic LTAD) - Donna Kaye (Athletics Canada): FUNdamentals run, jump, throw programme - Either Istvan Balyi & Charles Cardinal: LTAD 101, starting the LTAD process, Or Group discussions on LTAD challenges and opportunities - Richard Gordon (Scottish Swimming): LTAD implementation - Feedback from Group discussions on LTAD challenges and opportunities - LTAD questions to expert panel - Wrap up GENERAL COMMENTS The conference was very well attended. There was a lot of enthusiasm and some excellent ideas being shared. There is much to be gained in bringing people together to share past or current experiences in implementing a project. The conference allowed me to meet a number of people without having to travel across Canada! The sheer size of Canada has often led to communication problems, however, the LTAD project is using a members/password protected website ( to good effect to share information, both within sports and between sports. This has reduced the amount of travel and helped to breakdown barriers. This is something that sportscotland or the Scottish Sports Association should provide for governing bodies in Scotland. Or it could be something that Scottish Swimming considers for clubs and/or local authorities. There was a very strong feeling that LTAD was the right way to go for Canadian sport. It appears that Sport Canada want to empower governing bodies, which have in the past been mandated by Sport Canada and the Canadian Government to deliver only high performance sport, to develop an LTAD framework that will achieve active lifestyles, increased participation and success in high performance sport. The generic LTAD framework is designed to assist system alignment so that there is greater integration of health and education with sport and physical activity. It was stressed by Sport Canada on a number of occasions that LTAD is something that the Federal and Provincial/Territorial politicians appear to understand, therefore it was regarded as a very powerful tool. Overall, LTAD planning in Britain appears to be at a more advanced stage than that of Canadian sport. However, within approximately 1 year this position is likely to change. There will be more sports with LTAD models in Canada than Britain. It should be noted Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 2

3 that the LTAD planning process was led by Sport England and has been embraced positively by all of the sports council and Sportscoach UK, with the possible exception of sportscotland. Although it is supposed to be the foundation for the proposed Sports Partnerships (formerly Regional Sports Partnerships). There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the person leading LTAD planning in Scotland has, with a group of academics from Edinburgh University, tied to sabotage and rubbish LTAD. (This was stated to me in three separate conversations with three different people). Istvan Balyi reported to me that he was particularly upset that the Long Term Player Pathway document, produced by sportscotland, had copied extensively material that he had produced without any acknowledgement. Although he stated that he was committed to working with governing bodies in Scotland on the LTAD planning process, he would review this should there continue to be the same level of resistance. I believe that this would be to the detriment of those Scottish governing bodies that do not have a LTAD model or access to an English/British model. It was pleasing to note that British Swimming and Scottish Swimming appear to be ahead of the game in terms of the implementation of the UKCC and LTAD principles. Also the redevelopment of the Learn to Swim programme and Awards scheme, the redevelopment of SwimMark, the production of SwimGym and the proposed development of the SwimSkills programme. There are two areas that should be reviewed in future. These are the competition framework in Scotland and the relationship with disability swimming. SPORT CANADA The programme for the two days began with an address from Tom Scrimger (Director General, Sport Canada). He gave an update on the review of Sport Canada that is being undertaken internally. Sport Canada business from January 2006 will focus on the following five areas: Policy and planning Sport support Sport excellence Major games and hosting Business orientation It appears that Sports Canada has suffered from constant reviews over the past years. As part of the current review it is intended that some governing bodies will be able to go onto longer term funding i.e. 3-4 years cycle rather than the previous 1 year funding cycles. However, governing bodies through the Sport Funding and Accountability Framework will have to demonstrate that they have the necessary governance measures in place. The funding for the Canadian Sports Centres (0ne per province/territory) focusing on sports development and high performance sport is also subject to review and is linked to a review of high performance sport being undertaken by Dr Roger Jackson (Canadian Olympic Association). This has not yet been completed, but it is expected that there will be improved co-ordination and increased funding for high performance sport leading to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada and a Commonwealth Games bid for There was very strong support for the Canadian LTAD model of: Active Start FUNdamenatals Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 3

4 Learning to Train Training to Train Training to Compete Training to Win Active for Life. It is likely in future that Sport Canada will be directing funding to enable governing bodies and other organisations to deliver sports LTAD frameworks. LTAD PROGRESS SO FAR Richard Way, who is acting as Project Director outlined the progress that had been made to date: 30 sports undertaking the LTAD planning and sport buy-in process, having received the LTAD 101 presentation. 15 sports about to start the LTAD planning process and sport buy-in process, with the LTAD 101 presentation due to be made at the conference. SPORTS REPORTS Specific reports on progress were provided by Basketball, Athletics, Cycling, Rowing, Volleyball and Swimming. The reports focused on the process that was being undertaken to produce the sports specific LTAD models. The most interesting were Athletics and Swimming for different reasons. The presentation from athletics focused on how they were linking the LTAD process with the process of re-developing their National Coach Certification Programme (NCCP). It appears that the NCCP process came first with the LTAD following about 6 months behind. Athletics was urging other sports to hang back on their NCCP re-development until they had produced their LTAD model. There was general agreement that LTAD needs to be reflected and inform a sports coach certification programme. This has led to tensions with the Coaching Association of Canada, who is responsible for managing the NCCP re-development. Athletics Canada had ensured that the person responsible for LTAD planning was also the person responsible for planning the re-development of their NCCP. The presentation for swimming was made by Andrew Moss. He has been seconded to Swimming Canada from Swim British Columbia to undertake the LTAD planning process and produce the LTAD model for swimming in Canada. Unfortunately, the presentation from Andrew was the most disappointing of all the sports presentations. It covered generalities rather than specifics and did not convey a feeling that the process of producing the LTAD model was being embraced by the wider swimming community in Canada, particularly club coaches. One of the main problems is that a number of coaches think that they have seen and heard it all before when Orjan Madsen presented to the Canadian Swim Coaches Association conference in It will be interesting to see how this develops further, particularly with a new CEO (Pierre Lafontaine), who is very high performance focused and less focused on development and Steve Norris (on of the LTAD experts) being elected for a further two years to the Board of Swimming Canada. What was very clear is that Swimming Canada is part way through the re-development of their NCCP and it was not clear how far they were down the road to producing their LTAD model other than it had not yet been produced. Canadian Swimming was interested to Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 4

5 note that Scottish Swimming had combined the areas of LTAD implementation and coach education in one department. They agreed that this was a model that they should be pursuing. ENGLISH CRICKET Keith Tomlin had been invited to present the England and Wales Cricket Board experience of developing their LTAD model for English Cricket. The experience in developing their LTAD model was similar to that of swimming. English cricket is continuing to develop LTAD resources and look at ways of delivering the LTAD framework. Interestingly, their LTAD framework does not appear to have informed their club development framework. Whilst there are several thousand cricket clubs, a decision has been made to work with 1000 Focus Clubs, through the PE School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) programme that is funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (England only). These are the clubs that English Cricket sees as the main vehicle for the development of cricket in the community and then onto County Cricket clubs. SPORTS REPORTS Specific reports on progress were provided by speed skating, snowboarding and diving. These are all sports where Canada is a Top 3 world nation. The purpose of these presentations was to show that even successful sports need to plan for continued success which they were doing by working on producing their LTAD models. A number of the presentations pointed other governing bodies to a communication and training product called elluminate ( An initial look at the product suggests that it could be useful for coach education. LTAD FOR PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY A copy of the slides for this presentation is available on request. The presentation introduced the document: No Accidental Champions Long Term Athlete Development for Athletes with a Disability, which is available on request. Whilst this document is still in draft it is unlikely to change too much. Interestingly, in a discussion with Colin Higgs he stated that his experience was that when a mainstream (able-bodied) governing body takes responsibility for the disability element of a sport, the recruitment of people with a disability into that sport (i.e. the Awareness/Active Start, First Contact/FUNdamentals and Learning to Train) declines, but the performance of the athletes already in the sport (i.e. Training to Train, Training to Compete and Training to Win) improves. The opposite occurs when it is a disability specific organisation that has responsibility for the disability element of a sport. ATHLETICS CANADA - RUN JUMP THROW CANADA PROGRAMME Athletics Canada introduced its Run, Jump, Throw programme as their FUNdamentals stage and argued that athletics was an ideal sport to develop FUNdamentals. Interestingly, Istvan Balyi introduced the presentation by stating that athletics, gymnastics and swimming were the three sports that were best placed to deliver FUNdamentals and Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 5

6 that these should be used to produce a FUNdamenatals curriculum that primary schools should be encouraged to deliver. The presentation was particularly interesting because Athletics Canada have used Dartfish software to instruct coaches as to good practice and teaching points when delivering basic athletic skills such as running, jumping, throwing, etc. It appears from a discussion I had with Keith Tomlins (England and Wales Cricket Board) that similar, but not the same, software is available in the UK and that there is a wider range of FUNdamenatal movement skills offered as a teaching aid. An initial review of the software revealed that there are no swimming skills included. This could be an opportunity for Scottish Swimming to develop a partnership with Tacklesport (Consultancy) Ltd ( - the company that has developed the software) to provide a valuable teaching/coaching aid based around the delivery of the Scottish Swimming skills matrix, which has been used to re-develop the learn to swim programme and will be used to develop the swimskills programme. This could then become a core resource for the delivery of the UKCC to teachers and coaches at level 1 & 2. LTAD 101 A copy of the slides for this presentation is available on request SCOTTISH SWIMMING LTAD IMPLEMENTATION A copy of the slides for this presentation is available on request. GROUP DISCUSSIONS The group discussions identified a number of LTAD challenges and opportunities. These are attached as Appendix II. There was some discussion on how they might be tackled. Suggestions will be put on the Sportsweb.ca for all governing bodies to access. BEYOND THE CONFERENCE I had a meeting with Canadian Swimming outside of the LTAD conference. They appear to be quite an insular governing body that focuses (at the moment) just on high performance swimming rather than the whole swimmer pathway. It will take them some time (>5 years) to turn this around. I spent about 5 hours quizzing them on a variety of issues. It is clear that we have done a number of things that they are very interested in i.e. child protection procedures (they don't have any!), club development and the learn to swim programme). As well as making renewed contact with Dr Istvan Balyi and his LTAD colleagues, I have made some very useful contacts: Steve Norris (Canadian Swimming Board member, Director of Strategic Planning and Physiology at the Canadian Sports Centre in Calgary, expert in altitude training) and friend from college. Pierre Lafontaine (CEO, Swimming Canada). Ken Radford (Director of Technical Operations, Swimming Canada). Andrew Moss (LTAD contact Swimming Canada) Ian Curry (Director of Games, Canadian Commonwealth Games). He was head coach at Warrender Baths Club in the late 70s, early 80s. He then went to work for Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 6

7 the Coaching Association of Canada (which runs the NCCP) and now the Canadian Commonwealth Games association. He is a close friend of Hammy Smith! Finally, I met with the Coaching Association of Canada (John Bales, CEO) to discuss the NCCP and the changes that they are making. They are moving towards qualifications that are based on competencies i.e. the application of knowledge, and there were a number of parallels to the UKCC. They confirmed that there have been tensions between the LTAD planning process and the revisions that are being made to the NCCP and that these were largely as a result of timing. Governing bodies tend to be holding back on their NCCP redevelopments until their LTAD model is in place. The new NCCP structure will have 8 certificates as follows: 1 Community Sport 1.1 Initiation 1.2 Ongoing participation 2 Competition: 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Development 2.3 High Performance 3 Instruction: 3.1 Beginners 3.2 Intermediate Performance 3.3 Advanced Performance CONCLUSION The trip to Canada was extremely useful because I believe that it has helped to confirm that: Scottish Swimming is pursuing the right path in implementing LTAD. Scottish Swimming is in front of developments in Canada, particularly the planning and implementation of LTAD principles by Swimming Canada. The issues faced by Canadian Sport are similar to those faced in Britain i.e. updating coach education. The planned development of coaching and coach education for British Swimming appears to be more comprehensive than that of Canadian swimming, includes CPD and licensing. Swimming Canada have outsource coach education and coach membership to the Canadian Swim Coaches Association (CSCA), but are looking at how that can now be pulled back or the partnership renegotiated. The issues faced by swimming clubs in Canada are similar to those in Britain and Scotland. The biggest single issue is access to water time at the appropriate times, despite there being significantly more 50m pools! Scottish Swimming has implemented, or will be implementing, a number of programmes that Canadian swimming appear to be interested in. Finally, it should be noted that the visit to Canada has cost Scottish Swimming nothing! It has been funded from Canadian LTAD planning funds and the fee paid to me as a speaker. Richard Gordon Director of Coaching and Development 19 January 2005 Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 7

8 Appendix I Press Release Communiqué Conference of Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Ministers identify sport and recreation infrastructure as top priority. REGINA, August 5, Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation identified sport and recreation infrastructure as their number one priority during their annual conference in Regina on August 4 and 5. Improved infrastructure will advance sport and physical activity in communities across the country while addressing critical health challenges and strengthening Canadian communities. Ministers recognize the direct connection between physical activity, sport participation and healthy communities with the provision of, and access to, sport and recreation infrastructure. Ministers directed officials to develop by November 30, 2005, the parameters of a long-term national approach dedicated to sport and recreation infrastructure based on information shared between jurisdictions and to be implemented bilaterally between the Provincial/Territorial Governments and the Government of Canada. The findings of the Conference Board of Canada report entitled Strengthening Canada: The Socio-Economic Benefits of Sport Participation in Canada were presented to the Ministers. The report outlines the positive effects of sport participation and physical activity on economic performance, health, skills development, and social cohesion. The Ministers concluded that health promotion through physical activity, sport and recreation, in conjunction with the education system, needs to be better integrated in each jurisdiction in order to maximize the benefits for Canadians. They will encourage the development of mechanisms from the community level to the national level that will facilitate better collaboration and improve program efficiency. Recognition of this priority was reflected in the First Ministers' Meeting of September 2004, when they gave their collective support to the integrated strategies, such as Healthy Living, development of Public Health goals, and advancing work on Healthy Schools.* Ministers affirmed their leadership role as key partners in the efforts to promote the health of Canadians through physical activity and sport participation in Canada. Provincial and territorial Ministers adopted a resolution urging the federal Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 8

9 government to commit to multi-year bilateral agreements on physical activity, starting as soon as Given that physical inactivity costs the Canadian health care system at least $2.1B annually, Ministers have committed to continuing work under the Collaborative Plan of Action, in support of the goal of increasing by at least 10 percentage points the number of active Canadians.* In addition to ongoing monitoring of physical activity levels, Ministers have agreed to build on the success of the F-P/T SummerActive campaign, directing officials to develop a complementary WinterActive program.* Ministers agreed to proceed with the implementation of a new approach to sport and physical activity development called long-term athlete development (LTAD) in consultation with national, provincial and territorial sport organizations. Through the development of physical literacy (fundamental skills such as throwing, running and jumping), the LTAD models will help to develop a lifelong involvement of Canadians in physical activity and sport participation as well as developing future athletes. Ministers, together with the national sport community, set out performance targets for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. These national performance targets call for Canada to rank as the top country in medal count at the Olympics and in the top three countries at the Paralympics. Ministers have agreed to work with the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee so that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are truly Canada's games. Ministers expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the Canadian Sport Policy and governments progress on the federal, provincial and territorial priorities for collaborative action over the period The next step in its implementation will be the establishment and implementation of a new set of actions for These new actions will contribute to increased participation and success of Canadian athletes at major international events, and fulfill Canada's vision of becoming a leading sport nation. Ministers endorsed the Canadian Coach and Sport Leadership Mandate that will enhance coaching development for the benefit of Canadians of all ages participating in organized sport for recreational purposes or competitive levels. Ministers agreed to work towards achieving the establishment and support of national and provincial/territorial governing bodies, respectively responsible for Aboriginal sport, physical activity and recreation. The Ministers also agreed to review the Canada Games program to consider equity and access for meaningful inclusion of Aboriginal peoples, in the context of long-term athlete development principles. On the Canada Games, the Ministers agreed that the existing framework was outdated and directed officials to prepare recommendations by June 2006 for a new financial framework that will ensure a better relevance to current and future fiscal environments, as well as a new hosting rotation cycle. Ministers extended their best wishes to the athletes participating in the 2005 Canada Summer Games, starting tomorrow in Regina. They also acknowledged 2005 as the Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 9

10 International Year of Sport and Physical Education as declared by the United Nations. The next meeting of Ministers is scheduled for June *While concurring with the objectives of these initiatives, Quebec is pursuing the implementation of its own action plan in these sectors. Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 10

11 Appendix II LTAD CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNTIES Partners with Other Sectors LTAD cross-sport challenges and opportunities - where can expertise from one sport help another can NSOs lead the formation of club partnerships at the local level during from Active Start to Training to Train. Cross sport declarations (partnerships) - gymnastics becoming freestyle aerialists. LTAD the complete continuum. How do we engage other sport service providers who are more engaged in Active Start and FUNdamentals? Beyond NSA/PSO/Club structures to schools, curriculum, camps, social services organisations, municipal/provincial/territorial government, public health, early childhood, physicians, etc. Education and Awareness Parent Advocacy for Physical Literacy how do we get the parent to understand LTAD and then champion it locally. Educating parents regarding LTAD benefits buy in support to coaches. Club accreditation and standards Canadian Clubmark. Early Stages Multi-sport how to move to creating good athletes first and then good players. Acrobatic sports early specialisation. Over-competition in individual early stages. Over-competition in individual early stages. Linkages to sports & PE in regular school Learning to Train. Engine sport Training to Train. School and Sport School sport and LTAD what is the role and how can we get them on board? Sport Training to Train national curriculum s based on LTAD factors. Sports considering the need for full-time European Training to Compete and Win in order to prepare their athletes for the rigours of professional sport. Athletes with a Disability LTAD integrating the Para component. Bringing the Athlete with a Disability sections to life at all stages. Coaching LTAD new NCCP linkages. Coaching tools (resources) all stages. Long term Coach Development. Capacity LTAD linkages with funding and accountability model. Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 11

12 LTAD implications to NSA/PSO governance. As Training to Train is making or breaking the athlete, how can NSOs ensure all P/TSO buy in and become champions for LTAD in their justification. LTAD implications to PT sport development and accountability. LTAD and Own the Podium impact now and impact later. Team Sports common issues arising from the LTAD process. Measuring success: How are we going to measure the success of LTAD implementation within our sports? What are the markers for measurement and what degree of changes should we be looking at and over what period of time? LTAD communicating the concept, implementing the model and creating the culture and consistent language use across sport. LTAD implementation within provincial/territorial multi-sport Games and Canada Games, re-aligning for relevance. Aligning all Games with LTAD (Provincial, Canadian, Pan American, Commonwealth Games, Olympics, Paralympics). Sustainability as organisations modify or create new programmes to meet LTAD goals, what new revenue models are needed to ensure sustainability in lieu of government funding? Inter-organisation co-ordination: Agreements (contracts) between NSF, PSO, clubs, training centres, etc to facilitate co-ordinated LTAD implementation. Community capacity: What is the current readiness for, and how can we strengthen and support community level implementation of LTAD? Richard Gordon (Director of Coaching and Development) 12