Provincial Development Program

Overview

The Triathlon Ontario Provincial Development Program (“PDP”) consists of four main areas. The overriding objective of the Program is to support and prepare athletes and coaches for long term success in draft legal racing at the national and international levels.

The four areas the Program focusses on are as follows:

1) Racing Environment

2) Coach Education and Development

3) Training Environment

4) Education and Event Support

Racing Environment

Having a provincial series available for all demographics within the development pathway is critical for the development of tactical, technical and emotional skill sets necessary to be competitive in national and international racing.  Ontario is one of three Provinces that has developed a provincial draft legal racing program.  The ability to experience draft legal racing early and in “your own back yard” can not be over stated.  Triathlon Ontario’s series is one of the most competitive and provides exceptional race experiences to developing athletes as young at 14.

The PDP oversees the running of and operations of the following relevant provincial competitions: Youth Cup Series, Junior Cup Series, Elite/U23 Series, Ontario Summer Games, Youth Club Championships, Draft Legal Provincial Championships and if applicable, Canada Summer Games.

Coach Education and Development

The Program actively supports and promotes the pursuit of professional certification and education through the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). This is done by overseeing the execution and certification of the program in the province and assisting with accessing financial support through the Coaching Association of Ontario. As well as by working with individual coaches to offer mentoring opportunities and other professional development opportunities where possible.

Training Environment

There are two primary areas where the Program works to improve and enhance athlete’s opportunities for daily training environments.

1) Club Support – The Program has access to resources and services that not all current clubs do. The Program runs targeted, specific training and education opportunities that are open to any athlete and coach in the province to participate in at little to no financial cost. These opportunities include access to nutritional and mental strength seminars, experts in specific fields like swimming or running during camps or clinics, track certifications.  The Program also provides training camps and training days throughout the Province that provide opportunities for athletes to train together in larger groups and be exposed to coaches with International coaching experience in multisport and single sport arenas.

2) Team Ontario – Team Ontario is a full service training program run by the province according to national and provincial training and development. Team Ontario operates within the Provincial Development Program to bring International Triathlon experienced coaching to athletes and mentor coaches across the province.  Team Ontario provides a daily performance environment for athletes training out of it’s centres, in addition to providing programming support for athletes who do not have youth triathlon infrastructure in their community.  The coaching staff is NCCP Competition Stream certified and provides planning, organizing and assessment of the camps and clinics operated through the PDP.  These programs are based on the sports best practices and operated with support through our sport science partners.

Education and Event Support

The PDP is involved in a number of other areas that help supports athletes, parents and coaches.  These areas include:

• Developing resource materials and a resources library accessible to anyone in the province located on the website.
• Oversee and standardize the draft legal certification process
• Provide direction and support to understand the Triathlon Canada’s policies such as the SMARTABASE system, and athlete information and tracking.
• Guide athletes on International racing accreditation including International Competition Card and Pre-Participation Exam. Both required by World Triathlon and Triathlon Canada to race outside Canada.
• Allocate provincial grant/funding, if available.

The Provincial Development Program (PDP) is built on an Athlete Development Model (ADM) based on analysis of the sport of triathlon along the full development pathway working with our partners to develop and implement a system that provides athlete’s with an understanding of the demands of the sport from community level to International level competition.

Since 2014, Triathlon Ontario’s Provincial Coach has worked closely with Triathlon Canada in many ways to ensure that Ontario athletes and Triathlon Ontario’s mandate is heard at the National level.  The Provincial coach also sits on TC committees that are developing training and assessment policies for national programs and athlete development, currently he is leading the development of an Athlete Skills Matrix for Triathlon Canada’s updated Long Term Athlete Development Model.  As one of only three Master Coach Developers in the country, he has certified numerous Provincial coaches through the National Coaching Certification Program.

Since 2009, Triathlon Ontario’s Provincial Coach has had over 25 International Coaching assignments through Triathlon Canada and Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) including World Championships, Pan AM Games and Regional Championships, World Cups and WTCS events.  This experience has provided an exceptional understanding of the how the sport has evolved and how the technical, tactical and physical demands of the sport at the top levels of the sport do not always align with our Provincial level competition.  It is this insight that guides the programs structure and delivery.

Athletes need to be prepared and to execute in one to two hour events in what has become an global sport, with the need to travel to three or four different parts of the world. Successful athletes need to be problem solvers and independent learners and need to be able to make informed choices in training as well as in life.   For over 20 years Triathlon Ontario’s Provincial Coach has specialized in developing Youth/Junior and U23 programs with a single focus on the draft legal pathway, working with athletes who have stood on the podium at Provincial and National Championships, World Cups and World Championships.