Provincial Development Program

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.  The PDP created and 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.

Ontario is one of only three Provinces in the country 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 a competitive and thriving series, providing exceptional race experiences to developing athletes as young at 14 and through its prize purse, offers U23 athletes additional funding opportunities.

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 providing all clubs, coaches and athletes access to online seminars with Integrated Support Team members currently working with Team Ontario in areas such as Mental Performance Skills, Nutrition, Injury prevention and Self Care.  The PDP also offers training camps and training days throughout the Province, offering 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 best practices in training and development philosophies.  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:

• Develop resource materials and a resource library of tools, manuals and videos accessible and used by people across the country located on the website.
• Created and implement a safe and standardized draft legal certification process
• Provide support to navigate the national SMARTABASE system, International Competition Card process, national ratified time submissions, pre-participation exams selection policies and other requirements to race outside of Canada
• Participate in national committees that develop training and assessment policies for national programs and athlete development (currently the Provincial Development Coach is leading the development of an Athlete Skills Matrix for Triathlon Canada’s updated Long Term Athlete Development Model)
• Contribute to the national development program by way of certifying coaches in Ontario and other provinces through the NCCP program (our Provincial Coach is one of only three Master Coach Developers in the country).
• Allocate provincial grant/funding, if available.

In 2022/23, the PDP allocated funding support in the following ways:

1. Developed the following event funding support grid, which financially supported 15 athletes.

Eligibility Requirements

• U23 or Junior aged athletes as of the 2022 season
• Current Triathlon Ontario member
• Ineligible if a nationally/developmental carded athlete

Events and Funding Amounts

• World Championships – Top 15 Finish $1,000, Selection $500
• Continental Championships -Top 10 Finish $750, Selection/Participation $300
• Junior North American Championships – Top 5 Finish $500, Participation $200
• Nationals – Podium Finish $250

2. Purchased international race suits for approximately 20 U23 and 3^rd and 4^th year junior athletes planning to race internationally in 2023.

3. Subsidized a number of specialized camps, training days and seminars available to all development athletes, parents and coaches.

4. Lent two sets of carbon wheels (wheels, tires, cassettes, disk brakes) to two Ontario-based juniors for the 2023 season at no cost.

5. Purchased lactate testing strips for three NCCP Competition Certified Coaches.