Acadia University and Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic announce partnership

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - Acadia University and the Department of Athletics have formed a partnership with Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic (CSCA), designating Acadia's Athletics Complex and the coming Stevens Centre by the CSCA as a satellite centre for the training of elite athletes in Nova Scotia.

The Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic’s mandate is to assist Atlantic Canada’s athletes and coaches in achieving their optimal performance.

“The CSCA is pleased to work with Acadia University to provide leadership in training the region’s top athletes.  Our partnership will ensure that dedicated physical training expertise will be provided to identify athletes and coaches who may develop to be provincial team athletes and even future Olympians and Paralympians.” states Ken Bagnell, President of the CSCA.

Acadia’s Director of Athletics, Kevin Dickie and Bagnell have had ongoing discussions regarding a partnership since the spring of 2011. Partnering with the CSCA will allow athletes from Windsor to Yarmouth the opportunity to receive the same level of physical preparation for their sport as they do at the CSCA’s primary training centre in Halifax.

Dickie, pointed out that the distinction of having Acadia University designated as a CSCA satellite centre is an important step in creating national awareness of Acadia Athletics. “We’ve got a clear desire to be a national program,” said Dickie. “The new Stevens Centre and the partnership with the CSCA allows us to be a place of destination for young people, young athletes and female and male coaches who are trying to find a way to be the best that they can be. We become that place through the partnership we have with Canadian Sports Centre Atlantic and Kinduct Technologies.”

“In terms of physical training, mental training, nutrition, physiological and biomechanical knowledge, we have the experts right here, and not long from now we’re going to have the infrastructure,” Dickie noted.

Added to the list of distinctions that the Stevens Centre brings to Acadia is the recent announcement that the Athletics Complex will be one of 27 Canadian locations named as a Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence. Additional sports will be included in the coming months. Volleyball Canada and Volleyball Nova Scotia continue to partner to deliver the VCCE program in Nova Scotia, and Wolfville becomes the next distinct location in the country for athlete development in the sport of volleyball.

Noted by Volleyball Canada, the VCCE program is designed specifically to prepare athletes who are committed to the sport of volleyball and preparing to pursue their volleyball career. It aspires to allow local athletes ready to take their game to the next level to benefit from the training processes that are based specifically on individual skill development.

"It's an honour to be one of the two VCCE hosts in Atlantic Canada," said third-year women's volleyball coach Michelle Wood. "It demonstrates that Volleyball Nova Scotia is invested in taking the development of our young volleyball players to the next level to help them compete across Canada. We have some very talented athletes in our centre and are fortunate also to be in a position to mentor five female coaches, all of whom are former AUS volleyball players."

Elliott Richardson, who heads Acadia's Strength and Conditioning program, pointed out the importance of the Stevens Centre and Acadia's designation as a CSCA and VCCE satellite centre. "With Acadia being a centre for high performance, local athletes will now have greater access to both physical preparation and technical skill development right in their own backyard", he said. "I think you’ll see more and more athletes from this region playing for Provincial and Canada Games Teams because of this initiative."

Local aspiring athletes will work with Acadia’s Strength and Conditioning Team, led by Richardson, who has helped to elevate the level of performance of Acadia’s 11 varsity teams over the last four years.

Aside from strength and conditioning, athletes will also have access to resources including: biomechanics; rehab/medical Services; mental skills coaching; and nutritional consulting. An established and reputable School of Kinesiology faculty, many of which are already involved with the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, will be a tremendous benefit to all local athletes as well.