2012 will be an important year for the development of Lifesaving Sport in Canada. The World Lifesaving Championships, held in Adelaide, Australia in November 2012 will determine whether Canada qualifies for the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia. The inaugural edition of the Youth World Championships (16-19 years old), held as well at Rescue 2012, will unlock untapped talent throughout Canada and allow these athletes to get an early insight into the challenges at the international level.

In light of these opportunities and challenges, the National Sport Commission is pleased to announce the following changes to the High Performance Activity Centre.

1. National Team Permanent Roster

At the onset of the National Team Program in 1999, the selection of international touring teams was made from a pool of athletes previously named on the National Team roster. Over time, team selection has become increasingly a punctual appointment with little follow-up in between events.
The National Sport Commission is pleased to reintroduce a permanent National Team Roster as well as a Development Team Roster. Selected athletes will be invited to join the team for a period of two years during which they will get a more tailored approach to their objectives and training regimen.
An appointment does not guarantee participation to a major international event but notifies the athlete of the opportunity to secure funding and improve their training schedule to assist them in being selected to a touring team.
The appointment of new athletes (or re-appointment of existing athletes) to the National and Development Team rosters will be performed twice a year; once at the CPLC and once at the CSLC. The appointments will be conducted by the National Team Selection Committee.
The National Team Selection Committee may extend the appointments of athletes under exceptional circumstances (e.g. studies, injuries, etc.) or may appoint an athlete between events as need be.
The inaugural roster of the National Team and Development Team is included in Appendix A and is based on the most recent appointments to National Team international events.

2. Technical Leaders Committee

With the introduction of a permanent National Team Roster, a key objective is to provide a customized and individual approach to the development of training plans and monitoring of the progression of athletes. This is consistent with the approach adopted by Sport Canada in promoting the development of High Performance athletes.
As such, the National Sport Commission is now calling for applications for members of a new Technical Leaders Committee that will support the members of the National and Development Teams (and their individual coaches) in an ongoing manner.
The Technical Leaders Committee will consist of:
- Head Coach
- Specialist Coach – Swimming
- Specialist Coach – Running
- Specialist Coach – Craft
- Data Analyst.
Descriptions of each position are now available on www.lifesavingsport.ca and applications are welcomed.
Each member of the National and Development Team will be teamed up with one or more specialist coach at the outcome of the nomination process.

3. National Sports Awards 2011

In response to the success of the inaugural distribution of the National Sports Awards for the year 2010, the National Sports Commission is pleased to confirm that the National Sports Awards will once again be awarded for the year 2011. Awards will be attributed in the following categories:
- Male Master Athlete of the Year
- Female Master Athlete of the Year
- Male Development Athlete of the Year
- Female Development Athlete of the Year
- Male Athlete of the Year
- Female Athlete of the Year
- Performance of the Year
The National Team Selection committee will select the nominees and winners for each category. Nominees will be advised by 28 February 2012 with winners announced during the 2012 Canadian Pool Lifesaving Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

For any additional details about any of these announcements, please contact Martin Leprohon, High Performance Manager, at mleprohon@sauvetage.qc.ca.