IGNITE Program History
The IGNITE program was created by the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific to fill a gap in athlete development that was presenting at the national team level. Basic motor skills such as running and sprinting, overall kinesthetic awareness and ability to manipulate one’s body, in addition to fundamental weight room and Olympic lifting skills are all skills that can easily be taught at a developmental stage of the high-performance pathway. This provides athletes with an athlete development progression that aligns more closely with the LTAD thereby minimizing risks of injury and imbalance that can be associated with high level sport specific training.
The IGNITE program and curriculum was developed to provide those athlete development skills to development athletes who are in the earlier stages of the high-performance pathway, in order to positively impact their potential to be successful national / international level athletes.
Program Principles
The IGNITE program is designed to provide future national team and Olympic or Paralympic athletes with fundamental athletic skills in three thematic areas of delivery; gymnastics (movement literacy), speed (Sprint) and Strength (techniques), to supplement existing sport specific training. Further, athlete education is also sought to assist athletes in their holistic development and preparation toward higher levels of competition.
Movement Streams
Strength Training
Introduces athletes to a number of key bodyweight and strength training exercises that form the core of many resistance training programs. By teaching young athletes proper technique in these movements, training efficiency will increase and the risk of injury will decrease. This will help maximize training time in the weight room, leading to greater improvements in strength and power.
Gymnastics
Provides a unique opportunity for athletes to control, strengthen, and manipulate the body through space and around fixed implements. Developing kinesthetic awareness, mobility/flexibility, landing skills and whole body strength through gymnastics training will prepare an athlete for unpredictable sporting situations and help decrease the athletes’ risk of injury.
Sprint Training
Prepares athletes for efficient and powerful movement on land. Improved technical efficiency in these movements will transfer to both sport specific as well as training situations. Technical efficiency in high speed running allows unique opportunities to operate within the force velocity spectrum.
Testing & Monitoring
To monitor the athletes’ progress through the Ignite program, two streams of testing have been developed. First, to measure improvements in technical proficiency, the Ignite Athlete Development Program Core Movement Evaluation (CME) was developed. Second, a battery of physiological tests has been designed to monitor physiological changes within each athlete.
Core Movement Evaluation (CME)
The CME is a technical evaluation of the quality of movement and not a strength testing protocol. Movement evaluation is as follows:
- Walking Lunge
- Dowling Overhead Squat
- Push Up
- Inverted Row
- Introduction to Complex Lift Sequence (Barbell Deadlift → Hang Clean→ Front Squat→ Push Jerk)
Physiological Testing
The physiological tests are designed to monitor the general strength/neurological adaptations the athletes make while participating in the program. The physiological test battery are conducted throughout the session.
Physiological Test Battery
- 30m Spring with 10m Split
- Vertical Jump with Countermovement
- Overhead Jerk
Paris 2024 Olympians who have done the IGNITE Program.
- Erin Attwell ~ Class of 2017 ~ Cycling Canada
- Charity Williams ~ Class of 2014 ~ Rugby Canada
- Sarah Van Dam ~ Class of 2018 ~ Cycling Canada
- Caroline Crossley ~ Class of 2016 ~ Rugby Canada
- Jerome Blake – Athletics – 4 x 100m Relay
- Joel Ewart – Wheelchair Rugby
PacificSport Columbia Basin and The Sport Lab Nelson are excited to offer the IGNITE Athlete Development Program in Nelson BC this Fall and Winter 2024 and 2025. For further details: https://pacificsportcolumbiabasin.com/ignite-athlete-development-program/