FOR PARENTS

How much does the program cost?
Tuition for the Canadian Sport School will be $1,500 for the 2012/13 school year.   The program is subsidized by CSC Pacific, via financial support from the Province of BC, and the tuition fees partially offset the costs of delivering the training programs and transportation between the athletes’ home schools and the respective campus locations in Victoria and Kelowna.

Are there scholarships available?
Each campus location offers scholarships to selected students so please follow-up with either Victoria or Kelowna to learn more details.  Some sports are also offering scholarships to the Sport School.  There are a number of other support programs available, and the Canadian Sport School staff will help eligible athletes to access these programs if needed. 

Do athletes have to take all of the courses offered at the Canadian Sport School?
Yes.  The suite of courses offered through the Sport School provide athletes with the required graduation credits in BC.  Even if athletes share enough credits to graduate, they will be required to participate in all courses to meet the athletic objectives of the program. 

How is it that students have less academic work, but still get the required graduation credits?
The Canadian Sport School is taking advantage of the flexibility available through the personalized learning program offered by the BC Government’s Education Plan.  Under this program, the province allows school districts to develop academic credits for activities outside of the traditional school environment.  School Districts 23 and 62 have developed courses for the Sport School locations in Kelowna and Victoria, respectively, that provide credits that recognize the activities athletes do on a day-to-day basis to excel in their sports. 

Will going to the Canadian Sport School impede the ability of my child to go to university?
No, the Sport School offers credits that meet the requirements for elective courses under each student’s graduation program.  Students should continue to work with their school counsellor to ensure they are taking the required courses for entrance to the university of their choice. 

How do students travel from their home school to the Canadian Sport School?
The Sport School provides a lunch time bus service that transports athletes between the campus locations in Victoria and Kelowna and their home schools.  Please note that some schools may be out of range of the bus service so please contact sportschool@cscpacific.ca for more information.

My daughter is in Grade 9.  Can she register for the Sport School?
No, BC’s Education Plan does not provide the same flexibility for students in Grade 9 to cross enroll in a neighbourhood school and a distributed learning school at the same time.  As a result, the Sport School does not accept Grade 9 students at this time.

What is distributed learning?
Distributed learning is a method of instruction that relies primarily on indirect communication between students and teachers, including internet or other electronic-based delivery, teleconferencing, or correspondence. At the Canadian Sport School, students have the opportunity to be face-to-face with teachers for approximately 30% of the curriculum time.

FOR COACHES

I am worried about overtraining. Will participating in the IGNITE program lead to over training of my athlete?
No.  It is important that the Sport School maintain regular communication with coaches on training and competition activities, and take those activities into consideration when developing each athlete’s personalized learning/training plan. It is important that coaches understand that the IGNITE program focuses training time on expanding the athletes’ physical literacy. This is achieved through an athletic curriculum developed by the lead IGNITE coach that focuses on three movement streams (sprint training, gymnastics, and strength and conditioning) to enhance balance, strength, speed and explosive power to compliment your athlete’s regular training activities.

We have set training times. Is the Canadian Sport School going to interfere with my athlete’s training?
No. The Sport School program takes place during a regular school day.  Sports that train before or after school should not be affected.  For athletes who have training times during the day, there is enough flexibility in the program to accommodate these training requirements. 

My athlete isn’t on the provincial team, are they eligible to attend the school?
Depending on the sport and developmental age of the athlete, each athlete is at a different stage within the long-term athlete development model.  The Canadian Sport School bases admission on the recommendations of national and provincial sport organizations and those recommendations may also be made on the basis of individual athlete potential in addition to their membership on a provincial or national team. 

FOR EDUCATORS

We are the neighbourhood school so how can we support our student athletes in this program? 
There are a number of areas that are important to ensure the success of the student athletes. School administration and counsellors can:

• Educate themselves on the Sport School program, timetable and suite of courses
• Support students in selecting classes that have a flexible and understanding environment for students in this unique situation
• Encourage staff to communicate openly and frequently with the distributed learning teacher
• Celebrate the “outside” accomplishments of these outstanding student athletes.

Our school is a member of BC School Sports. Is the Candadian Sport School going to interfere the athlete’s eligibility to participate on school teams?
No. The Sport School program is run by Canadian Sport Centre Pacific and delivers courses through a partnership with local schools districts. Students remain eligible with their home school, as no sport specific training or credits are being provided by the home school. 

Is my school or district liable for the safety of students attending this program?
No, School District 62 (Sooke) is responsible for students while they attend the Canadian Sport School - Victoria and School District 23 (Central Okanagan) is responsible for students attending the Canadian Sport School - Okanagan.

This program sounds like a lot of extra work for our staff. Is that the case?
Actually, this program should not only reduce the stress and workload on students, but also on the school staff. These students train, travel, and compete throughout the school year creating a problem for teachers. The Sport School teacher supports learning not only delivered at the Sport School but also the learning taking place in home school. The teacher is in constant contact with students’  home schools, coaches and parents. Distributed Learning is like all BC DL Schools and takes care of all the paperwork, Ministry-required documents, report cards for the courses they deliver. These students are the same as any cross-enrolled student in your school.