March 26, 2010 – CCC, in collaboration with British-Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec divisions, is announcing with great pride and anticipation the implementation of an expanded Training Centre system. From now on, the National Training Centre in Canmore, home of the core Senior NST program, will be complemented by four National Development Centres (NDC system) to attend to the development needs of a growing pool of the best performing Canadian athletes at the L2C, T2C and T2W stages of development.

In addition to the two currently existing NTDC (previous acronym) in Thunder Bay and Quebec City, the Callaghan Valley NADC and the Alberta World Cup Academy will now be fully integrated in the new Training Centre system.

Each NDC will have its own specific hosting capacity and specific focus in respect with the level of athletes to be nominated in each NDC. These statuses are defined as A or B orientations. For further details about CCC’s new Training Centre system, please consult the updated Training Centre policy: TC policy (Feb 2010).

The selection criteria and nomination process for NDC can be found under item #7 of the TC policy here.

7. Athlete Selection Criteria and Nomination Process

The nomination of athletes to training centres must strike a balance between the preference of the athlete and the need to maintain a viable and effective system that fulfils its roles. Within this balance, the unique status of the PHTC and the core concept of providing regional centralization (to keep athletes close to home, where desired) will receive special consideration. Therefore, nomination of athletes to training centres will be based on the following principles and criteria, by order of priorities:

a. Barring extenuating circumstances, Senior WC Team athletes will be named to the NTC in Canmore.

b. Senior Development Team athletes will be nominated to either the NTC or one or more NDCs – to be defined specifically in April 2010 depending on Senior Development Team budget and program – in accordance with their choice.

c. Development Squad athletes will be nominated to the NDC of their choice, with higher ranking athletes having first choice (refer to 2009/10 NST criteria, item 19.0 Development Squad criteria). Once the Senior Team athletes have been nominated, the remaining billets in each NDC will be nominated based on the following priorities:

1) A minimum of 50% (rounded down) of the total number of Development Squad athletes nominated to a given NDC, belonging to a host division club (as per the athlete CCC racing license) and residents of the host division, provided that enough athletes of the host division meet the Development Squad eligibility standards. For example, if after senior NST athletes’ allocation a NDC has the capacity to host eleven (11) Development Squad athletes, the first five (5) Development Squad athletes to be nominated will be athletes from the host division.

2) For NDCs with a B or A+B orientation, a minimum of three athletes must be female athletes, provided that more than three female athletes meeting Development Squad standards have applied to a given NDC. If after application of criteria a., less than three female athletes are nominated, the next best female athletes on the Development Squad ranking list will be nominated to reach the minimal quota of three female athletes.

3) Coaches of NDC with a B or A+B orientation can recommend to the HPC up to 20% (rounded down) of the total number of Development Squad athletes nominated to a given NDC on a discretionary basis, provided that athletes meet Development Squad eligibility standards.

4) The next best athletes on the Development Squad ranking list will be nominated up to maximal team size for each NDC.

In addition to the criteria listed above, please note that athletes who anticipate being eligible for nomination on the Development Squad (refer to standards table 4.0 of the 2009/10 NST selection criteria document) and who would like to join a NDC must forward a letter of interest to the ADHP-D (sbarrette@cccski.com) by April 1st, 2010 to be considered for selection. The letter of interest must include the order of the athlete’s preferred NDC. Eligibility to a NDC is a function of the following CPL points’ benchmarks per age group being achieved at least once at FIS sanctioned race (domestic or international) since the start of the 2009/10 competition season:

Born 1986 and earlier
Men’s Standard: 95 points CPL distance or 95.5 points CPL sprint
Women’s Standard: 93 points CPL distance or 94.5 points CPL sprint

Born 1987
Men’s Standard: 93 points CPL distance or 94 points CPL sprint
Women’s Standard: 91 points CPL distance or 92 points CPL sprint

Born 1988-1989
Men’s Standard: 91 points CPL distance or 93 points CPL sprint
Women’s Standard: 90.5 points CPL distance or 90 points CPL sprint

Born 1990
Men’s Standard: 89 points CPL distance or 91 points CPL sprint
Women’s Standard: 87 points CPL distance or 90 points CPL sprint

Born 1991 and after
Men’s Standard: 86 points CPL distance or 90 points CPL sprint
Women’s Standard: 84 points CPL distance or 88 points CPL sprint

A single best race points CPL up to March 10th can be found here.

The final Development Squad selection list will be published at the end of the 2009/10 season.