EC’s new Sport Development Department has been created with the purpose of developing and supporting an aligned and integrated athlete development pathway for equestrian activity in Canada, leading to increased participation and enhanced excellence. These objectives will be achieved through the development of education programs for coaches, officials, event organizers and facility operators and the development of sport initiation and athlete development programs to be delivered by these same stakeholders.
A main focus for 2021 is to develop a framework to increase the efficiency of delivering our High Performance 1 (Competition Development) National Coaching Certification Program (NCCO) certification, with the regular hosting of HP1 Coach training and evaluation opportunities. Current thoughts include creating a window for interested coaches to apply to become part of a cohort of coaches who we will support through the certification pathway. We are also looking at supporting video evaluations and consulting multi-sport evaluators as we currently have a significant gap with HP1 Evaluators within our system. I am very keen to hear from active coaches who may be interested in becoming HP1 Coach Developers.
Another important focus for 2021 is providing project management support to the EC Board’s Strategic Initiative Taskforce to review the re-design of our participation and affiliation models as part of EC’s 2021-2022 strategic workplan. This work is a critical step in the next phase of the Competition Structural Alignment Project and creating an aligned, developmentally appropriate, athlete development pathway. Phase one of this project was successfully completed in 2019 with key findings presented to the community at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
I also serve as the Committee liaison for Driving, Endurance and Vaulting. These disciplines operate slightly differently within the Canadian system and are not recognized the same was as the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. I work closely with the Chairs of these committees to understand where there are opportunities for growth and alignment with our strategic priorities.
A bit about me: I am originally from the UK and moved to Canada in 2013 to be with my husband. I grew up on a farm with a family-run livery stables. We were very active in the Pony Club scene, running camps and competition at the lower level. While I enjoyed competing, mostly I enjoyed hacking out with my friends and taking the horses to the local sandy beaches for a good gallop! I have worked for nearly 15 years in high performance sport, including over seven years in the UK system, supporting multiple teams operate and perform in major games environments. I have a Bachelor of Science, with Honours, in Sport Management, and professional certifications in Advanced Project Management and Business Process Improvement from the University of Ottawa.
Sincerely,
Anna Johnson
Manager, Sport Development
ajohnson@equestrian.ca