Athlete Development (LTAD)

Canadian Sport For Life Overview

Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) is a movement that promotes a healthy, physically literate nation whose citizens enjoy participating in sport and physical activity in Canada throughout their life. CS4L links sport, education, recreation and health and aligns community, provincial and national programs. Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a seven-stage training, competition and recovery pathway which provides a framework to guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases of adulthood, for all levels of interest and abilities, in all sports.

Ten Key Factors* of Long Term Athlete Development

1.   Excellence Takes Time
2.   FUNdamentals
3.   Specialization
4.   Developmental Age
5.   Trainability
6.   Physical, Mental, Cognitive, and Emotional Development
7.   Periodization
8.   Competition Planning
9.   System Alignment and Integration
10. Continuous Improvement

* These factors were developed from the best sport science research and the best practices in coaching and training.

For more information about the Canadian Sport For Life movement, go to:
http://www.canadiansportforlife.ca/

Fencing and Long Term Athlete Development

The Canadian Fencing Federation has designed a fencing-specific pathway based on the principles and key factors establish by CS4L. While the pathway is common for all participants, the rate and extent of development will depend on the interests and abilities of each fencer.

A booklet describing the fencing specific model for long term athlete development is available at:
http://fencing.ca//wp-content/documents/ltad/CFF_LTAD_program-en_r5-web.pdf

Armband Program

One of the ways that the CFF has chosen to guide the development of fencers is through their “Armband Instructional Program,” which provides a structured presentation of the different stages of development for the various skills (technical, tactical, rules, refereeing) involved in fencing.

The main page outlining the program can be found here: http://fencing.ca/armband-instructional-program/

This booklet contains general information about the criteria for the stages of skill development, and activity planning and assessment of those stages: https://www.fencing.ca/wp-content/documents/armband/CFF%20Instructional%20Program%20June%202012_en.pdf

These appendices list the specific content of each stage of the armband program as they pertain to the individual weapons:

Epee: http://fencing.ca//wp-content/documents/armband/appendix_epee_en.pdf

Foil: http://fencing.ca//wp-content/documents/armband/appendix_foil_en.pdf

Sabre: http://fencing.ca//wp-content/documents/armband/appendix_sabre_en.pdf