High performance athlete program to open at Bowness High School

The public school board is launching a program designed for young athletes at a high school in northwest Calgary.

The High Performance Athlete Development Pathway atBownessHigh School will open in September 2017, principalJanaMacdonald announced Tuesday.

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Students will be offered training in multiple sportsunder the tutelage of provincial, national and varsity coaches, along with highly trained teachers in the school's recently finished new wing.

"This program puts student athletes first," Macdonald said.

About 50 students will be enrolled in the first semester. The program will have two streams one for students already specializing in a single sport, and another for athletes still exploring more than one discipline.

"At this age group, it's not too late to start a new sport," said Olympic speed skater Catriona LeMay Doan, who consulted with the Calgary Board of Eduction on the program.

"This is an age of youth, grades 10 to 12, when we see so many young men and women drop out of sport. This will allow them to continue to pursue their sport but also have that high school experience."

Embedding the program within the existing school environment at BownessHigh will set it apart from other sports-focused schools, such as the nearby National Sports School, Macdonald said.

"It's a really full program that students will have access to here, so that's a big difference," she said.

Macdonal also says students at the school who are not part of the sports program willbenefit, as the young athletes enrich the regular phys-ed classes and help drive all students to succeed.

"It's going to bring a lot of diversity into the school," said Grade 10 student Abi Parke, who plans to enroll in the program with a focus on basketball.

Students in the sports program will spend about half of their days doing athletics and the rest of the day focusing on academic studies. Timetables will be flexible to accommodate the athletes' individual training schedules.

The new program is recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium, the CanadianSportInstitute Calgary, and several nationalsportgroups, the board says.

A $1,500 per year fee for each student will cover the use of facilities at WinSport and the Universityof Calgary, trips to the mountains and other facility rentals.

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