The Provincial Development Program is for senior-high-school-aged athletes (Grades 10-12) who are interested in training for and competing in track meets up to the Provincial level and beyond. New athletes are always welcome.
Coach: Juerg Meister
Assistant Coach: Blair Bateson
Technical Specialists: Various technical coaches work with athletes in this group depending on their individual training and competition goals. See the Coaches webpage for details of Caltaf’s technical specialists.
The Provincial Development Group runs from the beginning of September until the beginning of July. The group meets three times a week and athletes are expected to attend most training sessions.
At this level athletes are focused on training for provincial competitions such as the Indoor Provincial Championships, the Alberta Summer Games and the Western Canadian Championships. Opportunities to train for and compete in all the track and field disciplines are offered including cross-country running, track events (sprints, hurdles, middle and long distance), and field events (high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot put, javelin and discus). Athletes are encouraged to begin to focus their training on their preferred events. Some independent training may be recommended in addition to the scheduled training sessions. Athletes compete throughout the year at meets in Calgary, Edmonton and other locations. Opportunities to compete in provincial level meets are offered in all three seasons. In addition, successful athletes may qualify for national meets such as the Legion Nationals. Caltaf coaches provide support and training for these meets into the summer.
Athletes in the Provincial Development group may have the opportunity to work with various technical coaches from the National Development group on the recommendation of the Provincial Development coaching staff.
The Provincial Development program is separated into three distinct seasons:
Season one
The first season runs from early September through to the end of October focusing mostly on the cross-country season. Athletes will develop conditioning and fitness while training outdoors. There are opportunities to compete in local and provincial cross-country meets.
Season two
The second season runs from November 1 to the end of March and takes place completely indoors. There are usually several indoor meets during this season for Provincial Development athletes to compete in culminating in the Indoor Provincial championships in Edmonton.
Season three
The third season runs from April through to the end of June and on through July for those athletes who have met standards for Provincial and National track meets that are held in the summer. This season takes place completely outdoors and contains the most opportunities for athletes to compete in many local and Provincial meets.
The Provincial Development group meets three times a week usually either at the University, Mount Royal University, the Foothills Athletic Park, the Glenmore Athletic Park, or at Canmore Park depending on the time of year.
The locations of all the Caltaf training locations can be found here.
