- (250) 596-8364
- welcome@chadstaleyfoundation.ca
The Sports Science Lab is a collaborative initiative between the Chad Staley Memorial Foundation and Engage Sport North, created to support athlete development through the use of modern sport science. Rather than a traditional research laboratory, the Sports Science Lab is a growing collection of performance technology, recovery and injury prevention tools, and specialized athlete development resources designed to help athletes better understand their bodies, improve performance, reduce injury risk, and recover more effectively. As the initiative continues to grow, the Sports Science Lab will expand the technologies, services, and opportunities available to athletes across Northern British Columbia.
Athletes in Northern British Columbia often face significant barriers when pursuing high-performance sport. Accessing specialized sport science services frequently requires travelling long distances to larger centres, resulting in additional costs for transportation, accommodations, meals, and time away from school, work, and training. For many athletes and families, these challenges can limit opportunities to access the support needed to reach the next level.
The Sports Science Lab will help bridge that gap by bringing high-quality athlete development resources closer to home. By improving access to sport science, performance support, and specialized expertise within our region, we can reduce barriers, strengthen local athlete development, and provide opportunities that were once out of reach for many Northern BC athletes.
Every athlete deserves the opportunity to pursue their goals without being limited by where they live. Through the Regional Sport Science Centre, the Chad Staley Memorial Foundation is committed to creating a stronger, more accessible pathway for athletes to develop, compete, and succeed close to home.
The Chad Staley Memorial Foundation is proud to be developing the Sports Science Lab in partnership with Engage Sport North. This initiative brings together the Foundation’s commitment to improving access for athletes with Engage Sport North’s expertise in sport science and athlete development, creating new opportunities for athletes across Northern British Columbia.
As the Foundations first major step in building the Sports Science Lab, CSM has funded the acquisition of VALD ForceDeck technology, enabling Engage Sport North to deliver advanced performance testing closer to home. While the force decks represent the first investment, they are only the beginning. As the Sports Science Lab continues to grow, the Foundation will work alongside Engage Sport North to expand the services, technology, and resources available, creating a centralized hub that supports athletes at every stage of their development.
Force deck technology is an advanced performance assessment tool used by athletes, coaches, and sport practitioners to better understand athletic performance and movement. By measuring how athletes produce and absorb force during movements such as jumping, landing, and explosive changes in direction, force decks provide objective data that goes beyond what can be observed with the naked eye.
The information collected offers valuable insights into strength, power, balance, movement quality, and side-to-side asymmetries. This data can be used to monitor athletic development, support return-to-play following injury, evaluate training progress, and help athletes and coaches make informed decisions that enhance performance while reducing injury risk.