COPSIN HELPS POWER TEAM CANADA’S PARALYMPIC PERFORMANCE AT MILANO CORTINA 2026

With the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon, the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN) reaffirms its unwavering commitment to Team Canada’s athletes. In partnership with National Sport Organizations (NSOs), the Network supports a wealth of Team Canada’s Paralympic athletes, playing a central role in their preparation and ensuring they have the resources needed to perform on the world’s biggest stage.

Forty-nine members of Team Canada’s 50-athlete contingent – 98% in total – are affiliated with at least one member of COPSIN. Twenty-nine athletes (58% of Team Canada) are affiliated with more than one COPSIN member.

Through integrated performance services and collaborative expertise, COPSIN provides individualized, athlete-centred support designed to meet the unique needs of each competitor. This coordinated approach, grounded in innovation, collaboration, and performance excellence, helped create optimal training and competition environments for Canada’s Paralympic athletes as they prepared for Milano Cortina 2026.

COPSIN experts will not only support athletes in the lead-up to the Games but will also be embedded within Team Canada operations throughout the Paralympics. Five members of the Network will be on site in Italy, working directly with sport teams and contributing to Team Canada’s mission staff to deliver technical, medical, and sport science support. Their presence ensures athletes receive consistent, high-performance care, allowing them to focus fully on delivering their best performances.

With five Institutes (CSI’s)and two Centres (CSC’s) spanning the country, COPSIN continues to demonstrate a national commitment to excellence and innovation in high-performance sport. The Network’s collaborative model strengthens Canada’s competitive edge by integrating expertise across regions, disciplines, and sports in support of podium-level performance.

Find out more at www.copsin.ca

Building the Path to Paralympic Excellence

COPSIN serves as a cornerstone of Canada’s high-performance sport system, providing athletes with sustained support throughout their development pathway. Many Team Canada athletes have benefited from the Network’s services for years, accessing tailored performance solutions and applied sport science long before reaching the Paralympic stage.

By delivering world-class performance services and advancing applied research, COPSIN plays a critical role in achieving Canada’s international sport performance objectives. Working closely with National Sport Organizations and high-performance partners, the Network fosters a coordinated, integrated approach to athlete development and sporting excellence across the country.

Through its collaborative and multidisciplinary model, COPSIN continues to demonstrate the power of innovation and partnership in supporting both current and future generations of Canadian Paralympians in their pursuit of excellence.

COPSIN’s Contribution by the Numbers

• Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympians Supported by COPSIN
  • Affiliated athletes: 49 (98%)
  • Athletes supported by more than one COPSIN member: 29 (58%)

• COPSIN Experts at Milano Cortina 2026
  • Total: 5
  • CSI Pacific
    • Christie Gialloreto – Mental Performance (Para Snowboard)
    • Laura Stenger – Strength & Conditioning (Para Snowboard)
  • CSI Alberta
    • Clare Fewster – Mental Performance (Para Nordic)
    • Jessica Kryski – Integrated Support Team (IST) Lead (Para Nordic)
  • CSC Manitoba
    • Kyle Turcotte – Performance Science Lead (Wheelchair Curling)

About the WE CAN Campaign Milano Cortina 2026: FORZA CANADA!

WE CAN (OUI CAN) is a campaign from COPSIN that emphasizes possibility, unity, determination and national pride for Canadian athletes competing at the Olympics and Paralympics.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Games campaign kept the popular OUI CAN wording from Paris 2024, meaning the 2026 campaign branding is now WE CAN/OUI CAN. The logo is the “Snowflake Maple Leaf”, a snowflake shape for the Winter Games, with the Canadian maple leaf blending in as part of the design, while the wording “Forza Canada” (“Go Canada!”) has been added in, to illustrate the Games taking place in Italy.

About The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sports Institute Network (COPSIN)

With seven locations across Canada, the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN) partners with National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and the high-performance sport community to deliver world-class performance services and applied sport science research projects.

COPSIN is a key performance partner in the implementation of the priorities of the National High-Performance Strategy including the Game Plan program, mental health and safe sport.

Find out more at www.copsin.ca