Prime Highlights:
Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSIC), and Bowhead Corp. have secured $860,000 to develop accessible parasport equipment.
The project is supported by a $450,000 NSERC Applied Research and Development grant, a $300,000 Alberta Innovates CASBE grant, and $110,000 from CSIC.
Key Background:
Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSIC), and Bowhead Corp. have secured significant investments to advance the design and manufacturing of parasport equipment, aimed at enhancing accessibility and safety for para-athletes across Canada. This collaborative project, entitled Increasing Accessibility to Specialized Parasport Equipment Across Canada Through Advanced Design and Manufacturing, has received a total of $860,000 in funding.
The project is supported by a $450,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under its Applied Research and Development (ARD) program, along with $300,000 from the Alberta Innovates Campus Alberta Small Business Engagement (CASBE) grant, and $110,000 from CSIC. These funds, allocated over three years, will help address the national shortage of tailored sports equipment for para-athletes, starting with para ice hockey sledges.
Evan Lambert, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student at RDP, has been working as an intern on this project, contributing to the development of more accessible and safer para hockey sledges. Using innovative technologies like Statistical Shape Modeling (SSM) to analyze images, the team aims to create affordable, customizable sledges that improve comfort and performance for athletes.
Dr. Tonya Wolfe, Associate Vice President of Applied Research at RDP, emphasized the significance of this initiative, highlighting how it combines sports research, advanced manufacturing, and multi-disciplinary collaboration to create inclusive solutions for Canadian athletes. The Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing-Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC) at RDP will play a crucial role in developing cost-effective designs for parasport equipment.
The project also offers RDP students industry-relevant opportunities, with five students set to contribute to the project in summer 2025. Additionally, RDP staff will present their findings at the upcoming Sport Innovation Summit in Calgary.
