Information for students

A look at competitive university sports in Canada

Participating in Canadian Interuniversity Sport can be a memorable experience which can define a university career. Student-athletes earn degrees, while competing with top quality athletes across Canada in their sport of choice.

Quality programs
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Each year, more than 10,000 student-athletes across Canada participate in 11 sport disciplines with a schedule of close to 3,000 events starting in September and concluding in March. This begins a course of action that will lead to the top objective in competitive sport, claiming the National Championship title.

Teams from the four regional associations and fifty-one universities vie to compete at the CIS national championships held across the country annually in the following sports:

Internationally, student-athletes can experience the excitement of the Winter and Summer Universiades,
the second largest multi-sporting event in the world. Every two years, student-athletes have an opportunity to compete in 12 sports at the Summer Games and seven at the Winter Games. These games provide a tremendous experience both culturally and athletically and are often the platform for student-athletes to launch their international athletic careers.

Drug education for athletes
Every CIS student-athlete must attend an annual drug education seminar as part of the CIS Drug Education
and Doping Control Program. The seminar highlights key issues and health concerns of drugs in sport and educates student-athletes about the policy of the CIS. It also allows for discussion regarding the ethics of drugs in sport.

National exposure
CIS has several national telecasts broadcast live on sports channels in Canada. These telecasts showcase the excitement of CIS’s National Championship finals.

In addition to these broadcasts, national media exposure is gained weekly through the articles and highlights in newspapers, television, radio stations and web sites across the country.

Awards and honours
Student-athletes are honoured throughout September to March by special awards and student-athlete profiles. The CIS web site tracks the student athletes of the week awards throughout the academic year and provides performance details and profiles for the recipients.

These include:

Academic All-Canadians
Each year, student-athletes who obtain an 80 percent average or better are recognized for achieving academic excellence as CIS Academic All-Canadians.

All-Canadians
The top athletes in each of the CIS sports are honoured for their athletic excellence as CIS All-Canadians.

Special Leadership Awards
Each year, special awards are presented during the CIS National Championships to student-athletes who best exemplify the attributes of academic and athletic success, as well as community support.

CIS Athletes of the Year
The CIS Male and Female Athletes of the Year are honoured in May of each year at a major awards celebration in Calgary. These student-athletes are nominated from their respective regional associations for their superior athletic accomplishments. The athletes receive a scholarship from Borden Ladner Gervais toward their education and attend an awards show which is broadcast nationally.

Financial assistance to student-athletes
Athletic financial awards (scholarships) are offered at Canadian universities, but the value and quantity of awards and bursaries differs by province, region, institution, and sport.

Academics are an important focus for student-athletes in Canada, and the competitive sports system encourages the development of both academics and athletics. Student athletes must meet a minimum 65 percent academic average to qualify for athletic scholarships, but a number of athletes have higher grades than this minimum. In 2005, almost 20 percent of student-athletes achieved an academic average of 80 percent or higher while competing for their university.

In 2003-04, approximately one in four Canadian Interuniversity Sport student athletes received an athletic award, with the average award per student in the $1,500 range. Students can check with athletic departments at each institution for more information on award availability and conditions.