CFL Evaluation Camp

The Evaluation Camp or E-Camp is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League. The goal of the camp is for the eight CFL franchises to have a better idea of who they would like to draft in the CFL Draft which takes place about two months after the camp. The first combined Evaluation Camp took place in 2000 in Toronto and since then has continued every year in Toronto. The most recent E-Camp took place March 22-24, 2013.

Events
Athletes are measured to compare the various physical builds of certain athletes. Some of the qualities measured include; height, weight, hand size, arm length, flexibility. The bench press is one of the most exciting drills at E-Camp, because it evaluates both the athletes strength and muscular endurance. For certain positions the vertical jump analysis provides valuable information regarding the leaping ability of an athlete. The 40-yard dash is another popular event at the evaluation camp. Athletes are timed at the 10, 20 and 40m intervals, each on has greater significance for certain positions. A good test of an athletes lower body explosion capabilities is how he fares in the broad jump test. To test acceleration and agility athletes are tested in both the short shuttle and the 3-cone drill.

Probably the two most important parts of the evaluation are the interviews with the teams and the one-on-one drills.

2012
Michael Van Praet, defensive lineman of the Western Ontario Mustangs won the bench press competition with 38 reps. Top ranked prospect Ben Heenan came second with 32 repetitions. Keenan MacDougall lead all broad jumpers with a score of 10 feet and 7 and half inches and Dylan Hollohan won the shuttle drill and vertical jump competition leaping 42.5 inches. Shamawd Chambers, wide receiver from Wilfrid Laurier lead all athletes running an electronically timed 4.42 40-yard dash.

2013
The CFL is no longer referring to the evalution as E-Camp but rather the CFL Combine. The 2013 CFL Combine took place March 22-24, 2013. For the first time in its history the evaluation was expanded to include two regional combines (Edmonton and Montreal) prior to the main E-Camp taking place in Toronto. The regional combine in Edmonton took place March 18, in Commonwealth Stadium. The Montreal combine took place on March 20, in Université Laval Stadium. The Edmonton combine had 38 and the Montreal combine had 30 athletes. Michael Klassen, defensive lineman from Calgary University and Jermaine Gabriel defensive back from the Calgary Colts, both advanced out of the Edmonton combine. From out of the Montreal combine, Kristopher Robertson from the Concordia Stingers was invited to the main combine in Toronto.

Elie Ngoyi, defensive linemen, from the Bishop's Gaiters won the bench press competition with 40 repetitions. Kristopher Robertson from the Concordia Stingers (who was invited from the Montreal combine) had the fastest 40-yard dash, clocking in at 4.42 seconds. Robertson also lead the Vertical Jump (43 inches) and the Broad Jump (10 feet, 5 inches). Guillaume Rioux from the Laval Rouge et Or won the Shuffle drill with a time of 3.91 seconds.The 3-Cone drill was won by Simon Le Marquand from the Ottawa Gee-Gees, with a time of 6.84 seconds. As a result of Kristopher Robertson's impressive showings at both the Montreal regional combine and the main combine in Toronto he soared to being the 11th overall selection in the 2013 CFL Draft.