Every player grows in four dimensions, through the same year, the same team, the same stage.
They are inseparable, and together they are why this has lasted fifty years.
Players find out what they have to say, and that it belongs on a stage. Improv is the medium; self-expression and confidence is the work.
Not the loudest voice in the room. The one who lifts the team. Seniors mentor rookies; alumni come back to run the tournaments they played in.
For many students, the first place they are accepted because of their uniqueness, not despite it. Belonging earned from peers, not granted by adults.
A fifty-year, nation-wide community they join at their first practice, not their last. Most alumni still name it as formative decades later.
Jennifer Scrivens
Former player, Ottawa Region
I felt accepted for the first time in high school by the members of my team, by the teams that we played against, and by the audiences we played for.
Earl Sacrey, Coach
Gravenhurst High School
I have been lucky enough to stay in contact with a number of my improvisers over the years, and I know that their time with the CIG has shaped them into funnier, smarter, more confident people.
Josh Ashley, Coach
Huron Heights Secondary School
Being a CIG coach has become such a cornerstone of my career as an educator. I wish my school had it when I was a teen and I have seen the amazing things it does for our students.
Nathan Medd
Managing Director, English Theatre, National Arts Centre (2013-2018)
Canadian Improv Games demonstrates collaboration and creativity in everything it does. A network that is remarkable for its size and unique in the world, the Improv Games promotes artists and audiences of the future, while staging highly energetic events in the moment. CIG represents a vital R&D arm of the performing arts industry, and of a country that values cooperative, community-minded citizens.
Jamie “Willie” Wyllie
Canadian Improv Games Co-Founder
Gym teachers aren’t wrong when they say competition has lessons to teach us, we just hope to shave off the aggressive things and present a model of competition that’s based on co-operation.”
The First Ottawa High School Improvisational Olympics:
Eight Ottawa high schools compete in the first official high school tournament, where Sir John A. Macdonald High School wins the inaugural Howard Jerome Trophy.
Growing at the NAC:
The Ottawa tournament expands to 24 schools, hosting its finals at the National Arts Centre Studio.
Core Event Rules Redefined:
Organizers streamline gameplay into five core Events—Story, Style, Theme, Character, and Emotion—simplifying event rules and encouraging broader creative expression.
Official Launch as the Canadian Improv Games:
The organization rebrands to Canadian Improv Games, registers as a federal charity, officially partners with the National Arts Centre, and begins expansion beyond Ottawa
National Television Broadcasts & Video Competition:
The national finals air on YTV for three seasons, and the launch of the National Video Competition (using VHS tapes) enables schools in remote regions to participate.
Major Growth & Program Diversification:
In the 2000s, rules and scoring become better defined, introducing the Life event. Improvcamp is founded, the Next Act program is introduced, and the first Founders Awards are presented at the 25th Anniversary celebrations.
CIG Online and Improv U:
The Online Wildcard, allowing remote teams to qualify for Nationals is started and CIG commits to livestreaming National Finals every year. Improv U is founded.
40th Anniversary Celebrations:
40 years of CIG is celebrated in at a Gala in Toronto. and, CIG restructures operations from a franchise model to a centralized National Office.
Pandemic Era:
The tournament is moved exclusively online for a period of three years while in-person extra-curricular activities are prohibited by school boards.
50th Anniversary Growth Drive:
CIG rolls out a major national expansion initiative aiming to welcome dozens of new high schools into the tournament network, working to lower participation barriers.