Do you think you could be an Olympian? You can find out on Sunday.
The RBC Training Ground search for new Canadian Olympic athletes is coming to Prince George on Sunday, March 3.
RBC Training Ground gives local athletes – no matter what sport or activity they are involved in – the chance to test their strength, speed, power and endurance in front of officials from Olympic sports looking for new talent.
Olympic officials will be looking for local athletes with the raw talent that could make them well suited for an Olympic sport.
This is a free, open talent discovery event for athletes between the ages of 14 and 25. Any athlete curious about whether they might be suited to an Olympic sport are encouraged to sign up in advance at rbctrainingground.ca
The Prince George event is one of more than 35 local combines happening across the country in 2019. The program is a partnership between the Canadian Olympic Committee and RBC.
Top performers at the Prince George event (any athletes deemed to have Olympic potential) will begin further testing (one-on-one) with specific sports, with the potential of being invited to an RBC Training Ground national final, which will bring together the top-100 high potential athletes discovered at various qualifiers across the country.
Based on the national final results up to 30 high performing athletes will be selected as RBC Future Olympians and receive funding and resources to pursue their Olympic dreams.
At the event, athlete’s will be measured for anthropometric suitability (things like wingspan and body type) and perform speed, power, strength and endurance benchmark tests in front of officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee and 14 national sport organizations in hopes of reenergizing a dream or being discovered and directed toward an Olympic sport. The program
is designed to help fill a hole in Canada’s amateur sport system (talent identification in a country as big as Canada) and to then provide the uncovered talent with the high-performance sport resources they need to achieve their podium dreams.
Two-time Olympian and 2012 Silver Medalist (men’s 8s rowing) Will Crothers, program spokesperson, will be an on-site mentor.
Talent scouts and officials from National Sports Organizations including Canada Snowboard, Speed Skating Athletics Canada, Canoe Kayak Canada, Cycling Canada, Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada and Freestyle Ski Canada – all searching for hidden gems and potential cross-over talent
It will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Northern Sport Centre.
Since 2015, RBC Training Ground has tested 5,500 athletes at 71 free local events in 35 different communities across 10 provinces, and dedicated a total of $1.3 million in funding to support the more than 80 promising future Olympians found through the program.