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Future Olympian talent search coming to Kelowna

RBC Training Ground will put young athletes through their paces under experts’ watchful eyes
10695742_web1_180221-KCN-RBCTG-Kevin-Light-photo
Young hopeful future Olympians will get a shot at being discovered in Kelowna Friday. —Image: Kevin Light/contributor

The search for future Canadian Olympians is coming to Kelowna.

RBC Training Ground gives local athletes—no matter what sport they are involved in—the chance to test their strength, speed, power and endurance in front of officials from 14 Olympic sports and earn “Future Olympian” funding.

On Friday Feb. 23, Olympic officials will bring their search for young athletes with raw talent to Kelowna for the first time.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and RBC initiative to bring new and undiscovered athletes into Canada’s Olympic talent pool is an open, free, talent discovery event. The Kelowna event is one of more than 30 local combines happening across the country in 2018.

Olympic silver medalist, rower Will Crothers (London 2012) and bronze medal-winning cyclist Laura Brown (Rio, 2016) will be at the event to mentor participants.

Top performers in Kelowna (athletes deemed to have Olympic potential) will advance to a B.C. regional final in Richmond April 7or begin further testing with specific sports.

In addition to training support from a national sport organization the athlete may not have considered, top performers also win Future Olympian financial support from RBC.

There is no charge to participate and the event is open to local athletes aged 14 and 25 curious about whether they might be suited to an Olympic sport.

Participants are encouraged to sign up in advance at rbctrainingground.ca

At the event they will be measured for anthropometric suitability (things like wingspan and body type) and perform speed, power, strength and endurance benchmark tests in front of Canadian Olympic Committee officials and representatives of and 14 national sport organizations.

Officials from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific and national sports organizations including Canada Snowboard, Canada Basketball, Cross Country Ski Canada, Wrestling Canada, Speed Skating Canada Athletics Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Canoe Kayak Canada, Cycling Canada, Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada, Freestyle Canada, Judo Canada and Water Polo Canada will be on hand.

The Training Ground the program is designed to help fill a hole in Canada’s amateur sport system—talent identification—and to then provide the uncovered talent with the high-performance sport resources they need to achieve their podium dreams.

The Kelowna event will take place Friday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Capital News Centre.

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