Vernon’s Jonathan Fraser-Monroe, has been named a finalist in RBC Training Ground, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s annual cross-country talent search.
Over the past several months more than 1,500 athletes from a wide range of sports participated in free local qualifier events across the country, performing core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts to find the sport for which they are most suited.
Fraser-Monroe, 18, attended a qualifier in Kelowna on April 10 and caught the eye of talent scouts on site.
The recent grad of W.L. Seaton Secondary School is a former competitive dancer and multi-sport athlete. He was the school’s Top All Around Student and Top Senior Male Athlete in 2022. He was named Best Defensive Player at the Junior All Native Basketball Tournament in 2022 in Kelowna playing for Syilx Basketball.
He received the the 2019 Premier’s Award for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sports and that year was also Junior Male Athlete of the Year and Team MVP with the SKY volleyball club in Vernon.
Born and raised in Vernon, and a member of the Tla-Amin Nation near Powell River, Fraser-Monroe is currently playing varsity volleyball for the University of New Brunswick Reds in St. John.
“I’m training hard to compete with some of the top athletes in the nation,” said Fraser-Monroe on receiving his invitation to the final. “It’s really exciting.”
The top 100 deemed to have great Olympic potential will now compete in the RBC Training Ground national final in Ottawa on Oct. 22, with the chance of being one of 30 athletes to earn funding, a spot on Team Canada with one of nine partner National Sport Organizations, and an accelerated path to the Olympics.
Athletes will be joined at the National Final by RBC Training Ground alumni and Olympic medalists: Avalon Wasteneys (Rowing, Gold, Tokyo 2020); Jerome Blake (Athletics, Bronze Tokyo 2020); Kelsey Mitchell (Cycling, Gold, Tokyo 2020); Marion Thénault (Freestyle Skiing – Aerials, Bronze, Beijing 2022); and Pierce LePage (Athletics).
Also on hand to encourage participants will be Olympians Chloe Dufour Lapointe (Skiing); Justin Kripps (Bobsleigh); Justine Dufour Lapointe (Skiing); Marie-Philip Poulin (Hockey); Melissa Humana-Parades (Beach Volleyball); Miranda Ayim (Basketball); Penny Oleksiak (Swimming); and Valerie Maltais (Speed skating).
As part of RBC’s commitment to finding the next generation of Olympic talent, transportation to Ottawa, hotel and food are all included for the invited athletes.
During RBC Training Ground National Final testing, athletes’ speed, power, strength, and endurance will again be tested against sport-specific, high-performance benchmarks under supervision of program sport partners. An athlete’s anthropomorphic measurements (height, wingspan, etc), sport-specific testing (conducted following the qualifier stage) and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.
“RBC Training Ground is designed to help fill Canada’s Olympic sport talent pipeline, and provide Next Gen talent with the high-performance sport resources needed to reach podiums,” said Evan MacInnis, technical director, RBC Training Ground.
“Some of the athletes who participate in RBC Training Ground are looking to re-energize or boost an Olympic dream in a sport they are participating in. Others participate with the hope of being discovered and directed toward an Olympic sport they may have never considered. But they all rely on raw athleticism to impress our sport partners and compete for funding.”
The 30 athletes selected for funding will be announced following a nationally televised special documentary later this fall.
Funding is administered by the participating National Sport Organization bringing the athlete into its system, and is used for things like coaching, transportation, travel, equipment, and nutrition. NSO partners include Bobsleigh Skeleton Canada; Canoe Kayak Canada; Cycling Canada Cyclisme; Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada; Rowing Canada Aviron, Rugby Canada; Speed Skating Canada; and Volleyball Canada.
Thirteen RBC Training Ground athletes have competed at two Olympic Games, and together they’ve brought home a collective seven medals. Program alumni Kelsey Mitchell and Marion Thénault are among the medal winners, both of whom had never tried their Olympic sport before showing up at an RBC Training Ground event, only a few years before their Olympic debut.
A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in early 2023. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for details.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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